BROOK BENTON
''TODAY''
1970
38:16
1 Rainy Night In Georgia (Tony Joe White) 03:48
2 My Way (J. Rivaux, C. François, P. Anka) 05:37
3 Life Has Its Ups And Downs (Margaret Ann Rich) 03:50
4 Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio) 02:47
5 We're Gonna Make It (Billy Davis, Carl Smith, Gene Barge, Raynard Minor 02:07
6 A Little Bit Of Soap (Bert Russel) 03:59
7 Baby (Brook Benton) 04:36
8 Where Do I Go From Here (Brook Benton, James Shaw) 03:13
9 Desertion (Dorian Burton, Herman Kelly) 04:30
10 I've Gotta Be Me (Walter Marks) 03:42
Brook Benton/Vocals
The Sweet Inspirations/Backing Vocals
Harold Cowart/Bass Guitar
Tubby Ziegler/Drums
Cornell Dupree/Guitar
Jimmy O'Rourke/Guitar
Billy Carter/Organ
Dave Crawford/Piano
Arif Mardin/Arranger, Producer
Cissy Houston/Vocals (Obbligatos)
REVIEW
by Tim Sendra / AMG
Brook Benton had one of his best years in 1970. "Rainy Night in Georgia" was a smash, reaching the top of quite a few charts, and he released two very strong albums for Atlantic offshoot Cotillion. Today was produced by Arif Mardin and recorded in Miami and New York, but it has a very deep Southern feel. Benton croons, cajoles, and emotes his way through some wonderful songs, taking the R&B classic "A Little Bit of Soap" at half-speed and wringing every last bit of soul from it, using every trick he could find on the heartbreaking "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" and waltzing breezily through his own lightweight but heavy "Where Do We Go From Here?" He makes songs work that shouldn't: he turns "My Way" into a laid-back tour de force, melts the speakers on the usually schmaltzy "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and whispers through a powerful version of "I've Gotta Be Me." Most singers would have sunk under the weight of such white-bread selections, but Benton makes them his personal property. And of course there is "Rainy Night in Georgia," which deserves every accolade it gets, because it truly is a soul classic. It certainly makes this an album worth hearing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Bill Dahl / AMG
Silky smooth: that was Brook Benton's byword from his first record to his very last, as the singer parlayed his rich baritone pipes into seven number one R&B hits and eight Top Ten items. Stints on the gospel circuit preceded Benton's first secular session for Okeh in 1953, but his career didn't begin to take off until he teamed with writer/producer Clyde Otis. Benton co-wrote and sang hundreds of demos for other artists before frequent collaborator Otis signed his friend to Mercury; together they pioneered a lush, violin-studded variation on the standard R&B sound, which beautifully showcased Benton's intimate vocals.
Benton crashed the top spot on the R&B charts in early 1959 with his moving "It's Just a Matter of Time," then rapidly encored with three more R&B chart-toppers: "Thank You Pretty Baby," "So Many Ways," and "Kiddio." Pairing with Mercury labelmate Dinah Washington, their delightful repartee on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way" paced the R&B lists in 1960.
The early '60s were a prolific period for Benton, but he left Mercury a few years later and bounced between labels before reemerging with the atmospheric Tony Joe White ballad "Rainy Night in Georgia" on Cotillion in 1970. Benton later made a halfhearted attempt to cash in on the disco craze, but his hitmaking reign was at an end long before his death in 1988.
TO THE TOP
2 My Way (J. Rivaux, C. François, P. Anka) 05:37
3 Life Has Its Ups And Downs (Margaret Ann Rich) 03:50
4 Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio) 02:47
5 We're Gonna Make It (Billy Davis, Carl Smith, Gene Barge, Raynard Minor 02:07
6 A Little Bit Of Soap (Bert Russel) 03:59
7 Baby (Brook Benton) 04:36
8 Where Do I Go From Here (Brook Benton, James Shaw) 03:13
9 Desertion (Dorian Burton, Herman Kelly) 04:30
10 I've Gotta Be Me (Walter Marks) 03:42
Brook Benton/Vocals
The Sweet Inspirations/Backing Vocals
Harold Cowart/Bass Guitar
Tubby Ziegler/Drums
Cornell Dupree/Guitar
Jimmy O'Rourke/Guitar
Billy Carter/Organ
Dave Crawford/Piano
Arif Mardin/Arranger, Producer
Cissy Houston/Vocals (Obbligatos)
REVIEW
by Tim Sendra / AMG
Brook Benton had one of his best years in 1970. "Rainy Night in Georgia" was a smash, reaching the top of quite a few charts, and he released two very strong albums for Atlantic offshoot Cotillion. Today was produced by Arif Mardin and recorded in Miami and New York, but it has a very deep Southern feel. Benton croons, cajoles, and emotes his way through some wonderful songs, taking the R&B classic "A Little Bit of Soap" at half-speed and wringing every last bit of soul from it, using every trick he could find on the heartbreaking "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" and waltzing breezily through his own lightweight but heavy "Where Do We Go From Here?" He makes songs work that shouldn't: he turns "My Way" into a laid-back tour de force, melts the speakers on the usually schmaltzy "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and whispers through a powerful version of "I've Gotta Be Me." Most singers would have sunk under the weight of such white-bread selections, but Benton makes them his personal property. And of course there is "Rainy Night in Georgia," which deserves every accolade it gets, because it truly is a soul classic. It certainly makes this an album worth hearing.
BIOGRAPHY
by Bill Dahl / AMG
Silky smooth: that was Brook Benton's byword from his first record to his very last, as the singer parlayed his rich baritone pipes into seven number one R&B hits and eight Top Ten items. Stints on the gospel circuit preceded Benton's first secular session for Okeh in 1953, but his career didn't begin to take off until he teamed with writer/producer Clyde Otis. Benton co-wrote and sang hundreds of demos for other artists before frequent collaborator Otis signed his friend to Mercury; together they pioneered a lush, violin-studded variation on the standard R&B sound, which beautifully showcased Benton's intimate vocals.
Benton crashed the top spot on the R&B charts in early 1959 with his moving "It's Just a Matter of Time," then rapidly encored with three more R&B chart-toppers: "Thank You Pretty Baby," "So Many Ways," and "Kiddio." Pairing with Mercury labelmate Dinah Washington, their delightful repartee on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way" paced the R&B lists in 1960.
The early '60s were a prolific period for Benton, but he left Mercury a few years later and bounced between labels before reemerging with the atmospheric Tony Joe White ballad "Rainy Night in Georgia" on Cotillion in 1970. Benton later made a halfhearted attempt to cash in on the disco craze, but his hitmaking reign was at an end long before his death in 1988.
TO THE TOP
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