Body Talk

George Benson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 7, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026TQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,544 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Body Talk

2. Top of the World

3. Dance

4. When Love Has Grown

5. Plum

6. Body Talk [Alternate Take][#]

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Description

George Benson s Body Talk climbed the Billboard jazz chart to #10 in 1973, an early indication of Benson s successful move into soulful pop. With an eye and ear on what was happening on the soul charts James Brown in particular Benson made a decided swerve toward R&B on this release ... It should come as no surprise by now that this formidable guitarist has no problem handling any kind of groove ... Earl Klugh has a few tasty moments on his own, and there are some reconnaissance flights back to the jazz side of George, which he handles with his usual confident aplomb. (All Music Guide). This release includes an alternate take of the title track. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Body Talk says alot., April 28, 2000

By 

NDBx "NDBx" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Body Talk (Audio CD)

For me THE GEORGE BENSON GUITAR ALBUM. Powerful supple guitar lines. George shows his chops on this one. Playing with a very fat tone, George improvises inventively in every piece, Jack De Johnette, Ron Carter, Harold Mabern, Mobutu and a very very young Earl Klugh rounds out the line up along with a horn section. The title track and "Top of the World" are the best pieces on this album. On "Top of the World" George really shows his strong jazz sensibilities. Supple liquid guitar lines darting in and out and around Pee Ellis' arrangement. It rolls, floats This along with "Beyond the Blue Horizon" are must-haves.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BENSON'S BEST, July 13, 2008

By 

COMPUTERJAZZMAN "computerjazzman" (Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Body Talk (Audio CD)

THIS IS AN EARLY-MID 1970'S GEORGE BENSON RELEASE ON CTI RECORDS, BEFORE HE RECEIVED INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM FOR THE MUCH MORE MAINSTREAM AND COMMERCIAL WORK "BREEZIN". THIS IS BY FAR BY A VERY WIDE MARGIN HIS BEST ALBUM. AND EQUAL ACCLAIM ON THIS ALBUM GOES TO A THEN-VERY-YOUNG EARL KLUGH, WHO PLAYS SOME TRULY AMAZING RHYTHM GUITAR TO BACK UP GEORGE ON THIS ALBUM. IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET ONE GEORGE BENSON CD, THIS IS IT, HANDS DOWN. NOTHING HE DID BEFORE OR AFTER COMES CLOSE. NOT ONE BAD CUT.........

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Benson CTI Winner, April 29, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Body Talk (Audio CD)

George Benson is yet another one of those musicians who didn't achieve widespread popular acclaim until after his best work was behind him. A pity, truly, since he bravely stepped into the big shoes left behind by Wes Montgomery and gave jazz fans a new guitar master to revere. With Body Talk, George Benson and CTI gave the jazz world yet another winner.
Perhaps the best reason for Benson's early failure to catch on with the public beyond the hard-core jazz connoisseur is given in the liner notes to Body Talk. These state that Benson was a restless young player who never wanted his next album to sound like his last, and until he went "mainstream" and finally achieved overwhelming popularity, they mostly did not. A lot of music listeners like a reassuring continuity in an artist's work. As for me, I don't care as long as the artist gives me some great tunes to enjoy.
There are several aspects of Body Talk which make it an important release. First, Benson starts to come into his own as a composer. Top of the World is a first rate piece of funky jazz. Secondly, he has brought in Earl Klugh to play guitar in counterpoint to his manic fretwork. Klugh built the foundation with Benson on which he was later to launch his own successful solo career.
I enjoy the entire album, but am especially enamored of Plum and the aforementioned Top of the World. Though Body Talk does not reach the five-star heights of Good King Bad or White Rabbit, it is still a recording that should be in every George Benson fan's collection. My only negative comment on it is that at a mere 46 or so minutes, it is far too short. But still, that is 46 minutes of great horns, great piano, great guitar, great MUSIC. Order this today!