Apparently Benson got the message.
Giving up the fruitless search for decent contemporary material, he switched gears and recorded an album of old standards with top-grade jazz musicians (including pianist McCoy Tyner and bassist Ron Carter) and Marty Paich's classy string and brass charts.
With good songs to sing, Benson gives some moving performances, particularly on "This Is All I Ask," and there is a lovely reminder of his affinity for the Beatles, "Here There and Everywhere." Moreover, his jazz instincts were fully at his command; you'll hear some remarkable Latin-slanted guitar work on "At the Mambo Inn," some brilliant bebop on "Stella By Starlight" and "I Could Write a Book," and a stunning solo performance of "Tenderly" itself.
One could read a bit of calculation into all of this; a Benson riposte to all those critics who thought he'd never play bebop again, an attempt by his record company to pander to an aging fan base.
But don't.
Enjoy the music, some of the best Benson has made in the 1900s.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You Don't Know What Love IsGene DePaul, Don Raye | George Benson | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | StardustHoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish | George Benson | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | At the Mambo InnMario Bauzá, Grace Sampson, Bobby Woodlen | George Benson | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Here, There and EverywhereJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Benson | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | This Is All I AskGordon Jenkins | George Benson | Play | 05:36 | 12 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | TenderlyWalter Gross, Jack Lawrence | George Benson | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 12 MB |
| 7 | I Could Write a BookLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | George Benson | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Stella By Startlight | George Benson | Play | 05:16 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 38 mins | 88 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 219 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Bauzá | Composer |
| 2 | George Benson | Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 3 | Hoagy Carmichael | Composer |
| 4 | Ron Carter | Bass |
| 5 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 6 | Gene DePaul | Composer |
| 7 | Al Foster | Drums |
| 8 | Walter Gross | Composer |
| 9 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 10 | Louis Hayes | Drums |
| 11 | Gordon Jenkins | Composer |
| 12 | Jack Lawrence | Composer |
| 13 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 14 | Tommy LiPuma | Producer |
| 15 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 16 | Mitchell Parish | Composer |
| 17 | Don Raye | Composer |
| 18 | Herlin Riley | Drums |
| 19 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 20 | Grace Sampson | Composer |
| 21 | Elliot Scheiner | Engineer |
| 22 | McCoy Tyner | Piano |
| 23 | Ned Washington | Composer |
| 24 | Bobby Woodlen | Composer |
| 25 | Victor Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |