Young Tony [Box set, Import]

Tony Bennett | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Proper Box UK
• ASIN: B000NA1TIO
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,983 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

2. I Wanna Be Loved

3. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

4. Our Lady of Fatima

5. Just Say I Love Her

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Silly Dreamer

2. Sleepless

3. Somewhere Along the Way

4. I'm Lost Again

5. Have a Good Time

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Until Yesterday (Non è la Pioggia)

2. Please Driver, Once Around the Park Again

3. There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight

4. My Heart Won't Say Goodbye

5. Take Me Back Again

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Lost in the Stars

2. Taking a Chance on Love

3. I'm Just a Lucky So and So

4. It Had to Be You

5. You Can Depend on Me

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Tony Bennett Grew Up Listening to Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, and Jazz Artists Such as Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, and Joe Venuti. An Uncle was a Tap Dancer in Vaudeville, Giving Him an Early Window Into Show Business. His First Big Hit was "Because of You", a Ballad Produced by Miller with a Lush Orchestral Arrangement from Percy Faith. It Started Out Gaining Popularity on Jukeboxes, Then Reached #1 on the Pop Charts in 1951 and Stayed There for 10 Weeks, Selling Over a Million Copies. This was Followed to the Top Later that Year by a Similarly-styled Rendition of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart", which Helped Introduce Williams and Country Music in General to a Wider, More National Audience. We Continue Our Survey Throughout the 50s Where Bennett Gained More Chart Success and Then Moved Into a More Jazzier Style Culminating in 1958 with Sessions with the Great Count Basie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Set - First Time On CD for several tracks, October 7, 2007

By 

Bill Anthony "billjbfan" (North Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Young Tony (Audio CD)

This beautifully annotated 4 CD set includes Tony's complete 1950-1954 Columbia recordings, all in one place. This includes the complete CLOUD 7 album.

Then, 10 of the 12 songs from the TONY album (1957) are included. That album has never been on CD. The rather common Roulette album with Count Basie (1959) is included to finish off disc 4. There's also an interesting live version of "In The Middle Of An Island" from the Nat King Cole show, in which Tony sings some special lyrics as a tribute to Nat.

The downside is that through 3 discs, it's a nice complete chronological history, but then it skips numerous singles from 1955/56 that have never been on CD, using up the space with the Roulette album, which has been licensed and released often on budget CD's and doesn't belong here.

A 43-page booklet with complete history, recording data, and numerous vintage pictures is included.

Tony Bennett completists and fans will love it.

Now if only Sony/Columbia would release the 16 or so Tony albums from the 50's and 60's that have never been on CD !

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The beginnings of a legend, May 30, 2008

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Young Tony (Audio CD)

With eighty tracks, seventy of them recorded between 1950 and 1956, this collection contains all the essential tracks (unless you count as essential two minor British hits that aren't here, Close your eyes and Come next Spring) and many obscurities from the first seven calendar years of Tony Bennett's recording career. Many singers peak at the beginning of their career but not so Tony, who was only really just warming up for what followed despite the quality and success of his early music. Fifty years after the last of these recordings were made, Tony was still performing and recording new material and at the time of writing this review, he was still going strong albeit past his peak by then. The final ten tracks in this box date from 1958.

During those early years, Tony was expected to record singles that would climb high in the American pop charts. Mitch Miller, his boss, wasn't necessarily interested in albums, which didn't sell in anything like the quantities that singles did in those days. Albums started to gain popularity with adult customers but it was only in the seventies that they replaced singles as the main unit of music. Nevertheless, Tony was allowed to record the occasional album even in these early years. Plenty of tracks from those albums are included here, together with all of Tony's American hits from the period.

Although Tony's most famous hit (I left my heart in San Francisco) was actually written in 1954, Tony didn't record it until much later, eventually having a huge international hit with it in the sixties. So you won't find it here but Tony's early hits were of an incredibly high quality. He scored three number one hits among over twenty American hits in total up to 1956. He had several failed singles and was nearly dropped from the label before he had his first hit (Because of you), which made number one and stayed there for over two months, selling over two million copies in the process and thereby securing Tony's future. (As a personal aside, I note that it first made number one on the very day that I was born.) Tony's next single (Cold cold heart, a pop cover of a Hank Williams country classic) became another chart-topper and million-seller.

Many smaller hits followed as well as two more million-sellers, one of which (Rags to riches) became Tony's third Ameroican number one hit. The other (Stranger in Paradise) peaked at number two in America, but if Tony felt any disappointment at this near-miss, he was eventually compensated by seeing it go to number one in Britain, where it became his debut hit more than a year after its run in the American charts. Tony's smaller American hits from this period included Blue velvet, a song that became a much bigger and more famous hit when Bobby Vinton recorded it in the sixties. Following his early success with one Hank Williams song (Cold cold heart), Tony scored a further American top ten hit with another of Hank's songs (There'll be no teardrops tonight). Another notable hit (Here in my heart) had to compete with versions by Al

Martino and Vic Damone, who were both more successful than Tony with this song. (British chart historians know that Al Martino's version was the inaugural number one in the first official British record sales chart and remained number one for several weeks.)

Tony's albums during this period included some compilations that rounded up his singles. Leaving those aside, Tony recorded his cfirst album, Cloud 7, in 1954 although it was actually released in 1955. Whereas Tony's singles were of the easy listening pop variety with jazz influences, this album was more obviously jazz music, both in arrangement and song selection. Tony recorded his second album (Tony) in 1956 and it, too, was jazz, supporting a jazz concert that he was doing at the time. Tony recorded two albums in the late fifties with Count Basie, one for Tony's record label and one for Count Basie's record label. The tracks from the Roulette album (Strike up the band) form the final ten tracks on the last CD here. By including these tracks, Proper breaks with its tradition of only releasing material that is at least fifty years old, thereby making British performance copyright payable for a little while anyway.

Perhaps these early years aren't absolutely the best of Tony's long and distinguished career, but there's a lot of great music here for his fans to enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glad he's still making music, January 14, 2009

By 

Benita C. Williams "Movie Fan" (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Young Tony (Audio CD)

Recently purchased this from Amazon and was very happy I did. Can't say enough about the sound quality, great price or of course, Tony Bennett. This UK boxed set is a nice introduction into Tony's world and I would highly recommned it to anyone. This man is a true legend and thankfully is still entertaining us with his great voice. Long may he reign!