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A Monster Sounding Disc from George Benson
CE Pros in search of some quality mainstream jazz to use as part of their system demonstrations can confidently utilize George Benson's "Songs and Stories" album.
On his new album “Songs and Stories,” George Benson tackles jazz, soft rock and R&B without missing a beat.
Just prior to the holiday season Monster Music and the Concord Music Group released the latest recording from the legendary jazz guitar player George Benson.
The new album entitled “Songs and Stories” is available on Monster’s SuperDisc format, which bundles together DTS’ high-resolution audio, along with Dolby Digital and the iPod friendly Dolby Headphone Surround audio format all within a single release.
“Songs and Stories” was produced by John Buck and Marcus Miller, who is one of music’s great bass players, and together they crafted an effort that’s mainstream by jazz standards.
The album features songs written by Bill Withers and Rod Temperton, as well as covers of artists like James Taylor and Tony Joe White, and guest musicians such as Steve Lukather, Lee Ritenour, Lalah Hathaway and David Paich.
I listened to the album’s various mixes and felt that the best version was the surround mix. It was spacious, detailed and I think it best represented the production goals of Miller, Buck and Benson.
As a whole, the production does take some of the organic feel out of the music that some purists may crave. Personally I would have liked to hear more weight and thump in Miller’s bass tone, but considering what the trio were trying to accomplish with this record I think it’s understandable.
Characterizing those production values; it’s a lush, slick recording that comes off as modern and smooth. Benson’s playing is stellar throughout the album. Guitar players will note how he combines some traditional jazz guitar elements like his use of Wes Montgomery-like “octaves” with some tasteful phrases that show how in control he is as a musician tackling a ranging set of songs.
Speaking of the songs, the record is excellent from the first song, “Don’t let me be lonely Tonight,” to the last song, “One like You.”
Highlights of the album for me were the first three songs and the end of the record where he covers “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
Analyzing this album from a CE Pro perspective, I think these songs would work well in a custom installation sales presentation and they should provide electronics professionals with the best content to highlight any audio system, including those tweaky audiophile clients that want to hear high-resolution stereo and well-balanced multichannel content that tastefully utilizes the full capabilities of a surround sound system.
The new album entitled “Songs and Stories” is available on Monster’s SuperDisc format, which bundles together DTS’ high-resolution audio, along with Dolby Digital and the iPod friendly Dolby Headphone Surround audio format all within a single release.
“Songs and Stories” was produced by John Buck and Marcus Miller, who is one of music’s great bass players, and together they crafted an effort that’s mainstream by jazz standards.
The album features songs written by Bill Withers and Rod Temperton, as well as covers of artists like James Taylor and Tony Joe White, and guest musicians such as Steve Lukather, Lee Ritenour, Lalah Hathaway and David Paich.
I listened to the album’s various mixes and felt that the best version was the surround mix. It was spacious, detailed and I think it best represented the production goals of Miller, Buck and Benson.
As a whole, the production does take some of the organic feel out of the music that some purists may crave. Personally I would have liked to hear more weight and thump in Miller’s bass tone, but considering what the trio were trying to accomplish with this record I think it’s understandable.
Characterizing those production values; it’s a lush, slick recording that comes off as modern and smooth. Benson’s playing is stellar throughout the album. Guitar players will note how he combines some traditional jazz guitar elements like his use of Wes Montgomery-like “octaves” with some tasteful phrases that show how in control he is as a musician tackling a ranging set of songs.
Speaking of the songs, the record is excellent from the first song, “Don’t let me be lonely Tonight,” to the last song, “One like You.”
Highlights of the album for me were the first three songs and the end of the record where he covers “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
Analyzing this album from a CE Pro perspective, I think these songs would work well in a custom installation sales presentation and they should provide electronics professionals with the best content to highlight any audio system, including those tweaky audiophile clients that want to hear high-resolution stereo and well-balanced multichannel content that tastefully utilizes the full capabilities of a surround sound system.
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Article Topics
Blogs · Audio · Video · Digital Media · Digital Rights · Home Health · George Benson ·About the Author
Robert Archer, Senior Editor, CE Pro
Bob is an audio enthusiast who has written about consumer electronics for various publications within Massachusetts before joining the staff of CE Pro in 2000. Bob is THX Level I certified, and he's also taken classes from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA). In addition, he's studied guitar and music theory at Sarrin Music Studios in Wakefield, Mass.
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