It’s quite easy to place Roberta Flack near the top of the pile of singer/songwriters who changed the course of pop music, not only soul music, during the ’70s. She was fortunate enough to deliver the velvet-smooth ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to an unsuspecting public, and followed it up with an onslaught of ballads that would keep her on the charts for the remainder of the decade. From start to finish, this greatest-hits compilation is the most comprehensive look at her finest moments available on record. From her legendary string of duets with Donny Hathaway to her duets with Peabo Bryson and Maxi Priest that kept her at the top of the charts through the ’80s, they’re all here. But it’s not just the duets that made Flack such an outstanding performer, as her solo works also rate high in quality. Free of the filler and goofy remixes that can make other greatest-hits collections seem diluted, this is easily the best retrospective of her work available to date. – Rob Theakston