The Essential Kenny G (CD Set)
Sound: B-
Music: C+
Safe. So much
music today lives up to that word and this includes most of the junk radio
stations consider good music. This was
not always this way, but wow, has music become bad. Kenny G’s commercial success was considered unusual in that he
was not a vocalist and had all these hits just because he could play
saxophone. Incredibly, hardly any of
the tracks on the 2 CD Essential Kenny G collection shows him off to
best advantage, playing restrictive works instead that are just too safe.
Fine, we do not expect Rock, Punk, Rap or Speed Metal
here, but he manages to render even standards dull and it is fair to say his
hits are the kind that paved the way for the decline of American Music in
profound ways by the safeness he stands for as a sort of brand name. The tracks chosen for this set are as
follows -
Disc 1:
- Songbird
- Sade
- Slip
Of The Tongue
- Don't
Make Me Wait For Love (with Lenny Williams)
- Silhouette
- Against
Doctor's Orders
- What
Does It Take (To Win Your Love; with Ellis Hall)
- Brazil
- Theme
From Dying Young
- We've Saved The Best For Last (with
Smokie Robinson)
- Forever In Love
- Midnight Motion (live)
- By The Time This Night Is Over (with
Peabo Bryson)
- Loving You
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
- Sentimental
Disc 2:
- What
A Wonderful World (played to the original Louis Armstrong classic)
- Morning
- Sister
Rose
- Even
If My Heart Would Break (with Aaron Neville)
- The
Moment
- Summertime
(with intro by George Benson)
- Missing
You Now (with Michael Bolton)
- Pick
Up The Pieces (with David Sanborn)
- My
Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From "Titanic")
- Beautiful (with Chaka Khan)
- Havana
- Going Home
- The Way You Move (with Earth, Wind &
Fire)
- Medley: Deck The Halls/The Twelve Days
Of Christmas
- Auld Lang Syne (The Millennium Mix)
The Robinson and Khan tracks are the best by default,
while the Bolton work is a disaster and playing over the Armstrong classic not
wonderful by any means. Louis Armstrong
does NOT need Kenny G or anyone else to play over his classics and there is
something morbid about that particular cut, though it reflects the “living
dead” feel of many of these tracks. And
what is with having Christmas music all year ‘round? It is like some sickening illness that is like the end result of
the commercialization of the holiday.
Charlie Brown should let them have it!
Obviously, this is meant for fans and like all hits sets,
meant to get new fans to buy the entire catalog. I like David Sanborn, but the cover of the Average White Band
classic Pick Up The Pieces is too lite for its own good, while The
Way You Move plays like an over-decorated Christmas tree. Needless to say, some would find this
somehow “hip” and clever and Kenny G is seemingly sincere about this material,
but most of it is overrated, as is this set.
I expected some revelation, giving it a fair chance. Too bad it met the worst expectations. Get it at your own risk.
The PCM 2.0 16bit/44.1kHz Stereo is strange in the way it
has clarity, yet fine detail and soundstage are flat, something his music and
talents are always criticized for. Songbird
almost sounds on the verge of warping.
Despite the different years and producers, plus changes in audio
recording technology, the homogenous sound is disappointing. This is, as expected, a set for fans only.
- Nicholas Sheffo
