I thought the idea of Benson covering The Beatles' Abbey Road was a can't miss proposition. I thought wrong. The problem here isn't the material (The Beatles!) or performances (Bob James, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, et. al.) - it's that the bland, lugubrious arrangements simply can't be overcome, even by Benson's silky smooth voice or fantastic guitar work. I had heard the version of Here Comes The Sun on The George Benson Collection, so I should have known better. I was hoping for something more along the lines of McLemore Avenue and was disappointed.
Reviews/ratings:
- High Fidelity: "I almost guarantee that this album will delight you."
- Record World: "A gorgeous complement and compliment to the work of the foursome."
- Downbeat (★★★½): "There are a lot of nice things on this smooth pop album"
- Billboard: "an extremely hasty set that should draw lots of attention."
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
Album chart peaks*:
- US Billboard Top 200: #125
- Billboard Jazz: #28
- Record World Jazz: #19
*the album did not chart upon release in 1970. Following the massive success of Benson's Breezin' album in 1976, A&M promoted The Other Side Of Abbey Road (the above ad is from a 1976 publication) and the album hit the chart peaks during that year.
Tracks: There's only 5 tracks (including 4 medleys) lasting a mere 32 minutes. Unfortunately, this stuff really isn't my thing.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
Givin' It Up (2006)
Best Of: The Instrumentals (1997)
20/20 (1985)
The George Benson Collection (1981)
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