Essential George
George Benson/George Duke
The Essential George Benson/The Essential George Duke
(Columbia/Legacy)
Columbia/Legacy’s “Essential” series has been taking the easy way out lately, instead of distilling the essence, hard choices are not made and two-disc sets have become the norm. A pair of Georges, jazz great Benson and lite-funk pioneer Duke, test the new boundaries.
The latest compilation of master guitarist Benson takes glimpses into all the stages of his career, no matter the record label, and offers a different take than Rhino’s Anthology from six years ago. And for his versatility — instrumentally and stylistically — two discs are imperative. While Benson has slowed to decent-album-every-10-years pace, his fearless technique never waned, whether in jazz, R&B, blues, or whatever else came naturally. His cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” might be here for its familiarity than its proficiency, but a live version of “Summertime” shows some of the rougher edges of his singing voice otherwise obscured by careful studio technicians. The allure of the early work (“Shadow Dancers,” “A Foggy Day,” Jack McDuff’s “Rock Candy”) justifies this collection at any cost. Or length.
The way Stevie Wonder’s career turned in the ’80s, you’d be forgiven for believing “Sir Duke” was about this guy. A campy, yet unholy cross of Prince, The Bee Gees, disco, and occasionally Kenny Loggins, there might be other “true” ’70s sounds, but none moreso than Duke. He transformed from a jazz piano up and comer to a pop producer in the early half of the decade, and poured out session after session of what barely passes for elevator music today. Employee training videos, TV pilots, porno, and flutists all owe Duke a huge debt, though somewhere along the line the American public ended up paying for it. Two discs actually are appropriate, to simulate how massively repressive his output was.
— Steve Forstneger
