GEORGE BENSON -- BODY TALK (1973)
Album: Body Talk
Artist: George Benson
Genre: Jazz
Year Released: 1973
Bitrate: 320 bps
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
To people born in the '70s, George Benson is a polished pop star. But this 1973 Creed Taylor-produced recording shows his straight-ahead jazz roots and his guitar debt to the great guitarist Charlie Christian. With bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette, keyboardist Harold Mabern, and saxophonist Frank Foster, Benson digs into some lean and mean swinging. He lays down some in-the-pocket-lines on Latin-flavored tunes like "Dance" and "Plum." The title track and its alternate take move with a disco beat, and the midtempo "Top of the World" displays more of Benson's fancy fretwork. For George Benson's younger fans, this rerelease is an amazing discovery. For older jazz heads, it's a beautiful blast from his soulful past. --Eugene Holley Jr.
1. Dance Listen Listen
2. When Love Has Grown Listen Listen
3. Plum Listen Listen
4. Body Talk Listen Listen
5. Top Of The World Listen Listen
6. Body Talk
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http://rapidshare.com/files/22095548/GB-Body_Talk.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/22097469/GB-Body_Talk.part2.rar
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GEORGE BENSON -- IN FLIGHT (1975)
Album: In Flight
Artist: George Benson
Genre: Jazz
Year Released: 1975
Bitrate: 320 bps
Editorial Review:
Rolling Stone
In Flight was made by the same lineup as Breezin': Phil Up-church, guitar and bass; Ronnie Foster and Jorge Dalto, keyboards; Stanley Banks, bass; Harvey Mason, drums; and Ralph MacDonald, percussion. Predictably, four of In Flight's six songs contain vocals.
The jacket photos�Benson in the tropics�accurately describe the music, which, as on Breezin', is relaxed, self-assured and shimmeringly warm. Benson's vocals are like two-sided mirrors, behaving as another instrument as they convey the lyrics. On the longest track, "The World Is a Ghetto," Benson waits several minutes before singing, and when he does, his voice is mixed only slightly to the fore and complemented by the tone of his hollow-bodied electric, undisturbed and not too loud. This lack of aggression is appealing; a confident man with few musical pretensions, Benson sings because he doesn't need to shout.
Whatever faults In Flight may have relate to its conservatism. Benson drives the band a little harder than on Breezin', but his fire is mitigated by Claus Ogerman's string arrangements, which on the one hand unify the album with a sweet, pencil-thin outline, but on the other can also be distracting. -- CONRAD SILVERT
1. Nature Boy
2. The Wind And I
3. The World Is A Ghetto
4. Gonna Love You More
5. Valdez In The Country
6. Everything Must Change
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http://rapidshare.com/files/22267473/GB-In_Flight.rar
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GEORGE BENSON -- BREEZIN' (1976)
Album: Breezin'
Artist: George Benson
Genre: Jazz
Year Released: 1976
Bitrate: 320 bps
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Before this album was released in 1976, George Benson was known largely for his Wes Montgomery/Charlie Christian-inspired licks and his stints with Jack McDuff and Miles Davis. Breezin' was a million-selling, Grammy Award-winning LP and made Benson an "overnight" star. The reasons for that success were Tommy LiPuma's topnotch production, Claus Ogerman's ethereal arrangements, and Benson's soulful vocals on Leon Russell's ballad "This Masquerade." Backed by Fourplay drummer Harvey Mason, master percussionist Ralph MacDonald, bassist Stanley Banks, rhythm guitarist Phil Upchurch, and keyboardists Ronnie Scott and Jorge Dalto, Benson and the crew laid down the moods and grooves we now call "contemporary jazz." From the soft-rock of "Six to Four," the midtempo backbeat of the title track, and the Latin-tinged tunes "Affirmation," "So This Is Love?" and "Lady," Benson's fleet-fingered Ibanez guitar lines make the rare leap from straight-ahead to the mainstream. Added to the CD reissue are three bonus tracks not on the LP: a snappy and soulful rendition of "Down Here on the Ground," from the movie Cool Hand Luke, a Bob James-like funk number "Shark Bite," and the single-edit version of "This Masquerade." George Benson was never the same after this record and neither was jazz. --Eugene Holley, Jr.
1. Breezin'
2. This Masquerade
3. Six To Four
4. Affirmation
5. So This Is Love
6. Lady
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GEORGE BENSON -- WEEKEND IN LA (Live) (1977)
Album: Weekend in LA (Live)
Artist: George Benson
Genre: Jazz
Year Released: 1977
Bitrate: 320 bps
Editorial Review:
Weekend In L.A. is a smooth live recording by George Benson. His version of "On Broadway" is a great combination of jazz, r&b with a dash of funk thrown in. Mr. Benson's voice has never sounded finer and the song became a top ten single. There are other great performances on the album including the smoky "Lady Blue", the breezy title cut, the heavy jazz of "Ode To A Kudu" and a touching tribute to his mentor Wes Montgomery, "We Remember Wes". There is also Mr. Benson's original version of "The Greatest Love Of All" which is from the Muhammad Ali biopic, The Greatest. The song is nothing like the overplayed, schmaltzy version that Whitney Houston had a hit with. It is an understated, pretty song that Mr. Benson doesn't go over the top with. -- Thomas Magnum
1. Weekend In L.A.
2. On Broadway
3. Down Here On The Ground
4. California P.M.
5. The Greatest Love Of All
6. It's All In The Game
7. Windsong
8. Ode To A Kudu
9. Lady Blue
10. We All Remember Wes
11. We As Love
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http://rapidshare.com/files/22274934/GB-Weekend_in_LA.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/22277921/GB-Weekend_in_LA.part2.rar
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