The Average White Band

Benny and Us celebrates two distinctly different acts at interesting career junctures. AWB had just come off of the moody classic Soul Searching, and King's last album release, 1976's I Had a Love, came and went. Benny and Us benefited both acts as AWB gave King camaraderie and skilled backing; King gave them a context -- something they needed at this point. Ned Doheny's "Get It Up for Love" is a great mix of King's methodical delivery and the band's effortless, glossy yet earthy sound. "Star in the Ghetto" has skilled horn and string arrangements by album producer Arif Mardin and features emotive backing vocals from Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie. The best track, the relentless and funky "The Message," has Gorrie's high-pitched, popping basslines and Stephen Ferrone's great drum kicks providing a great counterpoint to King's stiff vocals. This effort has its fair share of remakes and revamps. King's 1967 hit, "What Is Soul," gets a Tower of Power-styled production. More notable tracks, Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" and John Lennon's "Imagine," merge into one another and have good and surprisingly felt performances from King. For the last track, the group does a remake of the AWB classic "Keepin' to Myself." Although King can't attain Gorrie's laid-back proficiency on the original, it's fun to hear Ferrone play on a track so identified with late drummer Robbie McIntosh, who had played with King. Although Benny and Us wasn't a huge commercial success, fans of both King and AWB will be pleased with the work here. ~ Jason Elias, All Music Guide