🎷 AotW: CTI George Benson - TELL IT LIKE IT IS (SP-3020)

[Captain Bacardi]

George Benson
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
A&M/CTi SP-3020

Released 1969
Peaked at #16 on Jazz Charts (1969), #145 on Pop Charts (1969)

Format: Vinyl/Reel-to-Reel/8-Track/CD

Produced by Creed Taylor

Songs:

• 1. Soul Limbo (Jones/Cropper/Dunn/Jackson) - 3:25
  2. Are You Happy? (Gamble/Bell/Butler) - 2:27
  3. Tell It Like It Is (Davis/Diamond) - 2:51
  4. Land Of 1000 Dances (Kenner/Fats Domino) - 2:48
  5. Jackie, All (Eumir Deodato) - 2:14
  6. Dontcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya (Rudy Stevenson) - 3:16
  7. Water Brother (Don Sebesky) - 2:09
  8. My Woman's Good To Me (Sherrill/Sutton) - 3:14
  9. Jama Joe (George Benson) - 3:49
  10. My Cherie Amour (Cosby/Wonder/May) - 3:28
  11. Out In The Cold Again (Koehler/Bloom) - 2:41
  
  Arranged and Conducted by Marty Sheller

Musicians:
George Benson - Guitar, Vocals
Richard Tee - Piano
Rodgers Grant - Piano (6, 7, 9)
Bob Bushnell - Bass
Jim Felder - Bass (8, 10, 11)
Gerry Jermott - Bass (6, 7, 9)
Leo Morris - Drums
Paul Alicea - Percussion
Angel Allende - Percussion
Johnny Pacheco - Percussion
Lew Soloff - Trumpet
Saxophones: Arthur Clarke, Joe Farrell, Sonny Fortune (alto solos on tracks 6 & 7), Joe Henderson, Hubert Laws, Bob Porcelli (alto solo on track 1), Jerome Richardson
Flute (on Track 5): Jerry Dodgion, Bob Porcelli, Jerome Richardson


Recorded at Van Gelder Studios
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer
Recorded April 29; May 16, 20, 1969

Cover Photograph by Pete Turner
Album Design by Sam Antupit



Capt. Bacardi

 

[William]

This is kind of a "black sheep" for CTi. The arrangements are by Marty Sheller, who was writing a lot of charts for Mongo Santamaria around the same time... and unlike George Benson's collaborations with Sebesky, which usually feautured urbane string quartets and flutes, this album has George supported by raucous percussion, trumpets, and a large saxophone section. It's a slick production, but it's definitely not an album that CTi detractors would refer to as a "smother-it-in-strings affair." (Oddly, the sax section even includes avant-garde star Joe Henderson playing section parts only; I've never seen him do that anywhere else. Guess he needed some extra cash that week...)

"Jackie, All," a moderate bossa nova composed by Deodato, and on which several of the saxophonists switch to flute, is probably the only cut here that's easily identifiable as an A&M/CTi track. Maybe that's why it showed up on an "Audio Master Plus" sampler. Walter Wanderley also recorded the tune on his Moondreams album.

It's easy to tell from the track listing that this album is a very r&b-ish affair -- the repertoire is comprised almost entirely of Motown and Stax hits by the likes of Booker T & The MG's, Wilson Pickett, Aaron Neville, Fifth Dimension, etc. I think they suit George's style, both guitar and vocals, quite nicely.

I don't know if this album, back in 1968, was supposed to cross over from jazz to r&b audiences, or from r&b to jazz listeners.. but for me (in 1999), it was the latter. I had never really cared that much for "soul" singing, tiring easily of the noodling that such singers often do, seemingly unable to decide which note to sing. But George's three vocals on this album ("Out In The Cold Again," "My Woman's Good To Me," and the excellent title track) actually made a convert out of me. Now I'm digging Otis Redding, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, etc... in addition to my older jazzier favorites, such as Chet Baker. So I owe this CD a debt of gratitude for expanding my musical horizons.


- William

 

[jimac51]

This might be a spot to mention Jimmy Scott,especially since RhinoHandmade just re-released a true lost gem,Jimmy's "Falling in Love is Wonderful". Now,Jimmy is one of those "love or hate " type of artists and I love him. I heard him in the mid-'60s on WHAT-FM where Joel Dorn and other DJs would play selections from this infamous album. Jimmy has Kallman's Syndrome which left him with androgynous features and a singing voice in the female range. Hey,for years I thought he was a woman singing in the Nancy Wilson/Carmen McRae mold(in reality,Nancy was influenced by HIS style)-the DJs always referred to him as "Little Jimmy" and I thought it was "Little Ginny". Also,I never saw any of his albums during the vinyl era. A reason for ths was that Ray Charles had recorded "Falling" on his Tangerine label in 1961(Ray plays piano throughout and Oliver Nelson and Marty Paich arranged) and Jimmy's previous label,Savoy, though they weren't recording or promoting him,threatened cease and desist legal action. Other attempts by Joel Dorn to produce Jimmy at Atlantic in the late '60s,though artisically well done,met with little sales. A Doc Pomus memorial concert in 1991 brought Jimmy(courtesy of Dr. John)to Seymour Stein at Sire and,literally,a new artistic lease on life. Jimmy has made a number of fine records this past decade( he currently records on Milestone) and a bio book and documentary are floating around with the availability of "Falling". My copy is not here yet,but after 40 years,I can wait a day or two more. At 77,Jimmy still has something to say,at his own pace. One listen,(his " The Folks Who Live On the Hill" from the Atlantic era is a favorite)and you will know why. Mac

 

[Dave]

The album seems to open with the only listenable track: Soul Limbo, while this is in spite of a few "almost quality tunes" sadly meant to capitalize on "George Benson the Singer"...

Out In The Cold Again, however is one of the good vocal numbers, while Benson is unfortunately too overly sentimental on My Woman's Good To Me... And Tell It Like It Is is the "in-between"...

Among all the horns and Latin-style percussion and heavy Bass Guitar lines is still some pretty guitar work and cuts like Jackie, All, My Cherie Amor and Dontcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya do work, while Water Brother and Are You Happy? kind'a aren't so inspiring while the Funk of Jama Joe and the Party sounds of Land Of 1000 Dances are where George at least tries...

*** -- Three-Stars; Not bad but sort of a disappointing sequel to what was a fairly disappointing debut and just seemed to despite a little growth show only some improvement... The 'all-Beatles Concept LP' of The Other Side Of Abbey Road is really going to be worth the wait as is the delayed/fairly unfinished I Got A Woman (And Some Blues)... This is "almost" where Benson finally arrives and otherwise, "really" began...



Dave

 

[seashorepiano]

Sadly, this is one of the few A&M/CTi albums I don't own (is that a good or bad thing? ). I'd be interested to hear Benson's take of "Jackie, All," a Deodato tune, and compare it to Wanderley's version on Moondreams.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Maybe I'm weird...I always liked this one.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Rudy]

I'd be interested to hear Benson's take of "Jackie, All," a Deodato tune, and compare it to Wanderley's version on Moondreams.

This song is also on the first A&M/CTi sampler, released in 1983. It's a pleasant version, actually.

 

[LPJim]

I find this set enjoyable as well, primarily due to the soulful feel overall and the snappy percussion work. "Soul Limbo" is my favorite cut; "Jackie All" is very mellow.
JB

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I lucked out and found a sealed CD of this album a couple of weeks. It's kind of an unusual album for Benson, especially with the horn section. Benson is another artist I wish would just play and not sing (like that Herb guy). There's some nifty instrumentals on this album, like "Jackie, All", "Dontcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" and "Water Brother". I love the calypso sound of "Soul Limbo". For me the most interesting guitar work is on "Jama Joe". Overall, a pretty nice album. 3 stars.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

OK, "My Woman's Good To Me" is actually a country song, and its writers are none-other than Glen Sutton and famed music producer/entrepreneur/engineer Billy Sherrill...

Thought this song the way Benson sang it, had a sort of a Country bent to it (yeh, I wonder how he got hold of it up at Van Gelder's in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, too) and it has been recorded by the likes of the late-Johnny Duncan and the late-David Houston...

Actually did find lyrics to it, too... At a Country Music Artist Discography & Bio Website under David Houston... http://www.lpdiscography.com/elpe.htm

(Houston also recorded "Tell It Like It Is", which has been recorded in a lot of different contexts and under a lot of different genres, instrumentally and vocally; hard to tell which is definitive, though it makes a good George Benson vehicle--and like Benson, also named the song's album after it, too...)



Dave

 

[JOv2]

This is a straight-ahead pop LP and very disappointing relative to the pop/jazz of The Shape of Things to Come and The Other Side of Abbey Road. After about 3 weeks of trying to like it, I dumped it.

 

[JOv2]

Very disappointing after the exciting Shape of Things to Come. However, it appears this LP, which is pure pop, was intended for a different goal.

I tried hard to like it several years ago. Haven't missed it since and can't remember anything particularly memorable after the musical force-feeding.

 

[seashorepiano]

I agree with JO here. This is a lousy album. When I saw it reissued on CD under the "Verve Originals" series earlier this year, I bought it eagerly, as I don't have it on LP. The cover of "Jackie, All," which is a pretty tune, is the only redeeming element here. 2 stars. This is yet another bizarre addition to the "Originals" lineup, which seems to follow no logical pattern for reissues, unless they're merely following pop charts from back when.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I agree with JO here. This is a lousy album. When I saw it reissued on CD under the "Verve Originals" series earlier this year, I bought it eagerly, as I don't have it on LP. The cover of "Jackie, All," which is a pretty tune, is the only redeeming element here. 2 stars. This is yet another bizarre addition to the "Originals" lineup, which seems to follow no logical pattern for reissues, unless they're merely following pop charts from back when.

All Music Guide notes that just as each track seems to be heading somewhere, down go the faders...and it does sound like none of these songs were allowed to finish. More than half the songs are under 3 minutes.

I've had this one since age 13 and like it, but I wonder if the master tapes would show that these guys actually played on and we just never got to hear the good stuff.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[JOv2]

...This is a lousy album...

--Perhaps if there were some strings on it...

 

[Captain Bacardi]

The one song that I really like on this album is "Jama Joe". The rest of the album is somewhat okay, but not really my thing to listen to.



Capt. Bacardi