''Shape of Things to Come'' is the fifth studio album by the American guitarist

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, recorded in 1968 and arranged by

Don Sebesky Don Sebesky (born December 10, 1937) is an American arranger, jazz trombonist, and keyboardist. Biography Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy D ...

. It was his first album for

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

and his first album to be produced by Creed Taylor, who would remain his producer until 1976.

Background

After four years and three different labels, Benson signed with the A&M/CTI label in 1968. He was to be the replacement for their star

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, who had died earlier in the year. For his first album with the label, producer Taylor brought in all of the labels heavyweights, arranger Sebesky, engineer

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

, and guest artists Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter. The album is mostly cover songs from artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin,

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

and Glenn Miller. It also contains a pair of original compositions and some reworkings of movie soundtracks.

Track listing

# "Footin' It" (

) – 4:23 # "Face It Boy, It's Over" (

Andy Badale Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), ''The Straight Sto ...

, Frank Stanton) – 4:05 # " Shape of Things to Come" ( Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) – 5:15 # "

Chattanooga Choo Choo "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie '' Sun Valley Serenade''. It was ...

" (

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...

, Harry Warren) – 3:34 # "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" ( Aretha Franklin, Ted White) – 4:42 # "Shape of Things That Are and Were" (Benson) – 5:48 # "

Last Train to Clarksville "Last Train to Clarksville" is a song by American pop rock band the Monkees. It was released as the band's debut single on August 16, 1966, and was later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966.''The Monk ...

" (

Tommy Boyce Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were a prolific American duo of singer-songwriters. In addition to three top-40 hits as artists, the duo is ...

, Bobby Hart) – 5:32

Personnel

*George Benson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals * Ron Carter – bass (tracks 2, 6–7) * Richard Davis – bass * Herbie Hancock – piano * Hank Jones – piano * Idris Muhammad (as Leo Morris) – drums *Dave Mankovitz – viola (tracks 1, 3–4) *George Marge – flute, cello (tracks 1, 3–4) *Romeo Penque – flute, cello (tracks 1, 3–4) *Alan Raph – trombone, sound effects,

valve trombone A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

, tuba (all tracks except 3) *George Ricci – cello (tracks 1, 3–4) *Stanley Webb – flute *Joe Shepley – trumpet, flugelhorn (all tracks except 3) *

Wayne Andre Wayne Andre (November 17, 1931 – August 26, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician. Andre's father was a saxophonist, and he took private music lessons from age 15. He played with Charlie Spivak in ...

– trombone, baritone saxophone (all tracks except 3) *Burt Collins – trumpet *

Charles Covington Charles Covington Jr. is an American jazz pianist and a U.S. Life Master in chess. Career A native of Baltimore, Covington became interested in jazz when the high school principal broadcast music by Erroll Garner and Ahmad Jamal on the intercom. ...

– organ *

– arranger, conductor *Bernard Eichen – violin (tracks 1, 3–4) *Jack Jennings – percussion,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

(tracks 1, 3–4) *Charles Libove – violin (tracks 1, 3–4) * Buddy Lucas – harmonica,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, amplified harmonica (all tracks except 3) *

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer who in the 1970s became one of the leading exponents of salsa as well in t ...

– percussion, conga *

Marvin Stamm Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...

– trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo (all tracks except 3)

Technical

* Creed Taylor – producer *

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

*Sam Antupit – artwork * Pete Turner – photography

References

{{Authority control 1968 albums George Benson albums Albums conducted by Don Sebesky Albums arranged by Don Sebesky Albums produced by Creed Taylor A&M Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio