The Classics

by Tony Bennett

Overview

After a successful singing career in the 1950s, Tony Bennett, like many of the jazz-based crooners of his era, had a bit of a commercial falloff with the advent of rock & roll in the early '60s. Bennett, for his part, moved even closer to jazz in his stage shows, and then saw his popularity spike when his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," became a big pop hit in 1962. It was Bennett at his best, working to the pop side of jazz, and as the '60s progressed, Bennett became firmly established as an iconic singer and entertainer, his singing always warm, graceful, and full of an easy and offhand elegance. He picked his material carefully, avoiding novelty and trendy songs, and he built an impressive catalog of classic songs, many of which are firmly established as part of the ever shifting American Songbook. This two-disc set is interesting because the selections were made by Bennett himself, with the first disc, easily the best of the two, given over to Bennett as a solo singer, while the second is drawn largely from his two Duets albums and features Bennett performing with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, and others. But it's the solo performances that really capture him at his best. Bennett has noted that he started with the song itself in making the selections here, and then looked for what he thought was the best performance and presentation of it, and since he's released nearly 70 albums in his long career, and many of those were live shows, he had a lot of performances to choose from. There are wonderful versions here of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "I Wanna Be Around," and his other signature songs, all of which come off as emotionally warm and compelling, with an easy and lightly swinging jazz feel. The duets disc has the same warm vibe, and Bennett is a gracious and generous duet vocalist, but to hear him take a great song and broaden it and build it vocally into a perfectly balanced emotional piece of art, well, he doesn't need to share the stage with anybody to do that. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	01/28/2014
Label:	Legacy / Sony Music
UPC:	0888430264823

Tracks

1. Because of You
2. Just in Time
3. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
4. I Wanna Be Around
5. The Good Life
6. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
7. How Do You Keep the Music Playing
8. When Do the Bells Ring for Me
9. New York, New York
10. Evenin'
11. What a Wonderful World
12. Smile
13. The Shadow of Your Smile
14. The Best Is Yet to Come
15. For Once in My Life
16. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)
17. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
18. The Lady Is a Tramp
19. Body and Soul
20. Steppin' Out with My Baby

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tony Bennett   Primary Artist
Christina Aguilera   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Barbra Streisand   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
The Ralph Sharon Trio   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Michael Buble   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Lady Gaga   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
k.d. lang   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Ray Charles   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
John Mayer   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Juanes   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Diana Krall   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Stevie Wonder   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Amy Winehouse   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Percy Faith   Conductor
Harry Allen   Saxophone
Pinchas Zukerman   Fiddle,Soloist
Billy Exiner   Drums
Frank DeVol   Conductor
Joe La Barbera   Drums
Frank Sinatra   Featured Artist
Don Costa   Conductor
Robert Farnon   Conductor
Carrie Underwood   Featured Artist
Ralph Sharon   Piano
Jorge Calandrelli   Conductor
Will Bronson Singers   Featured Artist
Peter Matz   Conductor
Patrick Williams   Conductor
Chuck Berghofer   Rhythm Bass
Harold Jones   Drums
Lee Musiker   Piano
Gray Sargent   Guitar
Gregg Field   Drums
Clayton Cameron   Drums
Marshall Wood   Bass
Marty Manning   Conductor
Marion Evans   Conductor
Ron Anthony   Guitar
Paul Langosch   Bass
Al Cohn   Sax (Tenor)
Hal Gaylor   Bass
George Siravo   Conductor

Technical Credits

Mark Seliger   Photography
Tim Sturges   Mastering
Lyn Koppe   Project Director
Don Hunstein   Photography
Steve Banks   Photography
H. Williams   Composer
Sadie Vimmerstedt   Composer
Kelsey Bennett   Photography
Percy Faith   Arranger
Marty Manning   Arranger
k.d. lang   Duet
George David Weiss   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Dae Bennett   Producer,Vocal Producer
Danny Bennett   Producer,Executive Producer
T-Bone Burnett   Producer
Paul Francis Webster   Composer
Anthony Newley   Composer
Frank DeVol   Arranger
Al Dubin   Composer
L. Adams   Composer
Christina Aguilera   Duet
D. Wilkinson   Composer
Frank Sinatra   Duet
Edward Heyman   Composer
Don Costa   Arranger
Dorothy Fields   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Ernie Altschuler   Producer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
S.K. Russell   Composer
Robert Sour   Composer
Robert Farnon   Arranger
Barbra Streisand   Duet
Carrie Underwood   Duet
Michael Buble   Duet
M. Legrand   Composer
C. Leigh   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Jorge Calandrelli   Arranger
Lady Gaga   Duet
R. Thiele   Composer
C. Ornadel   Composer
D. Cross   Composer
R. Adler   Composer
Arthur Hammerstein   Composer
Tony Tamburello   Music Supervisor
Josh Cheuse   Design,Photography,Art Direction
Peter Matz   Arranger
Tony Bennett   Liner Notes
Ray Charles   Duet
Betty Comden   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
B. Wayne   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Jack Gold   Producer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Gretchen Brennison   Project Director
Frank Eyton   Composer
Ettore Stratta   Producer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Didier C. Deutsch   Compilation Producer
Marilyn Bergman   Composer
John Mayer   Duet
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Juanes   Duet
Diana Krall   Duet
Jule Styne   Composer
R. Wright   Composer
Phil Ramone   Producer,Original Recording Producer
Marion Evans   Arranger
R. Miller   Composer
Orlando Murden   Composer
A. Green   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Mitch Miller   Producer
Alan Bergman   Composer
Stevie Wonder   Duet
Amy Winehouse   Duet
C. Coleman   Composer
C. Strouse   Composer
George Siravo   Arranger