Brook Benton - Golden Hits Volume 2 (1963/2015)

Registering a string of number one hits as well as several Top Ten singles between 1958 and 1962, Brook Benton used his urbane and animated baritone, plus a command of many styles, to win over a wide spectrum of music fans. And although this second volume of Mercury hits contains R&B and soul cuts like "Hotel Happiness" and "Lie to Me," most the songs here are in a pop vein. In addition to ballads like "Still Waters Run Deep" (reminiscent of some of the Bacharach songs Gene Pitney was concurrently riding the charts with) and "Think Twice," there's even a bit of country-pop heard on strings-and-chorus numbers such as "It's Just a House Without You" and Benton's incredible version of "Fools Rush In." What stands out most, though, are amusing cabaret-style tunes like "Shadrack," "The Boll Weevil Song," and "Hit Record." Benton's deft mixture of singing and spoken narrative (with shades of both Fats Waller and Nat "King" Cole) not only enlivens these otherwise thin novelty pieces, but also nicely complements the fleet-swinging arrangements. And even though Benton would top the charts again with 1970's "Rainy Night in Georgia," these early hits would represent his creative peak -- hits which, along with other smashes like "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Kiddio," can best be heard on Rhino's Endlessly collection or Mercury's 20th Century Masters release.