19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A TREASURE, December 7, 2001
I first saw Tony Bennett when I walked into the rear of the orchestra at a Broadway musical for which I did the casting. Bennett slipped in during Act 2 and simply stood watching the show. When I recognized him in the dark, I asked if I could find him a seat. He quietly turned me down. He had seen the show from great seats three times, but loved it so much, he "sneaked" into the theatre to watch a few moments of it between his performances at a nearby cabaret.
Bennett's love of musical theatre and great music ("It's not old music...it's great music," he said on the Rosie O'Donnell television show this morning) is obvious through his decades of recording and performing the best songs in his own very personal way, emphasizing the words and what they mean to him, letting the song speak for itself through him.
This four CD album takes Bennett from the 50's through the 80's and song after song is a gem. His arrangers and conductors are only the best from Percy Faith to Ralph Sharon, from Neal Hefti to Frank DeVol, from Ralph Burns to Don Costa just to name a few. And the songs, themselves, are gems from cabaret to Broadway to jazz. My personal favorites are four from the 1950's, all on the first CD: Arlen and Capote's "A Sleepin' Bee," Arlen and Gershwin's "The Man That Got Away" (absolutely the best version of this song I've ever heard besides Garland's), Carmichael and Mercer's "Skylark" and Weill and Anderson's "September Song."
This set is a treasure and one that you will continually find yourself coming back to for sheer enjoyment of a great singer in his prime. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Bennett Gold, March 17, 2005
This is a fabulous 4-disc compilation of Tony in his musical prime from the 50's through the 80's. There are 87 tracks, and a 60 page booklet that contains essays by Ralph Sharon and Will Friedwald and extensive notes by Tony himself. The audio quality is outstanding, and Bennett's voice, diction, and the emotional depth of his phrasing and interpretation of the songs and lyrics is magical. This a must purchase if you collect Tony Bennett. It's a great sampling from his amazing catalog and further proof of the man's musical genius.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of Tony!, July 25, 1999
Tony Bennett is at once amazing, subtle, and charismatic in his interpretaions of so many classics. Listen as he starts off, he grows and develops his talent only to get get better as he goes along. This is really a must have for any Bennett fan or vocal Jazz fan. The liner notes, by Tony, are a great bonus!
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