Very Best Of George Benson, The (The Greatest Hits Of All) - George Benson > Reviews > FREAK OUT OR CHILL OUT!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Value for money; comprehensive; uplifting; music for the soul !
Disadvantages:	Could have been a 2 disc set !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you're starting out as a George Benson fan or just being a completist, this is definitely the compilation to go for!
Perfect for summer days and really uplifting for the winter nights.
I had this album on constant replay when I was revising for my exams this year and judging by my results, something inspired me!

Whether you want to freak out or chill out, this is the album for you. If you were a fan of Michael Jackson's 'Off the wall' or anything Quincy Jones was producing in the late 70s/early 80s (Brothers Johnson, 'Ai No Corrida' etc.) you're bound to love 'Give me the night' or 'Love x Love.'

However, this album has much more to give! The compilation features George's most commercially successful recordings whilst at Warner from the dance-floor disco-edged fillers like 'Give Me The Night,' 'Turn Your Love Around' and 'Lady (Love Me)' to the seminal instrumental 'Breezin.' George is a master of jazz - best encapsulated on 'This Masquerade' and 'Nature Boy.'

The cover versions of 'Nature Boy' and 'On Broadway' have become standards and it is easy to hear why!

George is one of the finest Jazz guitarists around but his vocals are extremely under-rated and transcend genre and age barriers. I'm in my early 20s and the songs on this album are amongst my favourites.

The original versions of 'Nothing's gonna change my love for you' and 'The Greatest Love of All' (covered by Glen Medeiros & Whitney Houston respectively) are undoubtedly the best recordings of the songs you can hear and will totally change your perspective of them. Gone are the 80s power ballads with the 'big' drums to more simple arrangements with vocals that really bring out the goosepimples!

I strongly recommend listening to 'Love Ballad' to hear the best example of George's 'singing guitar' I think has been recorded. How he does that is unbelievable! A really great summer love song.

Love X Love has to be my all-time favourite - one of the best guitar solos and an ultimate chill-out song.

He is really worth seeing live and if you listen to 'On Broadway,' you get a true flavour of what to expect.

The vocals are emotive, the lyrics are infectious, the melodies are beautiful and if you're a fan of 80s soul legends Luther & Alexander, this is definitely for you!