Pop Music Reviews : Roberta Flack Kills ‘Em Softly With Her Old Songs at the Strand

If Roberta Flack had any sense, she wouldn’t sing her oldies along with her more recent material, no matter how much audiences complained.

At the Strand in Redondo Beach on Saturday, she crooned some of her early-’70s classics such as “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

These oldies are so much better than anything she’s done since, that by comparison the other material seems turgid and bland, particularly the pedestrian songs from her latest album, “Set the Night to Music.” (Some fans do like it, though--her duet with Maxi Priest on the title song was a huge hit last year.)

Flack has a high, pure, crystal-clear voice that shines on simple ‘40s- and ‘50s-style ballads backed by minimal instrumentation. Easily the best song in the show was the finale, the serene 1971 hit “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” one of the most touching romantic ballads of the last two decades.

Still, the audience seemed pleased with Saturday’s first set, politely tolerating long, dull stretches of material from the current album.

You can’t blame Flack for trying commercial, up-to-the-minute pop/R&B;, even if she’s not very good at it. All the purists can do is lament her wasting time and hope that she’ll occasionally do a concert devoted to her quality music--those tranquil, old-fashioned ballads.