Customer Reviews

Under the Covers, Best of Smooth Jazz, Vol. 2

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From Boney James' flawless rendition of Rufus' "SweetThing"
to George Benson's rousing "On Broadway," thiscollection
(subtitled "Under the Covers," all remakes) is the finest in
Warner Bros. enjoyable Best of Smooth Jazz series. Take 6 gives an
irresistible reading of "Deepest Part of Me," Al Jarreau
croons sweetly over a backdrop by Bob James and David Sanborn on the
jazz standard "Since I Fell for You," and Randy Crawford
masterfully transforms Journey's "Who's Crying Now" into a
jazz/soul classic. Furthermore Michael McDonald gives Carole King's
"Hey Girl" a new lease on life, Mark Whitfield serves up a
smooth instrumental reading of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl,"
and we're treated to Fourplay's excellent take on Marvin Gaye's "After
the Dance," featuring a top-notch vocal by El DeBarge. A shoddy
rendition of the over-done "I Can't Make You Love Me" by
Johnny Hartman wannabe Kevin Mahogany can be forgiven; virtually every
other track is gorgeously executed, breathing fresh new life into
timeless songs.

What a super compilation. The name is actually a bit of a misnomer. A lot of the music here is not merely smooth jazz instrumentals. Most are actually smooth R&B vocals. No matter, this is a great CD. You may not know all the songs by title, however you will recognize them when you hear the CD. Almost worth the price of admission is the inclusion of the Al Jarreau/David Sanborn/Bob James version of "Since I Fell For You". Every song is a solid 10, plus this is a definite "Shut Up and Kiss Me" romantic CD.

a good time for romance.just a great gig!

Smooth and easy listeneing. Great music in the car to keep you calm yet alert. I love it!

The had many song that are classic I never get tried of hearing them.

This complilation of music with the various artists on this one CD is great. The choices of the songs in this order seems to flow very smoothly. I recommend the other volumes 1,3 and 4 to complete the set. I have been searching for more in this style but no other can match this Smooth Jazz set. This is a wise investment.

This is typical of the majority of the stuff you find on "Smooth Jazz" radio stations.

The problem I have with this is that most of what's played is *not* original material.

Despite the fact that the artists on this CD produce a *lot* of original material, it's not the stuff that gets played much.

The radio stations go with the "safe" stuff.

It's really too bad, because many of the top artists in this format have great orignal material.

Oh and another thing...

Artists like Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye and Michael McDonald are *not* smooth jazz.

Adult Contemporary, Light Rock and R&B are NOT "smooth jazz".

Well, I suppose they are as far as radio is concerned, but they really don't belong in this category or on smooth jazz radio.

Smooth Jazz gets a bad rap as it is, and crap like this doesn't help any.

*Real* smooth jazz can only be found on smooth jaza stations (Luther, Marvin and Michael can be heard on plenty of other stations with different formats).

Artist such as David Sanborn, Bob James, Fourplay & Earl Klugh (just to name a very few exmples) have TONS of original material.

And that material my friends, is REAL Smooth Jazz!

So then, why bother with this CD? Just tune in to your local smooth jazz station and get all this dullness for free.

I have the entire Best Of Smooth Jazz Collection. The entire set is great, all you need is some chilled wine!