Playin' with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues

by Tony Bennett

Overview

Tony Bennett's latter-day albums tend to have themes, and this one has two, as indicated by its double-barreled title: It is both a duets album and a blues album. The duet partners include ten singers who range from his recent touring partners Diana Krall and k.d. lang to fellow veterans Ray Charles, B.B. King, and Kay Starr, and younger, but still mature pop stars Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, and Billy Joel. All sound happy to be sharing a mic with Bennett. Not surprisingly, the singer's conception of the blues does not extend to the Mississippi Delta or the South Side of Chicago; rather, he is interested in the blues as filtered through the sound of the Swing Era, particularly from around Kansas City, and as interpreted by Tin Pan Alley and show tunes. For the former, his true mentor is Count Basie, whose overt influence is heard on six of the 15 tracks. Bennett makes no attempt to hide this, leading off the album with two songs, "Alright, Okay, You Win" (a duet with Krall) and "Everyday (I Have the Blues)" (a duet with Wonder), closely associated with Basie singer Joe Williams. The Broadway and Hollywood blues style is introduced in three selections written by Harold Arlen. On about half the tracks, the Ralph Sharon Quartet is augmented by Harry Allen's saxophone and Mike Melvoin's Hammond organ, but this remains a small, intimate affair that emphasizes the singers. There are missteps -- Sheryl Crow's Billie Holiday impersonation on "Good Morning, Heartache" is unfortunate, and Natalie Cole, as usual, sounds out of her depth on "Stormy Weather." But the trade-offs Bennett enjoys with King and Charles are priceless, and the Joel duet is surprisingly effective. On the whole, this is yet another entry in Bennett's lengthening series of autumnal recorded triumphs. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2001
Label:	Bmg / Columbia / Rpm Records / Sony Music Entertainment
UPC:	0886977393525
Rank:	6575

Tracks

1. Alright, Okay, You Win
2. Everyday (I Have the Blues)
3. Don't Cry Baby
4. Good Morning, Heartache
5. Let the Good Times Roll
6. Evenin'
7. I Gotta Right To Sing the Blues
8. Keep the Faith, Baby
9. Old Count Basie is Gone (Old Piney Brown is Gone)
10. Blue and Sentimental
11. New York State of Mind
12. Undecided Blues
13. Blues In the Night
14. Stormy Weather
15. Playin' With My Friends

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tony Bennett   Primary Artist
Stevie Wonder   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Diana Krall   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Bonnie Raitt   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Billy Joel   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Sheryl Crow   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Natalie Cole   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
B.B. King   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Ray Charles   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Kay Starr   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
k.d. lang   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Paul Langosch   Guitar (Bass),Bass
Harry Allen   Saxophone
Ralph Sharon   Piano
Mike Melvoin   Organ (Hammond)
Gray Sargent   Guitar
Clayton Cameron   Drums

Technical Credits

Mitchell Parish   Composer
Brian Dozoretz   Mixing
Stevie Wonder   Performer
Vance Anderson   Production Coordination
Dae Bennett   Mixing
Dan Fisher   Composer
Danny Bennett   Executive Producer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Steve Genewick   Engineer
Ervin Drake   Composer
Robert Cray   Composer
Saul Bernie   Composer
Jerry Livingston   Composer
k.d. lang   Performer
Kay Starr   Performer
Harry White   Composer,Composer
Joseph d'Ambrosio   Production Coordination
Woody Pornpitaksuk   Authoring
Christy Bush   Photography
James Duncan   Engineer
Jill Dell'Abate   Production Coordination
Josh Cheuse   Art Direction
Arnold Levine   Art Direction
Mark Seliger   Photography
Lila Lerner   Composer
Joe Turner   Composer
Charlie Paakkari   Engineer
Jimmy Johnson   Composer
James Rushing   Composer
Tony Bennett   Commentary
T. Koeler   Composer
Stella Unger   Composer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Ray Charles   Performer
Sidney Wyche   Composer
Bessie Smith   Composer
B.B. King   Performer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Big Joe Turner   Composer
Natalie Cole   Performer
Sheryl Crow   Performer
Billy Joel   Composer,Performer
Jimmy Rushing   Composer
Bonnie Raitt   Performer
Irene Higginbotham   Composer
Count Basie   Composer
James P. Johnson   Composer
Fleecie Moore   Composer
Don DeVito   A&R
Joel Moss   Mixing,Engineer
Mack David   Composer
Darcy Proper   Mastering
Dennis Walker   Composer
Sam Theard   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Diana Krall   Performer
Rob Mathes   Vocal Arrangement
Luchi de Jesus   Composer
Peter Chatman   Composer
Phil Ramone   Producer
Mayme Watts   Composer
Claudius Mittendorfer   Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Tom Young   Design,Engineer,Monitor Engineer