George Benson
rebels against the machine and comes out with an all-instrumental album, his first in 11 years and also his first full teaming with onetime protege, acoustic guitarist
Earl Klugh
.
Klugh
sounds much more mature and forthcoming here than he did as a teenager in
Benson
's
CTI
days. Yet
still blows him away with his effortless swing, endless invention (within the constraints of the carefully controlled arrangements, however) and totally assured placement of the notes.
"Mimosa"
has some especially fluid work by
, with
serving as an effective foil. The backing is mostly an
electronic
wash, though underpinned by solid
funk
support from former
bandmembers
Harvey Mason
and
Paulinho Da Costa
. The biggest hang-up are the so-so tunes, which both guitarists gratefully transcend whenever they solo. While
Collaboration
disappointed many guitar fans back in 1987 who were hoping for a more energetic session, time has underlined and strengthened its musical virtues. ~ Richard S. Ginell