Back in early May soul and jazz fans in general and GEORGE BENSON aficionados in particular were excited at the news that the great man was about to release a new album. The excitement was tempered a little when it was announced that the album wasn’t actually “new”.
We learned that sometime in the 80s, encouraged by Quincy Jones, Benson recorded an album of pop and songbook standards in London with an 87 piece orchestra led by Robert Farnon. After the final mastering and all the post production stuff the recordings were put aside and never released. Benson and Warner Bros (his label at the time) never ever explained why and the tapes stayed, forgotten, in a New York warehouse for decades.
Now with the full agreement of Mr B, Warner Bros are releasing the album and the May announcement came with the release of the obligatory “taster” single – a jazzy, big band version of Paul Mauriat’s ‘Love Is Blue’. (Soul fans, of course, know and love the Dells’ searing version).
This Benson take is totally different to those two versions. It’s big and beaty and features plenty of jazzy guitar fills alongside George’s now signature scat vocals. Sadly, as far as the rest of the 11 tracker goes, that’s about as exciting as it gets.
The other tracks (things like ‘At Last’, ‘The Autumn Leaves’, ‘My Prayer’ and yet another version of ‘Yesterday’) stay firmly in the middle of the road. The production and arrangements are big and lush and string laden but don’t expect any soulful grooves or jazzy pyrotechnics. However, Benson’s familiar vocals still resound (he was at the top of his game at this period, remember) and from time to time he treats us to some delicate, intricate guitar solos.
The ‘Dreams Do Come True’ album was meant to be released in mid-May, but for some reason it’s only just come out. If you’re a Benson fan, you’ll need to investigate despite the set’s overall MOR vibe.
