"COLLECTION" WEEK (JUNE 4-10, 2012)
Carlton is a famous Grammy award wining LA session guitarist (you've heard his work, trust me), but he also carved out a niche in the '80s as a smooth jazz artist just as the smooth jazz radio format was emerging. His versatile work on both electric and acoustic guitar is technically superb and he has a very recognizable "California" tone with electric guitar. Even though he started a solo career in 1968, this CD chooses music from the years 1978-1989. Music from this disc comes up frequently in my "background music shuffle" at work.
Sadly, two years before this compilation was released, Carlton was the victim of gun violence (click the May, 1989 newspaper article below to enlarge).
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #156 (July 14, 1990)
Tracks: The best track, Smiles And Smiles To Go, is also on a sampler CD I own. It is so popular, I still hear it on smooth jazz stations 25 years after its release. Also, there's a good covers of Sleepwalk and the Doobie Brothers' Minute By Minute, the latter with Michael McDonald on keyboards and Kirk Whalum on saxophone. The rest of the tracks are solid smooth jazz, with the only real misstep being an ill-advised cover of Tequila.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Carlton's 1986 release, Discovery, was one of the first CDs I owned. I don't know if I lost it or sold it, but it's not around here anymore.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Larry & Lee (1995)
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