David Benoit, “Heroes” May 29, 2008

I received “Heroes” yesterday, and after all the computer crashing craziness, I finally got around to listening to it early this morning.  Here is my review per a thread on the Magic Island BBS:

Not only is [“Heroes”] a winner [as I referred to it in an earlier post], it is a grand slam!  [David Benoit’s] covers are 1000x better than the original versions.  Way to go, David…and also, David Hughes [bass], Jamey Tate [drums], Brad Dutz [percussion], Andy Suzuki [saxophone on “A Twisted Little Etude” and “Blue Rondo A La Turk”], and the Asia America Symphony [string quartet on “She’s Leaving Home”].

P.S. I prefer this “Heroes” over the namesake TV series.  I’m sure some of you here [on the message boards] would beg to differ, but I digress.

Here are the tracks:

1. Mountain Dance (4:04)
Original artist: Dave Grusin

2. Human Nature (4:13)
Original artist: Michael Jackson

3. Your Song (3:49)
Original artist: Elton John

4. Light My Fire (4:00)
Original artists: The Doors

5. Never Can Say Goodbye (4:19)
Original artists: The Jackson 5
5/30 UPDATE: So far, I am hooked on this song.

6. She’s Leaving Home (3:36)
Original artists: The Beatles

7. Song For My Father (3:23)
Original artist: Horace Silver

8. You Look Good To Me (2:57)
Original artist: Oscar Peterson

9. Waltz For Debbie (5:03)
Original artist: Bill Evans
“Debbie” was originally spelled “Debby” by Bill.  David also covered this on “This Side Up” in 1985.

10. A Twisted Little Etude (2:30)
Original artist: David Benoit.
This is the lone original track.  It is a tribute to Dave Brubeck, which leads us to…

11. Blue Rondo A La Turk (5:00)
Original artist: Dave Brubeck

If I got any of the original artists wrong, let me know and I will make the necessary corrections.