Customer Reviews

Endlessly--The Best Of Brook Benton

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This is a great compilation. Brook Benton was a master of the smooth, deep soulful sound of the '50' and early (and then, the later '60's). This compilation has all of his popular songs. More importantly, it has a couple of great collaborations with Dinah Washington, including "Baby, You Got What It Takes", and "A Rockin' Good Way".

His seminal cuts to my mind are "It's Only a Matter of Time" and "Rainy Night In Georgia". Sad songs they most certainly are, but so smooth and passion filled, they almost make the sad times worth having.

Once again, Rhino Records has come through!

Brook Benton has voice that can't be topped. This set shows off that voice. The classic "It's Just A Matter Of Time" starts things off. The B side, "Hurtin Inside" is actually just as good. "Endlessly" "Kiddio" "Think Twice" a couple of duets with Dinah Washington and the unforgettable "Rainy Night In Georgia" are just some of the highlights. Plus, Rhino did a wonderful job of remastering these songs. They couldn't sound better. For a slice of 50's, 60's and early 70's romance, pick this up.

This is the definitive Brook Benton collection - accept no substitute. Brook Benton was one of the pioneers of what later became known as soul, and had one of the most gorgeous voices ever to grace popular music. Vocally, he's closest in style to Jerry Butler, but even better.

Brook came charging out of the gate in 1959 with the ballad "It's Just a Matter of Time", a #1 hit, with a very 50s sound. On "Hurtin' Inside", he rocks, but is that Brook or Elvis singing? Then he goes retro - "Endlessly" sounds like early 50s Nat King Cole. "So Many Ways" brings it back to a late 50s ballad style. Then things get really interesting with his 1960 rock 'n soul duets with Dinah Washington, "Baby, You Got What It Takes", and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)". No soul duet ever sounded as fun and exciting as these two - what chemistry! They playfully fight with each other over who will sing next, and laugh at each other's jokes, and you can almost picture them cuddling up in the recording studio. These are fun, fun songs. Marvin and Tammy, eat your hearts out. "Kiddio", Brook's solo follow-up is also a strong soul-rocker.

Then, from Tracks 8-15, the material turns weaker. Brook's voice is consistently entertaining to listen to, but the songs do not do it justice. "The Boll Weevil Song" was a big hit for him, but as story songs go, it's a weak story. "Frankie and Johnny" and "Shadrack", the biblical story of the Babylonian exile, are solid, but not exceptional.

Brook then turns strong again, with "Lie to Me" and "Hotel Happiness" which are blues-based soul, perfectly executed. "Still Waters Run Deep" is a beautiful ballad and a love song about the power of silence. That takes us through 1963. What happened to Brook then? What did he do for the next six years?

We next hear from Brook with "Rainy Night in Georgia", his big hit from 1970, and his best song ever. There is aching loneliness, failure and resignation in this saga of a traveling itinerant musician unable to "find a warm place to spend the night". Then in verse three he settles into a boxcar and finds comfort in his guitar and in holding "your picture to my chest". My wife makes fun of me because this song can make me cry, and I don't even care, because the song is worth a few tears. It is beautifully arranged and masterfully sung. If Brook had recorded no other song, he would still have to be regarded as one of the great soul singers, just on the strength of this one superb song. It was written by Tony Joe White, best known for his 1969 humorous swamp-rock classic, "Polk Salad Annie". Then the album closes with an affecting cover of another contemporary southern songster, Joe South's "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home".

It seems that Brook Benton suffered from a lack of good material, or maybe just a recording contract, from 1964-1969, the peak years of the soul boom. One can imagine him singing some of the classics of that era very beautifully. (Think of such songs as "Tracks of My Tears" or "Dock of the Bay".) So maybe he peaked a little too early to catch the big wave of fame and (sometimes) fortune of the late sixties, and his attempts to keep up with the funky, sexy 70s (not in this collection) were half-hearted and definitely not his cup of tea. Sadly, Brook died in 1987. But he is one of the greats, and I hope that many of you soul-R&B fans who missed him when he was around, as I did, can catch up and appreciate him with this excellent (though somewhat uneven) collection.

My coworkers are probably about ready to kill me, as I play this CD almost every day. (Quietly, to be polite, but still...) I just can't get enough of it. Brook Benton's voice is so beautifully deep and textured. It's soothing, it's uplifting, it's funny in spots. The Dinah Washington duets are a lot of fun to listen to. Every one of these songs is a gem. Highly recommended.

Brook had many wonderful hits from 1959 to 1970, collected here on this 20-track compilation. The biggest hits (all top ten pop hits) were It's just a matter of time, So many ways, Kiddio, The boll weevil song, Hotel happiness, Rainy night in Georgia and the two duets with Dinah Washington - Baby you've got what it takes and A rocking good way. Seven of the others made the top twenty.

Most of the songs fall into the general category of easy-listening pop/R+B, but Brook demonstrated that he could do much more, as with his covers of the folk songs Frankie and Johnny and The boll weevil song. His gospel roots are evident in the biblical song Shadrack.

Brook may not have achieved the mega-stardom that he deserved, but he certainly made his mark and helped to break down the barriers for later generations of R+B singers.

This CD has the best music of Brook Benton. I would never hesistate to order this again. It was worth every penny!

Well, here it is: All his big hits are on here: "It's Just a Matter of Time", "The Boll Weevil Song", "Fools Rush In" -- and my favorite -- "Rainy Night in Georgia". These are all the original hit recordings. A MUST for any collector of R&B/Soul. He also teams up with Dinah Washington -- they make an awesome duo.

Music for ones who like to remember the good old days of the late fifties/early sixties.

This is a Rhino collection of a silky & smooth soul-singing pioneer that I knew very little about. His voice is a mixture of Elvis, Nat and Ben E. King. Between 1959 (It's Just A Matter of Time) to 1970 (Rainy Night in Georgia) he had 16 top 40 hits, of which 8 went Top Ten! This 20 song collection also includes two hit duets with Dinah Washington and his biggest hit, The Boll Weevil Song. But for my money, this collection could have been so much better if the early songs didn't have the corny string arrangements attached to them, a successful ploy in the 50's and early 60's to help R&B crossover to a white audience.

There are only five songs worth hearing on this album and 15 songs that I "disabled" so I didn't have to hear them. The best were: Just A Matter of Time, You've Got What It Takes, Kiddio, Fools Rush In, and A Rainy Night in Georgia. Brook Benton has a superb voice, but unfortunately his choice of songs is either terrific or very boring. How much control he had over his material is a fair question, because a voice like this should be recording smash hits 90% of the time. This CD reflects a lot of very mediocre songs. I always hated the Boll Weevil Song, but you may love it. I would recommend strongly that you buy this as a USED cd if you are looking for only a few select songs that were his very best.