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Music : In Flight
Rating: 
- Benson bends over backwards
I take the cynical view: After the comparatively phenomenal success of the previous year's "Breezin'", I believe Benson and the people behind him figured they'd cash by giving the people even more of what they'd concluded they wanted. And let's be honest; although the instrumental title track of that album was all over the radio too, it was the vocal track "This Masquerade" that was the real big hit. A Grammy winner, no less.
So this time, Benson goes for not just one vocal track, not just two, not three but a whole FOUR! - "Nature Boy", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Gonna Love You More" and "Everything Must Change" - launching the album (and his career) fully into pop territory. The balance felt all wrong and I heard that a lot of long-established fans went running.
Benson probably drew in some new ones though and in fairness, "Nature Boy" is a brilliant track; the album probably went double platinum on the strength of that song alone. It's pure soul and it's on this track and on this album that he starts to emphasise his trademark - scatting along to his guitar improvisations. Of the other vocal tracks, "The World Is A Ghetto" is my favourite and while the other two are okay, they are nothing really special. The man is a fantastic singer though, it has to be said.
When it comes to the two instrumental tracks, Benson pays homage to his spiritual mentor Donny Hathaway by doing an interesting cover of "Valdez In The Country" (which Hathaway wrote) and Ronnie Foster-penned "The Wind And I" is again, pleasant enough. But this is not 'real' jazz and it's not Benson at his best either. The album's saving grace in the end, is the brilliant contribution by the session band: Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar, Ronnie Foster on electric piano & mini-moog, Jorge Dalto on clavinet & acoustic piano, Stanley Banks on bass, Harvey Mason on drums and Ralph MacDondald on percussion. Also playing a huge part in elevating this album are Tommy LiPuma's excellent production and Claus Ogerman's lush orchestration. Collectively, everyone involved succeeds in elevating the album to something really special and definitely worth having in spite of its weaknesses. Put it this way: if you take the view that this is a soul/r&b album with jazz influences then it's a five star album all the way.
But, if like me, you view it as a jazz album by a jazz artiste that is bending over a bit too far backwards to appease the masses, then it falls short. Four stars is the best I can do.
Rating:
- timeless
Bought it on Vinyl and it was cool in '77. Nearly 30 years later on CD and I still know the words. Life is a Getto is a timless track and nothing, nothing compares with the Nature Boy track pure class. Benson is a class act and priceless...
Rating: - Sophisticated and musical
Benson's 1976 album 'Breezin'' saw him put his jazz guitar into a pop context to enormous success. 1977s' 'In Flight' continues what 'Breezin'' started (including using the same band and producer) and is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of his crossover career (before he became too pop).
The overall feeling is one of mellow jazz-funk (a term which nowadays evokes one of two responses in most people: either laughing loudly or vomiting profusely) but remember that this is before jazz-funk became the fairlight synthesiser and chorused guitar led pap of the 80s or the overtly derivative funk-pop of 90s groups like Incognito.
The opener, Nat 'King' Cole's 'Nature Boy' is taken into entirely new territory sporting a wonderful vocal, seductive clavinet-based groove and a brilliant rhodes solo.
'The Wind and I' and 'Valdez in the Country' are both instrumentals (the latter being, in my opinion, a big improvement over the Hathaway original).
WAR's 'The World is a Ghetto' is the centrepiece of the album at nearly ten minutes long and features some incredible playing from all concerned (Harvey Mason on drums must get a mention here).
It would not be stretching the ear-magination too far to describe 'Gonna Love You More' as a 'Breezin'' with lyrics and the final track is a laid-back ballad a la 'This Masquerade' except with fairly meaningless lyrics. It has a pleasant enough tune and ends the album well, if somewhat schmaltzily.
Anyone into soul or sophisticated, instrumental-based pop should definitely check this album out, not least because Benson's singing is absolutely superb (think Donny Hathaway without the melancholy) with plenty of his characteristic scatting (which has never been better) but the musicianship throughout is exemplary, especially considering the constraints of the style intended.
- Benson bends over backwardsI take the cynical view: After the comparatively phenomenal success of the previous year's "Breezin'", I believe Benson and the people behind him figured they'd cash by giving the people even more of what they'd concluded they wanted. And let's be honest; although the instrumental title track of that album was all over the radio too, it was the vocal track "This Masquerade" that was the real big hit. A Grammy winner, no less.
So this time, Benson goes for not just one vocal track, not just two, not three but a whole FOUR! - "Nature Boy", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Gonna Love You More" and "Everything Must Change" - launching the album (and his career) fully into pop territory. The balance felt all wrong and I heard that a lot of long-established fans went running.
Benson probably drew in some new ones though and in fairness, "Nature Boy" is a brilliant track; the album probably went double platinum on the strength of that song alone. It's pure soul and it's on this track and on this album that he starts to emphasise his trademark - scatting along to his guitar improvisations. Of the other vocal tracks, "The World Is A Ghetto" is my favourite and while the other two are okay, they are nothing really special. The man is a fantastic singer though, it has to be said.
When it comes to the two instrumental tracks, Benson pays homage to his spiritual mentor Donny Hathaway by doing an interesting cover of "Valdez In The Country" (which Hathaway wrote) and Ronnie Foster-penned "The Wind And I" is again, pleasant enough. But this is not 'real' jazz and it's not Benson at his best either. The album's saving grace in the end, is the brilliant contribution by the session band: Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar, Ronnie Foster on electric piano & mini-moog, Jorge Dalto on clavinet & acoustic piano, Stanley Banks on bass, Harvey Mason on drums and Ralph MacDondald on percussion. Also playing a huge part in elevating this album are Tommy LiPuma's excellent production and Claus Ogerman's lush orchestration. Collectively, everyone involved succeeds in elevating the album to something really special and definitely worth having in spite of its weaknesses. Put it this way: if you take the view that this is a soul/r&b album with jazz influences then it's a five star album all the way.
But, if like me, you view it as a jazz album by a jazz artiste that is bending over a bit too far backwards to appease the masses, then it falls short. Four stars is the best I can do.
Rating:
- timelessBought it on Vinyl and it was cool in '77. Nearly 30 years later on CD and I still know the words. Life is a Getto is a timless track and nothing, nothing compares with the Nature Boy track pure class. Benson is a class act and priceless...
Rating:
- Sophisticated and musicalBenson's 1976 album 'Breezin'' saw him put his jazz guitar into a pop context to enormous success. 1977s' 'In Flight' continues what 'Breezin'' started (including using the same band and producer) and is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of his crossover career (before he became too pop).
The overall feeling is one of mellow jazz-funk (a term which nowadays evokes one of two responses in most people: either laughing loudly or vomiting profusely) but remember that this is before jazz-funk became the fairlight synthesiser and chorused guitar led pap of the 80s or the overtly derivative funk-pop of 90s groups like Incognito.
The opener, Nat 'King' Cole's 'Nature Boy' is taken into entirely new territory sporting a wonderful vocal, seductive clavinet-based groove and a brilliant rhodes solo.
'The Wind and I' and 'Valdez in the Country' are both instrumentals (the latter being, in my opinion, a big improvement over the Hathaway original).
WAR's 'The World is a Ghetto' is the centrepiece of the album at nearly ten minutes long and features some incredible playing from all concerned (Harvey Mason on drums must get a mention here).
It would not be stretching the ear-magination too far to describe 'Gonna Love You More' as a 'Breezin'' with lyrics and the final track is a laid-back ballad a la 'This Masquerade' except with fairly meaningless lyrics. It has a pleasant enough tune and ends the album well, if somewhat schmaltzily.
Anyone into soul or sophisticated, instrumental-based pop should definitely check this album out, not least because Benson's singing is absolutely superb (think Donny Hathaway without the melancholy) with plenty of his characteristic scatting (which has never been better) but the musicianship throughout is exemplary, especially considering the constraints of the style intended.