CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Jazz (Guitar)      

2 LP on 1 CD

## 1 - 11. 'Tell It Like It Is', A&M, (3*), 1969

Trying to shake things up, producer Creed Taylor brought in arranger Marty Sheller from Mongo Santamaria's Afro-Cuban band, reduced the sizes of the servings (no track is longer than 3:45), cranked up the decibels to a raucous level, and presented Benson in what he hoped would be a radio-friendly setting. The wonder is that Benson manages to transcend the blasting Latin-percussion-spiced production, the tight time limits, and all with often brilliantly tasty guitar fills and brief solos in many styles and three reverb-heavy vocals. The most attractive - and most frustrating - track is Eumir Deodato's lovely "Jackie, All;" George states the tune twice and just as he starts a beautiful solo, the faders go down at the 2:15 mark! Damn. Worth hearing despite the long production knives. — Richard S. Ginell

## 12 - 17. 'In Flight', Warner, (3*), 1976

In the wake of "This Masquerade," and the balance of power now shifts for the first time toward Benson's suddenly marketable voice; four of the six tracks are vocals. By this time, Benson was tailoring his tenor toward soulful pitch-bending a la Stevie Wonder on tunes as diverse as "Nature Boy" and "The World Is A Ghetto," and the unison scatting with the guitar that caught fire with the public on "Masquerade" is now pulled out whenever possible. Benson's backing band from Breezin', still set in its funk mode, is intact, and Claus Ogerman again contributes gentle orchestral cushions. The two instrumentals, particularly Donny Hathaway's "Valdez In The Country," prove that Benson remained a brilliantly inventive melodist on guitar, in full possession of his powers. Yet there is every indication here that Benson was set upon becoming primarily a pop star. — Richard S. Ginell