| Product Summary | | Label: SBME IMPORT | | UPC: 00828768858622 | | Release Date: 10/8/2006 | | Buy.com Sku: 203142114 | | Item#: M37PPY | Format:  CD |
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Song Listing
| Disc 1 | | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Lullaby of Broadway | ------ | | 2. Put on a Happy Face | ------ | | 3. Because of You | ------ | | 4. I Wanna Be Around | ------ | | 5. Just in Time | ------ | | 6. Rags to Riches | ------ | | 7. Smile | ------ | | 8. For Once in My Life | ------ | | 9. Are You Havin' Any Fun? | ------ | | 10. Good Life, The | ------ | | 11. Best Is Yet to Come, The | ------ | | 12. Very Thought of You, The | ------ | | 13. Shadow of Your Smile, The ~ (Spanish) | ------ | | 14. Boulevard of Broken Dreams, The | ------ | | 15. Sing, You Sinners | ------ | | 16. How Do You Keep the Music Playing | ------ | | 17. Cold, Cold Heart | ------ | | 18. I Left My Heart In San Francisco | ------ | | 19. If I Ruled the World | ------ |
| Released shortly after Tony Bennett's 80th birthday, 2006's DUETS: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC finds the beloved jazz/pop vocalist collaborating with an impressive array of friends and admirers. Amidst a backdrop of lush string and horn arrangements, Bennett, still in remarkably bold voice despite his age, shines on these winning tracks. Highlights include the buoyant "Lullaby of Broadway" (with the Dixie Chicks), the lightly swinging "I Wanna Be Around" (with U2's Bono), and a rendition of one of Bennett's smooth signature tunes, "The Best Is Yet to Come" (with Diana Krall). While duet albums can be spotty affairs, Bennett and his well-selected singing partners make this a thoroughly enjoyable set.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Tony Bennett (vocals); Diana Krall, Dixie Chicks, Elton John, George Michael, James Taylor , John Legend, Juanes, k.d. lang, Michael Bubl?, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tim McGraw, Elvis Costello, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Bono , Celine Dion (vocals). | | Released shortly after Tony Bennett's 80th birthday, 2006's DUETS: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC finds the beloved jazz/pop vocalist collaborating with an impressive array of friends and admirers. Amidst a backdrop of lush string and horn arrangements, Bennett, still in remarkably bold voice despite his age, shines on these winning tracks. Highlights include the buoyant "Lullaby of Broadway" (with the Dixie Chicks), the lightly swinging "I Wanna Be Around" (with U2's Bono), and a rendition of one of Bennett's smooth signature tunes, "The Best Is Yet to Come" (with Diana Krall). While duet albums can be spotty affairs, Bennett and his well-selected singing partners make this a thoroughly enjoyable set. | | Tony Bennett has so many adoring celebrity fans it should come as no surprise that when a major duets album is planned, he's able to draw a roster of the biggest recording stars from the rock and vocal worlds, plus a pair of country music wildcards. (This despite the fact that he recorded an album with several duets in 2001, and a full-album collaboration one year later with k.d. lang.) One surprise is how well producer Phil Ramone paired Bennett with both duet partners and fitting standards -- among them Barbra Streisand on the optimist's anthem "Smile," Dixie Chicks for the flapper standard "Lullaby of Broadway," Bono on the wickedly spiteful "I Wanna Be Around," Tim McGraw on "Cold, Cold Heart" (the Hank Williams song that was Bennett's biggest country crossover hit), Stevie Wonder on his own "For Once in My Life," Juanes for "The Shadow of Your Smile" (which was a hit first for the Brazilian Astrud Gilberto), and Sting on the torch song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." (Even the title of "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" seems fit for George Michael to sing.) Each performance was recorded with Bennett and his duet partner live in the studio -- it could be no different for such an old-school vocalist -- and the setup allows for maximum warmth and congeniality. Yet, aside from the novelty of the billings, Duets: An American Classic doesn't thrill like Bennett's solo recordings of the previous ten years. The arrangements of Jorge Calandrelli are heavy on serene strings that wrap the melodies in layers of soft gauze, and few concessions are made to the needs of the material; virtually every song is either a soft vocal pop number or a finger-snapping swinger. As befits an all-star affair, every edge is polished to a fine sheen and, more than a few times, the feelings his duet partners attempt to summon sound quite superficial. Of course, every vocal interpreter in the business sounds a little forced when compared to Tony Bennett. ~ John Bush |
Producer: Phil Ramone |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works | | Basie Swings, Bennett Sings ~ Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Cole, Nat | | Cole, Nat "King" | | Crosby, Bing | | Goulet, Robert | | Jones, Jack | | Jones, Jack (Vocal) | | Duets ~ Sinatra, Frank | | Sinatra, Frank | | Sinatra, Frank | | Duets: An American Classic ~ Sinatra, Frank | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ Smooth Jazz All Stars | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ The Smooth Jazz All Stars | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ Various Artists |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 10/06/2006 | | Original Release Date : 2006 | | Catalog ID : 768858 | | Label : Sony BMG Music (Canada) (Disitribut | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00828768858622 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (pp.72-74)
- 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "That Bennett, now eighty, sings magnificently is little surprise. What is surprising is the way he and his crack quartet inspire the rhythmic and tonal best from the [guests]...." |
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