Give Me the Night

George Benson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KLG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,981 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give me this album!, December 27, 2000

By 

edg16 "edg16" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Give Me the Night (Audio CD)

I'm not a George Benson fan, yet I have to admit this is a great album. Much of the credit belongs to producer Quincy Jones. He gives the project a polished sheen that ties every song together, but never comes off as sterile. Uptempo cuts (Dinorah, Dinorah) blend seamlessly with ballads (Love Dance). Apart from two instrumentals, Benson doesn't get much solo space. But when he does get to use his guitar chops, it's always in service to the song rather than a mere display of technique (as in the title track). The high quality of the material doesn't hurt. Rod Temperton wrote half the songs, and they are at least as good as the ones he gave to Michael Jackson. Even the weakest song - "Midnight Love Affair" - is memorable. Purists are quick to condemn "Give Me The Night" because it isn't really a "jazz" album. It's their loss. Whatever happened to the pure enjoyment of music? Pop this in the CD player, dim the lights, get out the Chardonnay, and cuddle up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love X Love is a pure listening classic., January 10, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Give Me the Night (Audio CD)

Love X Love is a pure classic song to listen to from the "GIVE ME TONIGHT" album. you can sit back and listen to George Benson putting in his best, or you can even dance to its groove. You listen to the words and it just brings you back to that old or new love. I never get tired of listening to it. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I have. check it out!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...Remember The Days When We Never Had A Dime...", July 26, 2009

By 

Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Give Me The Night (Audio CD)

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE SHM-CD 2009 REMASTER ***

Released in July 1980 on Warner Brothers K 56823 in the UK and HS 3453 in the USA, George Benson's "Give Me The Night" was a huge record at the time (it peaked at No. 3 in both countries).

And like Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" from 1978 before it - its fusion of soul, funk and jazz was popular everywhere - crossing over every rock barrier like never before (it was Grammy nominated and won too).

Yet except for a few remastered tracks on the excellent 2CD "Anthology" set from 2000 on Rhino, the entire album has been languishing around for over two decades now on one of those awful Eighties CDs with dullard murky sound. Until now...

Released 24 June 2009 in Japan-only on Warner Bros WPCR-13453 - this 24-bit remastered version is an audiophile CD on their SUPER HIGH MATERIALS format (playable on all players - 42:51 minutes).

And coming from an era that is probably the most derided in history by music lovers - especially when it comes to bombastic sound and ham-fisted production excesses - this SHM version is a BEAUTIFULLY REALIZED CD REMASTER - it really is.

It doesn't say who 24-bit remastered this album, but whoever did it, has produced the most awesome result because the sound quality is just GLORIOUS - I mean BEAUTIFUL. Of course the album always had the immaculate production values of QUINCY JONES and the stunning array of top session men to thank for its polish anyway - but this newly upgraded version is just wonderful. It's neither falsely loud nor brash - there's no audible hiss, but it's also not clinically clean - there's air around the instruments - it's just warm and THERE.

You hear all the instrumentation - especially the bass and rhythm sections. The wildly underrated funky-as-James-Brown's-DNA instrumental "Off Broadway" is just stunning now - as is David Wolinski's brilliantly soulful and sleek "Midnight Love Affair" - WOWSER!
(There's an argument raging around the net at the moment about sly remastering techniques, pumping up the loudness of reissues for the so-called `iPod' generation - which essentially produces downloads that sound better but lack any real dynamic range. I mention this because to my ears there's none of that on here.)

The jewel case is standard and there's the black and gold obi strip inside; the SHM CD itself feels slightly heavier to ordinary CDs - more substantial - it seems to hold better as it plays in the tray somehow - steady. The 8-page booklet is disappointingly the same as US/Euro issues (has session details though) and the extra foldout page of info about the album that you get in these Japanese issues is - well in Japanese - so its kinda useless.

Gripes - no Euro/USA issue so it costs as an import - and it wouldn't have taken much to include the edited single mixes of "Give Me The Night" and "Love X Love" as bonus tracks, but somehow this CD isn't about ramming the disc chocker full of extras - it's about the best sound - and on that front they've achieved their goal with absolute knobs on.

With 6 of it's 10 killer songs written by Britain's ROD TEMPERTON and the immaculate production values of veteran sound man QUINCY JONES, "Give Me The Night" practically set up the template for the album that would literally take over the world three years later - Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (Quincy produced and Temperton wrote 3 of its 9 songs including the title track).

Ok - this version is expensive and it's probably even awkward to obtain, but I've loved rehearing "Give Me The Night" in this stunning sound quality - beautiful stuff - and recommended big time.

PS: It's available mail-order from Amazon sites or two superb Japanese CD sites I use - CD JAPAN at "cdjapan.co.jp" and MUNDO at "mediawars.ne.jp".

"Give Me The Night" is also a part of 2009's Japanese-Only "Warner Bros Jazz & Fusion SHM-CD Collection" series - in alphabetical order the other 19 titles are:

1. Breezin' - GEORGE BENSON (1976)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13452)
2. Larry Carlton - LARRY CARLTON (1978)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13446)
3. Sleepwalk - LARRY CARLTON (1982)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13448)
4. Strikes Twice - LARRY CARLTON (1980)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13447)
5. Amandla - MILES DAVIS (1989)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13443)
6. Doo-Bop - MILES DAVIS (1991)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13444)
7. Live Around The World - MILES DAVIS (1996)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13445)
8. Siesta - MILES DAVIS and MARCUS MILLER (1982)
(Warner Bros WPCR-13442)
9. Tutu - MILES DAVIS (1986)
(Warner Bros WPCR-13441)
10. Teasin' - CORNELL DUPREE (1974)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13457)
11. Between The Sheets - FOURPLAY (1993)
[Featuring Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Nathan East and Harvey Mason]
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13460)
12. Fourplay - FOURPLAY (1991)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13459)
13. Word Of Mouth - JACO PASTORIUS (1981)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13454)
14. Rit - LEE RITENOUR (1981)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13456)
15. The Captain's Journey - LEE RITENOUR (1978)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13455)
16. Magnetic - STEPS AHEAD [feat Michael Brecker] (1986)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13458)
17. More Stuff - STUFF (1977)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13450)
18. Stuff - STUFF (1976)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13449)
19. Winelight - GROVER WASHINGTON, Jr. (1980)
(Warner Bros. WPCR-13451)