Just three weeks after the U.S.
release of the Beatles' swan song, Abbey Road, Creed Taylor ushered George Benson into the studio to begin a remarkably successful pop-jazz translation of the record (complete with a parody of the famous cover, showing Benson with guitar crossing an Eastern urban street).
It is a lyrical album, with a hint of the mystery and a lot of the cohesive concept of the Beatles' original despite the scrambled order of the tunes.
Benson is given some room to stretch out on guitar, sometimes in a bluesy groove, and there are more samples of his honeyed vocals than ever before (oddly, his voice would not be heard again by record-buyers until he signed with Warner Bros.).
Don Sebesky's arrangements roam freely from baroque strings to a full-throated big band, and Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Fortune, and Hubert Laws get some worthy solo space.
Yet for all its diversity, the record fits together as a whole more tightly than any other George Benson project, thanks to his versatile talents and the miraculous overarching unity of the Beatles' songs.
One wonders if the Fab Four liked it, too.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oh! DarlingJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Benson | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Golden Slumbers - You Never Give Me Your Money | George Benson | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Because - Come Together | George Benson | Play | 07:26 | 17 MB | 42 MB |
| 4 | Here Comes The Sun - I Want You (She's So Heavy) | George Benson | Play | 09:00 | 20 MB | 49 MB |
| 5 | Something - Octopus's Garden - The End | George Benson | Play | 06:21 | 14 MB | 34 MB |
| 31 mins | 72 MB | |||||
| 31 mins | 174 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Andre | Euphonium, Trombone |
| 2 | Sam Antupit | Design |
| 3 | Donald Ashworth | Clarinet (Bass), Reeds (Multiple), Sax (Baritone) |
| 4 | Ray Barretto | Drums, Guest Artist, Percussion |
| 5 | George Benson | Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 6 | Phil Bodner | Flute, Oboe, Reeds (Multiple) |
| 7 | Ron Carter | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 8 | Mel Davis | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 9 | Sonny Fortune | Guest Artist, Sax (Alto), Saxophone |
| 10 | Bernie Glow | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 11 | Andy Gonzales | Percussion |
| 12 | Andy González | Percussion |
| 13 | Guildhall String Ensemble | Strings |
| 14 | Herbie Hancock | Guest Artist, Harpsichord, Organ, Piano |
| 15 | George Harrison | Composer |
| 16 | Ernie Hayes | Harpsichord, Organ, Piano |
| 17 | Freddie Hubbard | Flugelhorn, Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 18 | Bob James | Guest Artist, Harpsichord, Organ, Piano |
| 19 | Jerry Jemmott | Bass |
| 20 | Hubert Laws | Flute, Guest Artist, Reeds (Multiple) |
| 21 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 22 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 23 | Eric Meola | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 24 | Idris Muhammad | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 25 | Raoul Poliakin | Violin |
| 26 | Max Pollikoff | Violin |
| 27 | George Ricci | Cello |
| 28 | Jerome Richardson | Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone |
| 29 | Don Sebesky | Arranger |
| 30 | Ed Shaughnessy | Drums |
| 31 | John Snyder | Digital Producer |
| 32 | Marvin Stamm | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 33 | Ringo Starr | Composer |
| 34 | Creed Taylor | Producer |
| 35 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer |
| 36 | Emanuel Vardi | Cello, Viola |
| 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). |