Standing Together
Benson again strikes a balance between pop grooves, accessible vocal numbers, and his signature guitar work. As before, helping to achieve the concept are executive producer Tommy LiPuma and studio mainstay Ricky Peterson, who plays keyboard and a variety of other roles. --Jazz TimesHaving achieved monstrous success as both a pop vocalist and as an electric guitarist, the legendary Benson now spends most of his albums switching back and forth between crooning over easy soul grooves and gracefully invoking the spirit of Wes Montgomery, the forerunner of his snappy "Breezin'" six-string style. Somewhere in the middle of these two modes, Benson finds his most distinctive voice as an inventive scat vocalist. Benson scats effectively here over brisk guitar licks on the best tracks, the retro-funky, densely percussive "Cruise Control" and the seductive Latin waltz, "Poquito Spanish, Poquito Funk." Smooth-jazz superproducer Paul Brown adds two clever touches to this latter track: brief symphonic washes and a soaring chant vocal behind the scat. The subtle sense of soul Brown has given to a large handful of smooth-jazz stars comes across best on the hooky "Fly by Night," which sounds like a great Boney James tune only with Benson's guitar in the lead. The set is bookended by the gentler guitar meditations, "C-Smooth" and "Keep Rollin'," which are likable enough. Between these cuts, however, Benson plays it pretty safe, functioning mostly as a lead vocalist on fluffy, easygoing romances he didn't write, like the title track and "Back to Love." "All I Know" is a far cry from "On Broadway," but, as on that classic song, Benson mixes a passionate lead vocal with the scat interludes we never quite get tired of.--- JAZZIZ MagazineCopyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.--From Jazziz