| Product Summary | | Label: Sony | | UPC: 00828768097922 | | Release Date: 9/26/2006 | | Buy.com Sku: 202893863 | | Item#: M35SUG | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25140 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Lullaby Of Broadway - (with Dixie Chicks) ~ Tony Bennett |  | | 2. Smile - (with Barbra Streisand) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 3. Put On A Happy Face - (with James Taylor) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 4. Very Thought Of You, The - (with Paul McCartney) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 5. Shadow of Your Smile, The - (Spanish, with Juanes) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 6. Rags To Riches - (with Elton John) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 7. Good Life, The - (with Billy Joel) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 8. Cold, Cold Heart - (with Tim McGraw) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 9. If I Ruled The World - (with Celine Dion) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 10. Best Is Yet To Come, The - (with Diana Krall) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 11. For Once In My Life - (with Stevie Wonder) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 12. Are You Havin' Any Fun? - (with Elvis Costello) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 13. Because Of You - (with K.D. Lang) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 14. Just In Time - (with Michael Buble) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 15. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, The - (with Sting) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 16. I Wanna Be Around - (with Bono) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 17. Sing, You Sinners - (with John Legend) ~ Tony Bennett | | | 18. I Left My Heart In San Francisco ~ Tony Bennett | | | 19. How Do You Keep the Music Playing - (with George Michael) ~ Tony Bennett | |
(C) (P) 2006 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
| | Released shortly after Tony Bennett's 80th birthday, 2006's Duets: An Amercian 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.
"Nobody inhabits a song with more casual fire than Tony Bennett, and on this collection of duets, the guest stars follow his heroic lead. " Rolling Stone
| | 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 : 09/26/2006 | | Original Release Date : 2006 | | Catalog ID : 09792 | | Label : Columbia (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00828768097922 |
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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]...."Rolling Stone 7 of 10
Nobody inhabits a song with more casual fire than Tony Bennett, and on this collection of duets, the guest stars follow his heroic lead. With the possible exception of Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion (on “Smile" and “If I Ruled the World," respectively), who don't altogether retire their enormous diva manners, everyone tries to match Bennett's own mix of major effect and minor ego. Among the many standouts: Stevie Wonder, going soulfully crazy on “For Once in My Life"; Colombian singer Juanes and Bennett, defining the minor-key debonair on “The Shadow of Your Smile"; and Bono, sounding like a velvety showbiz vet on “I Wanna Be Around." 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 Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, k.d. lang, James Taylor, Paul McCartney and others. On Duets, nobody loses. - James Hunter
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| | Bio | | One of the finest voices of 20th century American pop, Tony Bennett began his career in the '50s, under the watchful eye of producer Mitch Miller, recording huge hits such as "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and "Because of You." In 1958, his album BASIE SWINGS-BENNETT SINGS was a precursor to later jazz-based work. That same year, "Firefly" was Bennett's last US Top 40 entry until 1962, when he made a major comeback with the Grammy-winning "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." In '93 and '94 he was awarded Grammys for his albums PERFECTLY FRANK and STEPPIN' OUT.
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