Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

George Benson - The Other Side Of Abbey Road (1970)


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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