Customer Reviews

Perfectly Frank

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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One of the previous reviewers said it perfectly -- Tony Bennett is a living national treasure. This album is wonderful not because it seeks to replace Sinatra's classic recordings (that will never happen), but because it shows first of all how Sinatra chose the best songs to record, and secondly, that Bennett's voice is still magic.

The singer wisely focuses on the "torch and saloon" songs of Sinatra, which he delivers and interprets beautifully. It is illuminating to listen to Tony Bennett's versions of Sinatra classics -- One for My Baby, Angel Eyes, Time After Time -- and appreciate how he performs the songs while refusing to imitate Sinatra. The result is pure class, the glowing Tony Bennett and some of the best songs in the American songbook.

Ralph Sharon has been working with Bennett for decades, and it shows: class, taste and restraint.

Very highly recommended for anyone who wants to hear a legendary vocalist and songs that put to shame almost anything written since the 1960s.

This is a wonderful collection of songs closely associated with, Frank Sinatra. Bennett does not emulate Sinatra in the least, and therein lies both the strengths and (minor) problems with the tribute album.

The contrast is interesting, and each vocalist has his own persona, style, and validity-- and metaphors: Frank is brandy, Tony is ice cold beer; Frank's finely tuned, instrument-like voice carefully shapes each word, Tony seems to just enjoy the singing, and he is more the everyman, the colloquial. Frank is seduction and intimacy (mostly from a male dominant stance); Tony is romance and camaraderie, and is both awe-struck and egalitarian. I think that's why on just a few of the songs (most notably, "Night and Day") Bennett's overtly anti-artiste stance does not deliver the suavity, smooth control, and sexual intensity that Sinatra conjures.

However Bennett soars on almost every song, whether it be the swinging "Lady is a Tramp" or his especially tender versions of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "I'm Glad There is You". The accompaniment is good, but lighter and not as jazz-inspired as the superb "Bennett/Berlin." Bennett's tribute album is, ultimately, a risk: Even though he makes no attempt to emulate Sinatra, it is still very tempting to compare. It is to Bennett's credit that his versions work so well, so often. In a way, the album makes you appreciate even more the unique talents of each.

How about putting out a disc with 24 songs by America's greatest lyricists of the 20th century? Hey, how about if we make it two dozen songs that Frank Sinatra, the greatest male pop singer of the century, loved and recorded in great performances? And get this: Let's have Tony Bennett, arguably the second-best male pop singer in a hundred years of the recorded music industry, and who was called by Sinatra himself "my favorite singer" do the new versions. Wait, even better---we'll let the Ralph Sharon jazz trio, Tony's favorites for 40 years provide the beat for him. Why stop there? Let's price the darn thing reasonably, as well. Any Sinatra or Tony fan, music history fan, or bargain lover who does not buy this one is cheating him or herself.

Sinatra called Tony Bennett his favorite singer, and this CD beautifully returns the compliment.

The greatest quality of this album is that there's no attempt on Tony's part to sound like or even suggest Sinatra. So if anybody has reservations about one smooth great singer covering another's songs, they can forget it.

Not only does this album celebrate Sinatra, it also celebrates the era's great composers: Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, Jimmie Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Dietz & Schwartz, Victor Herbert, the Gershwins.

For those who appreciate the music of the 30's and 40's, of great pop & jazz standards from the time, this album is a must.

The stars shining like the twinkle in her eye...the gentle breeze softly touching his face...a fine bottle of vino rosso on the beautifully antiquated cocktail table...and Perfectly Frank setting the mood...

From beginning to end, Tony croons romance in your ear. Twenty-four Sinatra classics brilliantly rendered in Tony's own smouldering yet playful style, you'd never be disappointed...neither would Frank. Mr. Ralph Sharon's exquisite touch on the keys is priceless. It whispers casual elegance in your ear.

Aah...vintage music, vintage wine -- life couldn't be better. Indulge yourself in what may be the best cover, best compilation, best everything yet -- perfect in the morning, afternoon, or in the evening...it's absolutely perfectly Tony.

While there are other singers I admire more (Sinatra), Tony Bennett is definitely top drawer material. He is a consummate artist, vocalist and musician. This collection proves the point. He has taken a series of Sinatra songs and made them his own.

For the most part, these are love songs, torch songs and the like. They are not belted out in Sinatra style. Instead, they are easily sung and provide a soothing atmosphere. In doing so, nothing is lost. It is not better than Sinatra nor is it worse. It is simply a matter of a different style.

Great Recording!

I am amazed at how few people realize this is one of the best recordings of the later 20th century/ This is Tony Bennett (in 1992) at what must be the absolute zenith of his talent. Here is Tony with an extraordnarily honest, well selected, marvelously sung collection of songs -- a superb, deeply entertaining "homage" to the pack-leader, Frank Sinatra. Let's face it -- THIS RECORDING IS VERY NEAR PERFECTION. If you prize great vocals, if you prize moving-intimate-wonderful-love-songs, if you prize Tony, if you prize the real meaning of Frank, and if you prize the best lyrics and the greatest melodies, then THIS is the one recording to own. Hands down. Perfectly Frank is perhaps the quintessential "Essential Recording." Buy this several times over, you cannot go wrong.

This CD is one of my favourite in my whole collection. Tony Bennetts voice just gets better and better with age, in fact I much prefer his latter day recordings to his early work, which is the total opposite with someone like Frank Sinatra who I think made a collection of music in the 40's and 50's that will forever remain unsurpassed by any other singer. But back to this CD: Others have reviewed the individual tracks, but what really makes this album for me is the overall feeling. If you want to get the atmosphere of a top notch jazz band with, in my opinion, the greatest living jazz singer, playing in your living room then just buy this CD. It really is like having Tony and his band right there with you. The sound is clear, simple and more importantly...wonderful. The songs and the music speak for themselves.

Buy it!!!

This is one of the most underrated albums of the past twenty years. Tony Bennett covers most of Sinatra's best material from the 50's and 60's, and he doesn't try to musically photocopy Frank's phrasing or Nelson Riddle's superb orchestrations. This is Tony being Tony, and that's more than enough. Bennett ranks just behind Sinatra as the best pop vocalist of the past fifty years. Bennett connects with every song, and it makes you wonder what they could have come up with if they did an album together. Tony's version of "One for My Baby" is absolutely brilliant, and the way he interprets "The Lady Is A Tramp" must make Frank smile approvingly from his heavenly Hall of Fame. If you're serious about Tony's musical body of work, "Perfectly Frank" has to be be one of your essential purchases. It was released in 1992, and it is arguably one of top three or four albums of his career. Buy it, listen to it, and treasure it. This is great music as it's meant to be.

I am amazed at how few people realize this is one of the best recordings of the later 20th century. This is Tony Bennett (in 1992) at what must be the absolute zenith of his talent. Here is Tony with an extraordinarily honest, well selected, marvelously sung collection of songs -- a superb, deeply entertaining "homage" to the pack-leader, Frank Sinatra. Let's face it -- THIS RECORDING IS VERY NEAR PERFECTION. If you prize great vocals, if you prize moving-intimate-wonderful-love-songs, if you prize Tony, if you prize the real meaning of Frank, and if you prize the best lyrics and the greatest melodies, then this is the one recording to own. Hands down. "Perfectly Frank" is perhaps the quintessential "essential recording." Buy this several times over -- you simply cannot go wrong.