Customer Reviews

Artist's Choice

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I can't believe I am doing the first review on this BRILLIANT compilation of David Benoit's early work! It's funny because I have been searching for these songs (specially "Life Is Like A Samba") for quite some time and I guess I must have missed them here on Amazon.com because I found this CD instead at a local CD store. Anyway, the first ever Benoit song I heard was "Life Is Like A Samba" in the late 1970s when "records were vinyl and CDs were nothing more than high interest savings accounts" as Benoit himself writes in liner notes for this compilation. I was HOOKED big time! ALL the tracks included are magnificent pieces of musical art and definitely worth the price of the CD. There is noticeable hiss which can be overlooked because the music is simply riveting. My fave tracks aside from "Life" are "Can You Imagine", "Hermosa Skyline" (which reminds me so much of Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real"), "Stages" (a classic!), "Gold Coast" and "If I Could Reach Rainbows". I also just noticed that flutist Tim Weisberg did the flute (what else?) on "Windseason" which Weisberg later reprises in 1989 on his own album "Outrageous Temptations", which was produced by David Benoit. If you thought Benoit's best music came when he first started recording for GRP Records, you got another think coming! Get this CD right away!

I have been a long time fan of David Benoit, and this is by far his best work yet. "Life is like a Samba" is very upbeat and very musical. And "If i could reach rainbows" is quite the opposite. It a smooth-flowing wonderfully composed piece, which is one of my favourites. The pieces in this album are all varied in style, but are all great. This 1999 grammmy nominated artist put his all into this album, and it is wonderful.

I have been a long time fan of David Benoit, and this is by far his best work yet. "Life is like a Samba" is very upbeat and very musical. And "If i could reach rainbows" is quite the opposite. It a smooth-flowing wonderfully composed piece, which is one of my favourites. The pieces in this album are all varied in style, but are all great. This 1999 grammy nominated artist put his all into this album, and it is wonderful.

Liner notes written by artist show his humility and determination to take his art to the max, as he records playing at weddings and wherever just to make it. Then hooking up with a sax player, cuts "Life Is Like A Samba," and as they say, "The rest ..."

Well, the rest is great! with my favs being: Hermosa Skyline, Moment in Hyde Park and Oceana.

Soft, flowing piano cuts with great instrumental backup.