Tony Bennett - Duets: An American Classic
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CD Details
Artist: Tony BennettEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Music Label: Sony
Product features:
- BENNETT TONY DUETS AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
- LULLABY OF BROADWAY ? duet with Dixie Chicks
- SMILE ? duet with Barbra Streisand
- PUT ON A HAPPY FACE ? duet with James Taylor
- THE GOOD LIFE ? duet with Billy Joel
- THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE ? duet with Juanes
- RAGS TO RICHES ? duet with Elton John
- THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU ? duet with Paul McCartney
- COLD, COLD HEART ? duet with Tim McGraw
- IF I RULED THE WORLD ?duet with Celine Dion
- THE BEST IS YET TO COME ? duet with Diana Krall
- FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE ? duet with Stevie Wonder
- ARE YOU HAVIN? ANY FUN? ? duet with Elvis Costello
- BECAUSE OF YOU ? duet with k.d. lang
- JUST IN TIME ? duet with Michael Bublé
- THE BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS ? duet with Sting
- I WANNA BE AROUND - duet with Bono
- SING, YOU SINNERS ? duet with John Legend
- I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO
- HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING? ? duet with George Michael
Music reviews of Duets: An American Classic
Music Review: Tony and friends DELIVER!!!!!
Rating: 5 Stars
Back when Sinatra did a similar thing (the two "Duets" discs), the results ranged from non-convincing to outright appalling, despite the quality of most singing partners. Yes, it might have been because of the separate recording sessions, or maybe because of a hasty song selection, but the chemistry was just not there. Though I was looking forward to this CD (I'm a long-time Tony Bennett fan), I approched it with a lot of skepticism. Boy I was in for a very pleasant surprise!!
"Duets - An American Classic" is classy, fun, sophisticated, romantic, moody and it never gets boring.
The disc starts with a very original rendition of "The Lullaby of Broadway
" with the Dixie Chicks. I know these pretty smart girls are much better musicians than they're typically given credit for, but I didn't expect them to swing that well. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill country singers. Yes, it's true, they do sound like the Andrew Sisters! (What's wrong with that?)
Charlie Chaplin's unforgettable "Smile" is beautifully sung by Tony and the evergreen Barbra Streisand. She really is one of the best, her unmistakable voice is just as great as ever. The arrangement is a bit corny for my tastes though, but classical violin virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman's performance is, as usual, moving.
James Taylor's vocal style isn't too well-suited for this kind of music, but he still manages to do an appreciable job in "Put on a happy face."
Paul McCartney, on the other hand, was the second pleasant surprise (after the Dixie Chicks.) For someone supposedly unfamiliar with this repertoire, he does a surprisingly good job, sounding very much like an experienced crooner.
I admit not knowing who Juanes was, I read that he's a South American rock singer. Anyhow, he tries to sound like Julio Iglesias (definitely not one of my favorites...) but you can feel it's really not his cup of tea. This is definitely the weakest number.
"Rags to riches" is quite fun, with Sir Elton putting up quite a vocal show. Nice, really nice.
Well, what can I say about Billy Joel if not that he's the closest thing to Tony Bennett himself! Wow, two consummate crooners singing one heck of a duet!! Stellar!!
Tim McGraw represents America's country singers (well, with the Dixie Chicks, but we know how they're straying away from mainstream country --and fortunately so, at least for those of us who don't fully appreciate that type of music-- their talent would be a little...wasted...:-) ) in the country classic "Cold cold heart" with Tony's usual jazz arrangement. Almost every time I went to one of Tony's concerts, I heard him tell this story of how Hank Williams didn't particularly appreciate his song crossing genre. Tim sounds a bit like he's still mad at tony for the same reason. I appreciate his effort though.
In "If I ruled the world" Celine Dion is being...Celine Dion. Great voice, we know, but it comes with the usual grandstanding. Still, it's a very appreciable duet.
Diana Krall...oh well...I love her, she's by far my favorite jazz vocalist, so I can't help praising her performance. Nice choice of song, a true classic. I just wished Tony did an entire album of duets with her, that would be a true blast!!
In "For once in my life", the guest star is also the author of the song. Yes, Stevie is a class act, but he's not completely comfortable with this style and that's pretty obvious. Still, an interesting choice.
Oh my God, does Elvis Costello always come as a package deal with Diana? I hardly tolerated him in "De-lovely" (a dreck of a movie, but the guest stars did a fantastic singing job --except for Elvis--) and now he's here too? Admit it Elvis, you're no jazz singer, stop fooling around, do what you usually do and enjoy the voice of your wonderful wife when you feel in the mood for jazz vocals. (OK, I admit it, there might be a bit of jealousy here...:-) )
K.D. Lang is a great singer and, of course, she performs beautifully. She's not new at duetting with Tony and you can really feel the chemistry. Too bad we never hear enough of her. Chris Botti's excellent trumpet solo is noteworthy.
Michael Buble' is a consummate professional, yet he's still one of several Sinatra-wannabes, virtually indistinguishable from one another. I don't particularly care for his voice, but this duet is undoubtely nice.
Of all the pop/rock singers in this album, Sting is the one with the most familiarity with jazz (just think of how many jazz performers he's made famous...) and you can hear that. Too bad his voice has lost some luster in recent years, but the spirit is still there.
Bono is more than OK in "I wanna be around", another pleasant surprise.
John Legend also does a creditable job in "Sing, you sinners."
Tony must have sung and recorded "I left my heart in San Francisco" a gazillion times, yet this version is quite unique, being accompanied by reknown jazz pianist Bill Charlap alone. Very nice and sophisticated, although I can hear echoes of the "Tony Bennett/Bill Evans album." With all due respect to Mr. Charlap, he's obviously not a piano genius of the caliber of Bill Evans, yet his accompanying work and solo are competent and tasteful, albeit somewhat cliche'.
Although I've never fully appreciated George Michael's voice, he does a very nice job with "How do you keep the music playing?" Still, he sounds like...George Michael. :-)
Finally, although Tony's voice is not the same as it was decades ago (I guess he now greatly regrets smoking a pack a day for decades...), he
definitely sounds much much better than Sinatra in his last years and his remarkable verve is still there. What a great entertainer, the last of the great crooners. There will never be another one like him, sorry Buble', Connick, Cincotti etc.
This is a very enjoyable album, though if I had been the producer I would have replaced a few of the guests. How about Natalie Cole? A shame she's not in this production. And since Tony has always liked playing pygmalion, how about featuring a young and talented jazz singer? My vote would have gone to the amazing Renee Olstead (still a teenager, if I remember correctly!)
If you buy your CD from Target, you will enjoy four bonus tracks, featuring previously released duets with Krall, Buble', Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Nice stuff, you definitely want the extra tracks, unless you already have them.
Description of Duets: An American Classic
Perfecting the art of excellence for over six decades, with 105 albums selling over 50 million copies, Tony Bennett has come to represent the essence of elegance, tradition and artistic accomplishments. Tony celebrates his 80th birthday recording Duets of his greatest hits with today's greatest artists: Bono, Michael Bublé, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Dixie Chicks, Billy Joel, Elton John, Juanes, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, John Legend, Paul McCartney, Tim McGraw, George Michael, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, and Stevie Wonder.More from Tony Bennett
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At this point, who else but Tony Bennett would have the clout to round up stars on the scale of Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bono, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand for some duets? (Note also that unlike some similar projects, all the parties involved on this CD were alive when it was recorded!) The material consists of relatively obvious classics in standard big-band arrangements, and Bennett himself is in top form at age 80, so much so that he doesn't need anybody else to handle "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." But the fun comes from checking out how his collaborators fare. The Dixie Chicks provide wonderful Andrews Sisters?type harmonies on the percolating version of "Lullaby of Broadway" that opens the festivities. The best songs tend to be the ones where Bennett's slightly craggy voice is juxtaposed to smooth female ones, like Diana Krall on "The Best Is Yet to Come," familiar accomplice k.d. lang on the sultry "Because of You" and Streisand?-perhaps Bennett's only equal in stature at this point?on "Smile." Among the less expected guests, soulman John Legend is a revelation on the hard-swinging "Sing, You Sinners," while George Michael confirms he?s quite the crooner on "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Elvis Costello, Celine Dion or Juanes don't sound as comfortable, and sometimes it feels as if they overdo it to compensate, but overall this collection is among the best of its kind, with most guests rising to the occasion. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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