Duets: An American Classic

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Binding: Audio CD
Published: 2006-09-26

$14.49

Duets: An American Classic
by: Tony Bennett

Editorial Review:

Perfecting the art of excellence for over six decades, with 105 albums selling over 50 million copies, Tony Bennett has come to represent the essence of elegance, tradition and artistic accomplishments. Tony celebrates his 80th birthday recording Duets of his greatest hits with today's greatest artists: Bono, Michael Bublé, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Dixie Chicks, Billy Joel, Elton John, Juanes, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, John Legend, Paul McCartney, Tim McGraw, George Michael, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, and Stevie Wonder.
More from Tony Bennett

The Art of Romance

A Wonderful World (with k. d. lang)

Perfectly Frank: An American Classic Celebrates 80

Basie Swings, Bennett Sings (DVD)

The Movie Song Album

The Classic Collection (Box Set)
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

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Enjoyable:

I was in a restaurant that was playing Tony Bennett music and I couldn't figure out
who he was singing with but I loved the song - (George Michael "How do you keep the
music playing?") I googled it and saw it was from this CD that I had never heard of. Ordered
it and I do like it a lot. The George Michael song is my favorite. Love the duet with Michael
Buble and the Dixie Chicks. Others are a little lame, especially the Streisand number and I am a
Streisand fan! I still... more info

Best of Tony Bennett & friends:

Such a joy to listen to over and over again. His son and manager surely knows how to choose voices that blend and enhance his father's own voice, style and sharing thereof. Interviews with the vocalists who join Mr. Bennett on this CD express their admiration and joy in singing with and learning from him.
Can't quite express what a thrill it is to hear him teaching, challenging, and learning from these other artists who obviously are in such awe of the great Tony.

A great effort by a unique collection of musicians:

The most important thing to remember is that this is a collaboration of musical artists that have rarely sung swing or standards and yet, all of them show us why they made it in music. Elton John, K.D. Lang, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Bono, and Elvis Costello all did a great job considering the style and tempo of the songs selected were not their usual "cup of tea."
The 1 song that didn't make me smile was the song "Smile." I don't believe Barbara Streisand understands the concept of a... more info

Duets: Tony Bennett CD:

I was VERY disappointed ! These are all really old songs, and it was just boring, and the songs chosen were awful. I expected the guest musical artists to be doing "classic", and there are so many wonderful choices in that category. Why those songs? Who knows? I gave the album away.

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