ROBERTA FLACK / “Tryin’ Times”

Times change but trouble remains the same. Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson wrote Tryin’ Times back in the late Sixties. Roberta Flack sang it on her 1969 debut album, First Take. Oddly, Donny released a second version on his 1970 Atlantic debut, Everything Is Everything. The release is odd because: 1) Donny’s version has a slight country-and-western twang to its instrumentation and 2) because by then Roberta’s version was well on its way to classic status while on Donny’s album, it’s almost a filler. Tryin Times seems like it's going to be a relevant song for at least another decade. When it was first released, Roberta struck a responsive chord in our community with her artful commentary on social disintegration. Unfortunately, the song remains no less relevant today. roberta flack 05.gif As a piece of music, Roberta’s version has two elements that subsequent versions (include Donny’s) hardly ever match: the masterful bass work of Ron Carter and the sublime vocals of Roberta Flack. Roberta overwhelms you with subtlety rather than shouting. Her floating long tones seem as effortless as breathing while sleeping, but nevertheless, the calmness in her delivery increases rather than diminishes the urgency of the lyrics. It’s almost as if her whispers are louder than any shout, and for certain are more beautiful. ron carter.jpg Ron Carter’s contribution is so distinctive that one can hardly think of the song without hearing that flowing four-note/three-note bass pattern. And of course, his vamp perfectly complements the pure long tones of Roberta’s phrasing, which are both caressing and arresting. When we contrast this classic version with subsequent versions, those two elements standout even more. The David Nathan version is a very, very interesting contemporary take that has its own greatness, specifically the contributions of the vocal group The Sweet Inspirations. david nathan.jpg Nathan is a British writer who has dedicated his professional life to explicating and promoting Soul music. His 1999 book The Soulful Divas is an informative investigation on the major female Soul singers. Additionally, Nathan’s website http://www.soulmusic.com is widely considered the premiere site for information about Soul music. Nathan achieved a personal dream with his debut release, Reinvention. Even though he is not a great singer, Nathan has produced a very good recording, thanks mainly to his wisdom to include others who ably take up his slack, which is where The Sweet Inspirations come in. sweet inspirations.jpg The Inspirations—Emily 'Cissy' Houston (who was replaced by Ann Williams 1970), Myrna Smith, Estelle Brown and Sylvia Shemwell—were the house backup singers at Atlantic records during the late Sixties/early Seventies Soul years. They appeared on countless hits including works by Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett among numerous others. On this recording, the current Sweet Inspiration line-up (Estelle Brown, Portia Griffin and Myrna Smith) are brought to the foreground in a stunning cameo that features a rapid-fire vocal solo that is the exact opposite of Roberta’s legato phrasing but which is nonetheless effective. Nathan uses Doug Lunn on electric bass to reprise the Ron Carter signature bass lines. Carter is a master jazz artist. His timing is impeccable as he deftly makes micro adjustments which keep the repetitive bass line interesting. Few, if any, other versions capture the subtlety of Carter’s lines and thus, most imitators end up being only that, imitators. Saxophonist Andy Suzuki adds atmosphere, but musically, Nathan’s version is nowhere near as interesting as Flack’s version, especially since Nathan’s emphasis is on a Soul/smooth jazz sound rather than the straight-ahead jazz sound of the classic version. Which is not to say I dislike Nathan’s version—I like it a lot, but it’s a completely different interpretation that illustrates the differences between a Soul and a jazz orientation. courtney pine 03.jpg British saxophonist Courtney Pine and vocalist Jhelisa Anderson offer an equally interesting contrast. Pine attempts the impossible objective of going in two directions at once by putting his jazz saxophone atop a hip-hop influenced rhythm base. jhelisa.jpg Jhelisa’s phrasing has the long tones employed by Roberta Flack, but Jhelisa is not doing a jazz turn. Indeed, comparing what Jhelisa does to what The Sweet Inspirations did, there is a paradox. Premiere Soul singers, The Sweet Inspirations take a jazz turn on their solo, while Jhelisa employs jazz phrasing but produces a Neo Soul solo that invites both comparison and contrast to Roberta Flack’s signature sound. Pine’s soprano work is the strongest element of his version. Given that the original did not have a saxophone on it, Pine is surprisingly strong, charging out the gate with a supple intro that immediately catches your ear. When he gets to his second solo near the end, Pine goes all-out including the use of circular breathing. Good as both Nathan and Pine are at what they do, and as important as Donny is as the composer, none of them match Roberta Flack, and that’s precisely one measure of her version’s classic status. —Kalamu ya Salaam         A Completely Different Set Of Music         This is one of those times when I wonder if I'm listening to a completely different set of music than the one Kalamu is listening to. While I agree with his description of Roberta Flack's classic version, I'm mystified about his description of the other three versions. I don't hear any country sound in Donny's version at all. To me, Tryin’ Times sounds like all of Donny's music: deep Soul with a bit of a gospel feel and maybe a touch of city blues (in the rocking feel of the rhythm and the jangling sound of the piano). I like it a lot. The David Nathan version, which I don't like at all, doesn't sound like Soul to me. It sounds like Manhattan Transfer or some other off-Broadway/jazz revival type of thing. I like the high-speed vocal cameo in the middle, but other than that, I'm not hearing that version. I'm equally confused by Kalamu's description of the Courtney Pine/Jhelisa version. I hear no hip-hop whatsoever. If Pine is straddling anything, it's R&B and jazz, not hip-hop and jazz. (Although Pine does mix rap and jazz on some of his other recordings.) I wouldn't call Jhelisa's vocals straight-ahead jazz, but they're certainly jazzy. A lot jazzier than her usual style, at least. I like it, but I'm hearing 0% hip-hop in that groove. Of course, Roberta's version (which is the only one I already had in my collection) is the winner. Roberta's performance communicates so much anger and indignation even as she remains outwardly cool and calm. It's a great song from a great album. —Mtume ya Salaam

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 20th, 2006 at 11:49 pm and is filed under Classic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


3 Responses to “ROBERTA FLACK / “Tryin’ Times””

tayari kwa salaam Says:
May 22nd, 2006 at 7:59 am

Roberta’s Tryin Times–the patient tempo, simple and direct delivery, and rich vocality–is incomparable (Kalamu aptly explains why), but I have to say that Courtney & Jhelisa is a mean second. I don’t mean they bout tuh surpass Robert’s but they definitely surpass Donny’s and David Nathan’s versions. In fact, Donny sound like Donny with no country n western twang and Sweet Inspirations cannot save Nathan’s Tryin Times.


Berry Says:
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:44 pm

Definitely one of her lesser known tracks.


Bryan Says:
September 18th, 2006 at 8:37 pm

It’s not a rare statement to say that I come home from work everyday and pull out the “First Take” Lp. Side two, 3rd song “Tryin Times”. I’ll let it play and stare at the cover wishin I was old enough to take part in this generation of music.


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