This Is Brook Benton

Brook Benton recorded almost all of his hits for Mercury Records between 1959 and 1964. He then signed to RCA Victor, apparently with the intention of moving from the singles charts to the LP charts and becoming what they used to call an "all-around entertainer." At least, that's the impression you get from this 20-track, 55-minute compilation of Benton's 1965-1966 recordings for RCA. Backed by a full orchestra, Benton essays a set of pop standards — "Call Me Irresponsible," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," "Unforgettable" — in what seems to be his bid to join the ranks of Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine. (He really pulls out the stops trying to top Cole's definitive reading of "Unforgettable.") Benton acquits himself adequately, but his R&B material is preferable. This set contains only one song from the Benton-Clyde Otis songwriting partnership, the countryish "Mother Nature, Father Time," and, not coincidentally, that's the only singles chart entry to be found here, too.