Track Listing

1. Love Times Love
2. Off Broadway
3. Moody's Mood
4. Give Me The Night
5. What's On Your Mind
6. Dinorah Dinorah
7. Love Dance
8. Star Of The Story
9. Midnight Love Affair
10. Turn Out The Lamplight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28442 in Music
• Released on: 1984-04-24
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
This 1980 release, the first on producer Quincy Jones' Quest label, is one of George Benson's best. GIVE ME THE NIGHT is an album packed with one great pop tune after another finding Benson at his vocal best. The hit songs range from "LoveX Love" to "Moody's Mood" to the title track, proving that he can do more than just make his guitar sing.
He sings with versatility and sensitivity, rivaling just about any bigjazz vocalist. Only two of the ten tracks are instrumentals, and those too are excellent pieces where Benson's playing will make even a modern day jazz skeptic take note. This recording features a slew of heavyweights including Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock, Greg Philinganes and Patti Austin. QuincyJones provides rhythm, synthesizer and vocal arrangements for several pieces.

Customer Reviews

Quality
I picked this up in a bargain bin in Singapore, along with Morbid Angel's Domination - 2 real fine, if diametrically opposing, guitar albums. I only knew the title track, but it had Quincy Jones' name as producer, so I bet on there being at last a couple more decent tracks - the whole album holds together real well, mixing jazzy instrumental/vocal tracks with more contemporaneous soul gear. Quality late night stuff...

Classy meeting of jazz and dance music
I don't have much time for music that goes under the banner of disco, soul, etc., but occasionally those genres throw up something that I can't ignore. I've always had a liking for the title track of this album and, knowing that Benson is a renowned jazz performer and that he has some of the best assistance possible here, I took a chance. What a delight. Benson's jazz background shows up regularly, but 'Give Me The Night' is no less accessible an album. It has strong songs, such as 'Star Of The Story', great grooves and classy arrangements, courtesy of Quincy Jones. Perhaps 'Love X Love' is a touch too mild for an opening track, but 'Off Broadway' certainly kicks off. I'm not so sure Benson did anything as good as this 1980 album again. Later songs such as 'In Your Eyes' seem to be more in the smooth, Luther Van Dross mould and do nothing for me. But 'Give Me The Night' is a fine album.

Goosebumps...
Remember where you were when you first heard Give Me The Night? I do, vividly. I was hitch-hiking across the USA in summer, 1980, and got a lift with a restaurant designer who took me from Fort Worth, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona. As we drove across the vast expanse of Texas desert, with only coyotes, cacti, oil donkeys, distant mountains and blue sky for company. The guy played this album, fresh out, all through the journey. And what a revelation it was!

What stands out in my memory was the title track, and in particular the eerie backing vocals: "alright...tonight." To this day, I feel a tingle of excitement down my spine when I hear that track, and the whole album come to that. George Benson takes me back to the wide open spaces of George Bush country!

George himself bears parallels to Nat King Cole. Both were talented musicians who unfortunately possessed seductive voices best suited for the smooth & easy end of soul. And who remembers Nat's jazz piano nowadays? George is a brilliant jazz guitarist, but hardly ever breaks out into improvisation these days - why should he when he can make albums like this so effortlessly!

Why only 4 stars? I never did forgive George for the sloppy and sentimental Moody's Mood. Worse still, Amy Winehouse recorded it, too. Still, everyone makes mistakes!