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Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
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
Product Description
In celebration of his 80th birthday, Tony Bennett performs 18 of his hits and favorite numbers with famous duet partners including Sting, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and Tim McGraw -- all live in the studio with the master.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stellar Duet Partners Offer Vocal Diversity As Bennett Stays True to His Classic Erudite Self
September 26, 2006
Format:Audio CD
There are several top-selling singers who mine the Great American Songbook without having an innate understanding of its musical context. The results can consequently amount to contrived posturing as much as singing. Tony Bennett is not one of them as he so completely understands what music works with his sturdy, mellifluous voice that he makes almost everyone else featured on this disc sound vocally compatible even if several are out of their comfort zones. What makes this a better listen than Frank Sinatra's similar efforts in the early nineties is that Bennett recorded all the duets in person with his partners and has figured out how to retro-fit their musical sensibilities with his own. Intriguingly, industry veteran Phil Ramone produced both the Sinatra and Bennett projects.
Things start energetically with a big-band arrangement of "Lullaby of Broadway". The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines sings with surprising aplomb but only on the first verse, and as a group, they spend the rest of the track mimicking the Andrews Sisters with their WWII-era girl-group background vocals. The cheery "Put on a Happy Face" from "Bye, Bye Birdie" has the normally taciturn James Taylor sounding very Gene Kelly-like and bantering quite easily with Bennett. A melancholy tone seeps into "Because of You", Bennett's first major hit in 1951, with Chris Botti's sad-eyed trumpet and a sonorous K.D. Lang sounding most assured given her previous experience as his partner.
A surprisingly confident Bono extracts the usual gruffness from his arena-rock voice and dexterously matches with Bennett on a sauntering version of "I Wanna Be Around". Elton John provides an unforced swing on the brief "Rags to Riches", while Elvis Costello loosens up considerably with the jazzy arrangement and Hope-Crosby-style bantering of "Are You Havin' Fun Yet?". A smoky-voiced Billy Joel is the ideal partner for the reflective "The Good Life" which soars with their intertwining voices, just as Sting is for a highly dramatic, Weill-style rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" featuring some nice guitar work. As Bennett's youngest partner, John Legend provides energy to spare on an Ella-style "Sing You Sinners", though I wish there was more scatting during the interlude.
The comparatively weaker tracks just miss the mark by mere inches, not miles. As expected, Celine Dion overdoes her part on "If I Ruled the World", and a slightly Latin-tinged "The Shadow of Your Smile" has a lush sound save for Columbian rock singer Juanes' somewhat tinny tone. Stevie Wonder sounds a tad resistant to Bennett's nightclub-style arrangement of his own composition, "For Once In My Life" since he still applies his familiar melisma. Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" looks to drop its country roots for a more generic treatment until Tim McGraw starts to dip his notes like Williams. And one of the most beautiful love songs on the disc, Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You", has Bennett sounding velvety smooth in a swooning arrangement but Paul McCartney comparatively stiff with his phrasing a bit off.
The best tracks produce the magic you expect from Bennett when coupled with partners with perfectly complementary styles. Crooner Michael Bublé shows a great affinity for "Just in Time", while the jazzy sass of "The Best Is Yet to Come" benefits considerably from Diana Krall's dusky voice. George Michael makes a welcome return to the pop mainstream on the silky smooth "How Do You Keep the Music From Playing?". Not too surprisingly, the best duet is the lushly orchestrated "Smile" with Bennett and Barbra Streisand alternating verses as if on gossamer wings. Along with Pinchas Zukerman's masterful violin, they make stunning magic together, and the praise they sing to each other at the end seems most justified. Bennett includes a valedictory "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by himself, beautiful as always and a subtly ironic choice for a duets album.
Things start energetically with a big-band arrangement of "Lullaby of Broadway". The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines sings with surprising aplomb but only on the first verse, and as a group, they spend the rest of the track mimicking the Andrews Sisters with their WWII-era girl-group background vocals. The cheery "Put on a Happy Face" from "Bye, Bye Birdie" has the normally taciturn James Taylor sounding very Gene Kelly-like and bantering quite easily with Bennett. A melancholy tone seeps into "Because of You", Bennett's first major hit in 1951, with Chris Botti's sad-eyed trumpet and a sonorous K.D. Lang sounding most assured given her previous experience as his partner.
A surprisingly confident Bono extracts the usual gruffness from his arena-rock voice and dexterously matches with Bennett on a sauntering version of "I Wanna Be Around". Elton John provides an unforced swing on the brief "Rags to Riches", while Elvis Costello loosens up considerably with the jazzy arrangement and Hope-Crosby-style bantering of "Are You Havin' Fun Yet?". A smoky-voiced Billy Joel is the ideal partner for the reflective "The Good Life" which soars with their intertwining voices, just as Sting is for a highly dramatic, Weill-style rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" featuring some nice guitar work. As Bennett's youngest partner, John Legend provides energy to spare on an Ella-style "Sing You Sinners", though I wish there was more scatting during the interlude.
The comparatively weaker tracks just miss the mark by mere inches, not miles. As expected, Celine Dion overdoes her part on "If I Ruled the World", and a slightly Latin-tinged "The Shadow of Your Smile" has a lush sound save for Columbian rock singer Juanes' somewhat tinny tone. Stevie Wonder sounds a tad resistant to Bennett's nightclub-style arrangement of his own composition, "For Once In My Life" since he still applies his familiar melisma. Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" looks to drop its country roots for a more generic treatment until Tim McGraw starts to dip his notes like Williams. And one of the most beautiful love songs on the disc, Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You", has Bennett sounding velvety smooth in a swooning arrangement but Paul McCartney comparatively stiff with his phrasing a bit off.
The best tracks produce the magic you expect from Bennett when coupled with partners with perfectly complementary styles. Crooner Michael Bublé shows a great affinity for "Just in Time", while the jazzy sass of "The Best Is Yet to Come" benefits considerably from Diana Krall's dusky voice. George Michael makes a welcome return to the pop mainstream on the silky smooth "How Do You Keep the Music From Playing?". Not too surprisingly, the best duet is the lushly orchestrated "Smile" with Bennett and Barbra Streisand alternating verses as if on gossamer wings. Along with Pinchas Zukerman's masterful violin, they make stunning magic together, and the praise they sing to each other at the end seems most justified. Bennett includes a valedictory "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by himself, beautiful as always and a subtly ironic choice for a duets album.
24 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By bals gal
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Let me preface this rating by saying that I have been a Tony Bennett fan for over 50 years. His songs are magnificent. However, this cd did not impress me at all. The artists added nothing to the music which was extremely draggy, slow, and rather boring. It just didn't have the "umph" Sinatra's "Duets" had.
24 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Lace
Format:Audio CD
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.
"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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent.
Love Tony Bennett and purchased the Duets II CD first. Then found the first Duets CD and bought it to make a more complete set. Love them both.
Published 6 days ago by Warren Rosenbaum
4.0 out of 5 stars
For those who like Tony Bennett's music
Interesting pairings, good songs. If you like Tony Bennett, and his genre of music, you'll like this. Probably not a good gift for the average teenager!
Published 14 days ago by Dudley's Dad
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great music
I love this singer, his duets are great. I love the fact that I don't need to buy the CD, I get a great deal buying the CD on amazon.
Published 15 days ago by Lirio Matus Hatch
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this Duets Collection...
Tony Bennett music it's all over my house... Everybody at home enjoy it... These Duets Collection are all over my house...
Published 21 days ago by Silvia G.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this Duet...
I bought this for my Mom & she loves it & so do I. I like that Tony Bennett partnered w/younger musicians & created uplifting music - blending the old w/the new...
Published 23 days ago by Happy Feet :-)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyable.
I love the popular music standards of my parents' generation. Tony Bennett has been and continues to be one of my favorite male vocalists. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Michael J. Sothras
5.0 out of 5 stars
great cd...
great choose of music and i love the mix with the artist.
great music
delivery very fast and in perfect condition.
excellent option for a present.
great music
delivery very fast and in perfect condition.
excellent option for a present.
Published 1 month ago by Raul Salazar
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tony doesn't disappoint
Tony still sounds great, even at his advanced age. This is a great marketing idea, to pair up with other well-known artists, young and old. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cooperski
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific
Tony Bennett still has it after all these years. He has teamed up with some incredible talent on this album.
Published 1 month ago by lynn
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong CD
It was my mistake I bought this once before the second Duets looks the same so I thought I was buying that one.
Published 1 month ago by Racetrack Ray
Listmania!
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