Brook Benton - The Platinum Collection (2007)

Brook Benton was already a veteran hitmaker with ten years of record making behind him when he signed with Atlantic Records in 1969 (who for some reason chose to release his material through their Cotillion subsidiary rather than the main label). However, if Benton wasn't a soul man in the manner of Atlantic's best-known acts of the day, with producer Arif Mardin behind the controls for his most memorable sessions, the singer developed a new lease on musical life at the label. Benton's rich, smooth baritone voice added a touch of class to the Southern-accented pop-soul of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" without robbing them of their emotional honesty and force, and he could sing anything from Charlie Rich's classic meditation on marriage "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" to the overwrought excess of "My Way" and make it sound true and heartfelt. Benton recorded for several different labels during his long career, and The Platinum Collection focuses strictly on this Cotillion material rather than striving for a career-inclusive anthology, but given how good Benton's work was during this period, that's not a crippling flaw; as fine as Benton's Mercury and RCA releases often were, he was rarely better served on record than he was at Cotillion, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of his 1969-1971 work that's a worthy purchase for both committed fans and novice listeners. ~ Mark Deming