Bad Benson [Original recording remastered]

George Benson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000068D1F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,601 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Benson, March 29, 2003

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bad Benson (Audio CD)

The first five tracks are: Take Five; Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams; My Latin Brother; No Sooner Said Than Done; and Full Compass. The last four tracks are as listed.
I must confess that although George Benson is a pretty good singer, George Benson the jazz guitarist appeals to me far more than George Benson the vocalist. And as a jazz guitarist, most of his finest work was done while under contract to the famed CTI jazz label. Among the many fine albums he cut for CTI, Bad Benson ranks near the top.
There is a lot of great music on this CD which opens with an exuberant arrangement of Paul Desmond's Take Five that is among the best interpretations of that classic that I've heard. Other favorites from the original issue are inspired renditions of Benson's own My Latin Brother and the Phil Upchurch composition, No Sooner Said Than Done.
Two of the three bonus tracks really are "bonuses" that add immeasurably to the enjoyment of this recording. First, there is a fine rendition of the famed Take The "A" Train, but what really puts the CD over the top is a 13-minute jam written by CTI house arranger Don Sebesky called Serbian Blue. With Benson on lead, Phil Upchurch on rhythm, Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on Bass, and Steve Gadd on drums, Serbian Blue becomes one of the finest extended jams of its time.
Bad Benson is definitely essential Benson. This is not only one of Benson's best CTI recordings, it is in the top five of all his recordings. If you are a George Benson fan and haven't heard this yet, you are in for a real treat. I recommend that you order it immediately.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Vintage Benson, July 12, 2007

By 

Olukayode Balogun (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Benson (Audio CD)

Recorded in 1974, this is another classic George Benson album from the same era and in the same vein, as Beyond the Blue Horizon, which I reviewed recently. Producer Creed Taylor has once again barred Benson from singing so we've got an hour or so of pure jazz guitar.

I got the CD mainly for "Take Five", the Paul Desmond tune made popular by Dave Brubeck and for "Full Compass", which is another very unusual but satisfying composition written by Phil Upchuch. I've had both tunes on cassette for years and have always loved them. But since getting this CD, I've now also grown to love "My Latin Brother", one of Benson's own compositions and "No Sooner Said Than Done" (also written by Upchurch), with its cool sound effects. I can't quite work out if the effects are connected to the guitar or to the keys but they make the song much more interesting to listen to. Benson is backed by a solid rhythm section as is always the case with Creed Taylor productions - including Rob Carter on bass and Steve Gadd on drums - but most notable on this album are Kenny Barron on piano and Upchurch on rhythm guitar, (and on electric bass on "Full Compass" and percussion on "My Latin Brother" and "Serbian Blue"). The orchestration is arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky.

The three "New Mix" bonus tracks were apparently recorded as part of the same session but timing restrictions imposed by the old LP format meant they couldn't be included. I have mixed views on them. Take "The "A" Train" doesn't really do anything for me and to be frank, the damned whistle gets on my nerves. "Serbian Blue" is the killer track. A Don Sebesky composition and over 13 mins long, to me it goes many places and says many things. As for the closer, "From Now On" (which has Benson playing solo guitar) all I can say is that I sorely wish it were a bit longer. At only 2mins 20 secs, just when I'm really getting into it, it's all over.

Ah, well. It's still a very enjoyable CD. Not quite up there with "Beyond The Blue Horizon" but a definitive five star set nonetheless

PS. Another cool route to some good value vintage George Benson is via the "Compact Jazz" series from Verve. They've got a full roster; from Count Basie to Stan Getz to Gerry Mulligan to Sarah Vaughan. I recently picked up two Wes Montgomery CDs from the collection, one by Dinah Washington and Compact Jazz: George Benson. It features songs from Benson's earlier work like the 1967 album "Giblet Gravy" among others and features guest artistes like Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham and Jimmy Smith. Well worth a look.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An appropriate title, December 7, 2005

By 

bluesdoc05 (South) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Benson (Audio CD)

In the jazz vernacular, "bad" is a term for something toally hot and beyond "good". Such is the right description for this disc.
Of all the albums Benson recorded for CTI, this is my absolute favorite, and the one I would recommend to anyone interested in exploring his work for Creed Taylor.

At this point in his career, Benson's style was fully developed and on this album, an amalgam of bop, blues, funk, and Latin influences, you get to hear him at his best. Supremely confident and playing with incredible power and fluidity, Benson just tears through the material. The album starts off in high gear with an uptempo funkified version of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". The sheer technical prowess Benson exhibits on this cut is exhilarating, yet never is his playing devoid of soul or complex harmonic ideas. "My Latin Brother", "Full Compass", and "No Sooner Said Than Done" are equally brillant. In fact there is simply not a weak track on the entire album.