Let’s see if we can select the ingredients for the perfect 1980s soul album. First, it must have some incredible musicians. For keyboards, could you get better than Herbie Hancock? Or Greg Phillinganes? Or George Duke? Guitars – surely George Benson? Lee Ritenour perhaps? Bass – there can be few more impressive than Abraham Laboriel. Percussion? Easy: Paulinho Da Costa. Backing vocals, how about Patti Austin? Let’s throw Jocelyn Brown into the mix too. Writers? We waxed lyrical last month about Rod Temperton, arguably the most prolific and successful soul writer of the early 80s, so he is a must. To make it better still, let’s add in some saxes, flutes and horns; and some strings, arranged by Marty Paich, who has worked with the likes of Mel Tormé and Ella Fitzgerald. And who would you get to produce it? Quincy Jones, naturally.
This line-up is no fantasy. All of the above formed just part of the incredible team standing behind George Benson at the mic (accompanied by Patti Austin on a couple of tracks) on the definitive LP, Give Me The Night.
Give Me The Night was released in 1980, and this was an important time for soul music. At the tail end of the disco years a unique, fully-formed sound was starting to catch on with the British and American public. The new decade saw the birth of 80s soul, and this album represents everything that was great about the genre. It also highlights how much is missing in many of today’s mainstream recordings.
Let’s take a closer look at what we have here. In lead singer George Benson, we essentially get a jazz guitarist who also happens to have a truly amazing voice. Until this album, George’s bigger successes had come with a guitar in his hand, rather than a microphone. Sure, he had recorded some great soul vocals by this time – these don’t get much better than Love Ballad, and George’s Greatest Love Of All was great long before Whitney recorded it. But Benson was known as a jazz man, who by 1980 had some 20 or albums under his belt. He was also the guitarist of choice for so many, not least of all for Stevie Wonder on his iconic Songs in the Key of Life.
He is not the only one with roots in jazz. Bassist Abraham Laboriel played with a host of jazz greats, including Sarah Vaughan. Ella Fitzgerald and Donald Fagen. He surely represents bass royalty. Herbie Hancock’s jazz heritage speaks for itself, as does George Duke’s. Lee Ritenour is another out-and-out jazz musician. It’s his guitar providing the backing track on Tom Browne’s Funkin’ For Jamaica. He is also the “R” in the GRP record label, responsible for so many great recordings.
Greg Phillinganes may have a reputation as a session artist but a quick look at his resume and there is no one better qualified for a soul album. It is Greg on keyboards on Songs in the Key of Life; on Donald Fagen’s Nightfly; on Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Thriller and many more. And as for Paulinho Da Costa, we wonder if the man ever had a day off since he appears as percussionist on just about every decent soul album ever made.
All of these musicians (and a few more), together with some legendary backing vocalists, provided the backdrop for George (and Patti) to sing some of the most melodic and tuneful soul music ever to be made. If you wrap up all these great artists in songs written by Rod Temperton and tie them with a Quincy Jones bow, you should expect something very special. Which is precisely what we have here.
The public simply loved this album. The title track and Love X Love both made the UK Top Ten. State-side, the album made it to number one in the Billboard soul album charts. Incredibly, it also made number one in the Billboard jazz album charts too. But the real surprise is perhaps that it went as high as number three on the Billboard pop album charts. If you made a really good album back then, people would buy it, irrespective of its genre. In contrast, some 30 years later, George’s truly excellent release Songs and Stories, with a similar mix of jazz and soul to the Give Me the Night LP – and, rather incredibly, featuring most of the original Give Me The Night line-up – also made it to number 1 in the jazz charts. But in the (now named) R&B charts it only made it to 15, and in the main pop charts (the Billboard 200) it didn’t feature at all. My, how times change.
It’s nearly impossible to pick stand-out cuts from an album as good as this. It opens with the distinctive two taps on the drum of Love X Love, before we are treated to George’s guitar and then his sweet vocals. Rod Temperton was the man responsible for this gem of a song. Again, the clever use of a string arrangement adds luxury to this soul stepper. It is so incredibly well arranged, the backing vocals blended to perfection, just a touch of horns when needed and all the rhythm and vocals being sorted out by Rod himself. It builds up to a solo which allows George’s superb guitar playing to shine, but the vocals keep their momentum too – the only downside is that it all fades-out just shy of 5 minutes. Has there ever been a better put together track than this?
Off Broadway keeps the jazz fans happy. So good was this tune that it picked up the Grammy Award in 1981 for Best R&B Instrumental. Again, John Robinson kicks off with a few drum beats, but no vocals this time save for a bit of scat from George. What we get is an indication of where jazz funk was going in 1980, there is so much happening in this track and it is all truly brilliant. Again, we get a smattering of strings and horns which leaves you in no doubt that it yet another Rod-song.
Moody’s Mood isn’t though, this one is James Moody’s meandering 1967 ballad that George sings to and with Patti Austin. The lightest of keyboard arrangements is a real contrast to the two Rod Temperton tracks that it follows, but we are still treated to a warm, string underscore. Any doubts about George’s abilities as a vocalist were put to rest as he picked up yet another Grammy for this one (for Best Jazz Vocal Performance).
And then we get to the title track, and Rod is back doing what he does best. This tune has perhaps one of the most recognisable introductions ever. The bass-line is pure 80s soul, this is a floor-filler that contains so much more than the millions who purchased it probably realised at the time. It’s really worth listening carefully to this through top quality hi-fi gear and exploring all that is going on within this master-track. The backing vocals combined with the strings are nothing short of haunting, and the quality is very reminiscent of Quincy Jones’s earlier release Razzmatazz, which features many of the stellar cast from this track. Even the hand claps towards the end are perfect! If this was a purple patch for soul music, this one was perhaps the hazelnut in caramel of its time. Truly sensational, and another well deserved Grammy Award, this time for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance.
For What’s On Your Mind, Rod hands over the rhythm and vocal arrangement duties to Quincy. George explores the upper range of his vocal registry for this magical tune, and almost ends up in Phillip Bailey territory. As the track progresses, the vocals get stronger and it’s a powerful tune that is perhaps unfairly overlooked by the better known Benson songs. Budding vocalists should take note at the scat at the end of this track, this is how to ad-lib your way through a tune’s vocals.
Dinorah Dinorah is a simple but catchy, up-tempo instrumental which blends the keyboards, guitarists and backing harmonies to optimum effect. And it scooped yet another Grammy for the LP – this time going to Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Love Dance provides another sensational, sensitive, modern lullaby. A perfect down-tempo contrast to the up-beat Dinorah Dinorah. These two tracks are no stocking fillers, and both stand up as strong tunes in their own right. There are simply no tracks on this album that are short of sensational.
We expressed our appreciation of Star of A Story (X) in last month’s showcase, and this time the Rod Temperton track gets the full Quincy Jones treatment as he pulls out all of the production stops. We still don’t know what the story is, though, or who/what “(X)” is. The introduction is perhaps even more mystifying than on the Heatwave version, and as you would expect, it really benefits from Herbie Hancock’s mastery on keyboards.
It’s worth listening closely to the cautionary tale which leads us towards the end of the album, Midnight Love Affair. This should warn anyone off from entering into an illicit encounter! But there is nothing sordid at all about this tune, which sees one of the most beautiful LPs ever serve up another World-class performance.
The album finishes with the sensuous Turn Out The Lamplight, keeping the nocturnal theme flowing right to the end. Another lovely, sleepy Rod Temperton lullaby – again with superlative lyrics – it is the perfect way to bring to close the story of Give Me The Night.
It must have been tempting for George to hang up his plectrum at this point and never record another album, as how do you top perfection such as this? But the true greats continue to work harder to become even greater. George followed up this album with the equally sensational In Your Eyes, but it took some three years before the next release. It was well worth the wait. In Your Eyes featured a vastly different cast: no Rodney; no Quincy; no Paulinho even. But George’s Midas touch meant that another full line-up of giants of soul and jazz, which this time included Chaka Khan, Marcus Miller and James Ingram, all ensured the follow-up contained precisely the same feel-good factor. It was another superlative album with absolutely no duff tracks whatsoever. The achievement was the musical equivalent of winning two Nobel Peace prizes back-to-back. We think he achieved similar great things with 20/20, also.
This is an album which has lasted the test of time, and proves that a proper soul LP deserves to be revered in the same way as its rock and pop cousins. Rolling Stone recently released its top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Soul and jazz are by no means completely overlooked, with Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On at number 6 and Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue at number 12. But, despite the fact that the Give Me The Night LP was being played everywhere in 1980, is a multiple Grammy Award winner and many of its tracks are now firmly embedded in mainstream radio’s playlists, this LP doesn’t feature at all in the admittedly very subjective Rolling Stone chart (in fact, there is no place for a solo Benson anywhere – tsk, tsk). Is Radio, by LL Cool J, really a better LP than this one? It seems those in the music business these days are much more motivated by factors other than quality, popularity and feel-good factor – all of which Give Me The Night has in abundance. In our own chart of best albums ever made, this one would be a firm, top ten entry.
Give Me The Night is the is the Showcase LP of the week on Soul A.M. which airs live at 10am on Sunday, 13 April 2013. So good is this album that whichever three tracks The Master J selects, he cannot fail to have picked quite possibly the three very best ones.
Radiocafe
April 2013
www.soulam.co.uk
www.tongueandgrooveradio.com: Soul A.M. with The Master J every Sunday Morning at 10am
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SHOWCASE FACTFILE:
Give Me The Night – George Benson
Year: 1980
Label: Warner
Tracks:
Side A
1. Love X Love – 4:45
2. Off Broadway – 5:23
3. Moody’s Mood – 3:24
4. Give Me the Night – 5:01
5. What’s On Your Mind – 4:02
Side B
1. Dinorah, Dinorah – 3:39
2. Love Dance – 3:18
3. Star of a Story (X) – 4:42
4. Midnight Love Affair – 3:31
5. Turn Out the Lamplight – 4:43
Credits:
Lead vocals – George Benson, Patti Austin
Backing Vocals – Patti Austin Jim Gilstrap, Diva Gray, Jocelyn Allen
Guitar - George Benson
Guitar - Lee Ritenour
Electric Piano – Herbie Hancock,
Synthesizer – Richard Tee
Synthesizer, Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano – Clare Fischer
Synthesizer – Michael Boddicker
Keyboards, Synthesizer – George Duke
Bass – Louis Johnson, Abe Laboriel
Drums – Carlos Vega, John Robinson
Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa
Trumpet – Jerry Hey
Saxophone, Flute – Jerry Hey
String arrangments – Jerry Hey, Marty Paich
Producer – Quincy Jones
Recorded and mixed by – Bruce Swedien
Art direction – Richard Seireeni
Studios:
Recorded in 1980 at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California and at Cherokee Recording Studios, Hollywood, California
