Customer Reviews

As Time Goes By

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I am a huge fan of the greatest male jazz vocalist ive heard, and Tony Bennett has a huge recorded legacy of magnificent performances. They wont be found on these discs though. Here is a budget box set of uninspired stuff, which im glad i didnt pay very much for. There are a few nice numbers scattered throughout - 'Manhatten' and 'The Lady is a Tramp' are pleasant - but it utterly pales in comparison with every other Bennett recording i own.

It should be said that i (like Tony Bennett himself) dislike the early 60's pop style that a lot of his work of that time fell into. And this album in places is thus styled, which is partly why i dont much like it. But even if you are a fan of that style of his work, this isnt spectacular, since the recording quality is unbearably bad - whenever he goes for the big notes the recording distorts horribly. Also, Bennett himself though still very good, is not on top form, and the backing musicians and arrangements are unimpressive - just a guitar, banjo maybe, and a trumpet hear and there for the most part. This is not the prestigious company which Bennett is accustomed to keeping. If you want early Bennett, just buy the original albums, many of which have been reissued in Columbia's Tony Bennett Remasters Series.

But as i said, Bennett is above all a jazz singer, and this set doesnt show him at his best, singing jazz. Far better, infinitely so, are all time classic jazz recordings from his career such as his two Bill Evans colaboratons, or his more recent jazz oriented projects from the 90's.

If you want Bennett at his magnificent best, steer clear of this one.

I'm familiar with some of the recordings in this box set, and it really is the BEST of Tony Bennet. Unfortunately, I ordered it for a Christmas present, and they changed the order availability to 4-6 weeks. (12/13/1999)