406 replies to this topic

[Bruno Portugal]

Ronny83, on Sep 24 2006, 07:35 PM, said:

Quote

ARTIST: TONY BENNETT
ALBUM: DUETS: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC (RPM/Columbia Records)

NEW YORK (Billboard) - One of America's great voices surrounds himself with other singing superstars, mostly to good effect, on this 80th birthday celebration. It helps that Bennett recorded these duets in person, and that he's worked with some of these folks, such as k.d. lang and Elvis Costello, before. A few of Bennett's partners here, notably Celine Dion and Stevie Wonder, get a bit overemotive (though Wonder's harmonica is a treat on "For Once in My Life"), but Tim McGraw ("Cold, Cold Heart"), James Taylor ("Put On a Happy Face") and George Michael ("How Do You Keep the Music Playing?") are surprising standouts amidst a heady corps that also includes Paul McCartney, Elton John, Bono, Sting, the Dixie Chicks and Barbra Streisand. Nevertheless, the album's best moment is "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," a Bennett solo performance accompanied only by piano.

Billboard doesn't love Céline so much, lately.  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's what I was afraid of after listening to the song for the first time...

Let's wait for more reviews...

[firebird]

It's not like Billboard were speaking the truth or something. The song is perfect. It's not as if Celine had become over-emotive over night, they should have know better, they know her for 15 years. It's always been like that. May she continue like that

[Bullet]

Billboard is just jealous that THE best singer is Céline and that she's not from the US... She  sounds amazing on this song! Maybe because she recorded that song during her vacation and she was out of Vegas - a place that is not so good for the throat and nose. I was there a few months ago, and I stayed for 4 days only and my nose was extremely dry! I sure couldn't have sung a single note! When she's out of Vegas, you'll see that top quality again - just like on that new song!!  Love Céline!

[CSCfan]

Don't generalize..it's just one reviewer/critic from BillBoard..there's still dozen of others who think she's great (like Chuck)..

[CSCfan]

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Bennett Brings Back Class to Duets Format
Jazz

By WILL FRIEDWALD
September 26, 2006

The cover of Tony Bennett's new album, "Tony Bennett Duets: An American Classic," utilizes a clever conceit that Mr. Bennett, a lifelong student of the visual arts, must surely appreciate: his face, constructed pointillistically out of a zillion tiny little buttons bearing pictures of him from the 1940s all the way to the millennium. The message is clear: Mr. Bennett, who is celebrating the release of the album as well as his 80th birthday with an all-star concert tonight at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, is a product of his past identities — the pop crooner of the early '50s who gradually reinvented himself as a major jazz stylist in the '60s and '70s before going on to become the savior of the Great American Songbook in the '90s.

In 1993, Mr. Bennett participated in "Frank Sinatra Duets," the album that launched the mega-star duets trend. Upon the release of that album (as well as the subsequent "Duets II"), many long-time Sinatra fans felt that the Chairman of the Board had been inveigled into participating in a coarse enterprise designed to sell a lot of records and get his name on the charts.

Indeed, most of the tracks on Sinatra's duets packages were sadly forgettable. Thankfully, on Mr. Bennett's "Duets," the ratio is reversed; there's nothing as embarrassing as Julio Iglesias stumbling through "Summer Wind,"looking not only for lost love but the beat.

The difference between the two projects is that Sinatra simply laid down his tracks and left it to producer Phil Ramone to do everything else. The original Sinatra vocals, as a subsequent bootleg revealed, actually sounded much better bereft of the electronic additives. Contrastingly, Mr. Bennett's effort is not what the late New YorkTimes critic Hans Fantel called "sonic collage," but true duets, with two people actually relating to each other live in the studio. There are moments that appear, at least, to be genuinely spontaneous, as in "For Once in My Life," when Stevie Wonder interjects a quote from "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" into his harmonica solo, provoking a laugh from Mr. Bennett.

The Sinatra duets albums also featured a number of flavor-of-the minute performers whose careers were virtually over by the time the albums were released. Contrastingly, although most of the stars on "Tony Bennett Duets" are not necessarily versed in singing the Songbook, nearly all are established icons whose careers have already transcended the usual obsolescence of the pop music business, like Sting, Bono, Paul McCartney, and Elton John. It is also an indicator of how much music has improved over the last dozen years that two of Mr. Bennett's younger costars, the Canadians Diana Krall and Michael Buble, both specialize in jazz and the Songbook.

Even before we consider how well the co-stars handle their appointed tasks, it should be noted that the production values on the current album are terrific. Mr. Bennett's musical director and pianist Lee Musiker, string orchestrator Jorge Calendrelli, and horn arranger Torrie Zito (who has worked with Mr. Bennett for 40 years) have collaborated to rewrite or amend classic Bennett charts by Ralph Sharon, Johnny Mandel, and others in a way that preserves the best of the past.

Mr. Bennett's own chops are amazing: even at 80, his voice is as big and warm as ever; it's a sound that ages well and is more capable than ever of conveying the microscopic nuances of both sadness and elation. In playing his current vocals side by side with those as far back as 55 years ago (on "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," his first single) the new performances do not suffer. More than ever, Mr. Bennett's voice sounds like going home.

The most difficult problem for singers not versed in jazz is trying to sing with a swingtime feeling; Mr. Bennett, Mr. Musiker, and the arrangers confront this problem intelligently, giving two of the faster tunes, "The Best Is Yet To Come" and "Just in Time," to Ms. Krall and Mr. Buble, who know well where the beat is. The Dixie Chicks have a rougher time of it on "Lullaby of Broadway," a hard swinging Sharon chart introduced by Mr. Bennett and Count Basie, but work around it intelligently, coming up with a simpatico impression of the Andrews Sisters.

On "Smile," Mr. Bennett sings with so much heart and soul that he reaches a Louis Armstrong level of radiance, so much so that even Barbra Streisand, who usually seems incapable of expressing love for anyone other than herself, gets the point. ( That said, having Celine Dion on the same album as Ms. Streisand, on "If I Ruled the World," seems redundant.) The tunes and charts generally play to the strengths of the guest stars: Sting sings "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" as if it was one of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's decadent tangos; Elvis Costello brings his sense of humor to "Are You Havin' Any Fun"; and "Because of You" showcases K.D. Lang's considerable capacity for dreamy rubato ballads.

Still, the duet format has its limits: When Mr. Bennett crosses cadenzas with George Michael on "How Do You Keep the Music Playing," the Greek-British pop star doesn't even try to keep up with the grandfatherly icon on the chart's famous climax, in which Mr. Bennett executes a breathtaking chromatic ascent to a mountainous high note.

Mr. Bennett obviously realized no other voice could possibly add anything to his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," nor could any other instrument, and therefore sings it with just Mr. Musiker on piano.This is apparently the only studio version of the song that he has cut since the original in 1962, and he leaves us no doubt that his heart is still waiting for him, high on that bay city hill, even after 45 years. Make no mistake, Tony Bennett more than knows how to keep the music playing.

[source]

[alextrusca]

I agree, Babs shouldn't have been on the CD.

[Koolan]

No Celine video on the bonus DVD.   

[mirage]

Quote

That said, having Celine Dion on the same album as Ms. Streisand, on "If I Ruled the World," seems redundant

redundant? what do they mean with that!?  

[Adam868]

Just picked up my copy of Tony's CD today.  First song I listened to was obviously the Celine duet.  My honest opinion: It started off, and for the first 2 minutes I thought to myself eh, really really not that good.

But then as the end picked up, and the last 3 notes of the song...omg well worth the $14 for the CD.  Celine and Tony sound PERFECT on the ending note, and it's so so good.

[Céline's Blues]

mirage, on Sep 26 2006, 03:59 PM, said:

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That said, having Celine Dion on the same album as Ms. Streisand, on "If I Ruled the World," seems redundant

redundant? what do they mean with that!?  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That it's absolutely needless to have a bad copy of Barbra on the same CD. That was a spiteful remark.

Barbra sounds wonderful, tho. Gorgeousness.

[LVCeline]

Would it be greedy of me to ask someone to post the cd version?  I'm sorry but I don't want to buy a whole cd for only 1 song.  Or maybe point me in the direction of a good mp3 sight that I can purchase just the song on?  Please?

[VinnyT.]

Quote

Columbia’s 80-year-old crooning legend Tony Bennett comes strong with his new duets album, Duets: An American Classic, buttressed by a national Target TV spot that features the singer and some of his co-stars on the album, including Stevie Wonder, Elton John, k.d. lang, John Legend, Diana Krall and Tim McGraw, among others. His estimated 140-150k total gives him a shot at the #3 spot, where he’ll be vying with young whippersnapper Justin Timberlake, this week’s chart-topper.

    

[PopMusicBoy]

I downloaded the song on iTunes.  It's not the best duet Celine has done, but it's still good nonetheless!

[winforlife]

I haven't read too many favorable critiques of Céline's duet although this one from
Borders is pretty good. The reveiwer was somewhat critical but praised her great voice and gave Céline's performance  decent marks.

  

17 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
Tony and friends DELIVER!!!!!, September 26, 2006
Reviewer: Paul Lace "maddesthatter" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
Back when Sinatra did a similar thing (the two "Duets" discs), the results ranged from non-convincing to outright appalling, despite the quality of most singing partners. Yes, it might have been because of the separate recording sessions, or maybe because of a hasty song selection, but the chemistry was just not there. Though I was looking forward to this CD (I'm a long-time Tony Bennett fan), I approched it with a lot of skepticism. Boy I was in for a very pleasant surprise!!
"Duets - An American Classic" is classy, fun, sophisticated, romantic, moody and it never gets boring.

The disc starts with a very original rendition of "The Lullaby of Broadway
" with the Dixie Chicks. I know these pretty smart girls are much better musicians than they're typically given credit for, but I didn't expect them to swing that well. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill country singers. Yes, it's true, they do sound like the Andrew Sisters! (What's wrong with that?)

Charlie Chaplin's unforgettable "Smile" is beautifully sung by Tony and the evergreen Barbra Streisand. She really is one of the best, her unmistakable voice is just as great as ever. The arrangement is a bit corny for my tastes though, but classical violin virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman's performance is, as usual, moving.

James Taylor's vocal style isn't too well-suited for this kind of music, but he still manages to do an appreciable job in "Put on a happy face."

Paul McCartney, on the other hand, was the second pleasant surprise (after the Dixie Chicks.) For someone supposedly unfamiliar with this repertoire, he does a surprisingly good job, sounding very much like an experienced crooner.

I admit not knowing who Juanes was, I read that he's a South American rock singer. Anyhow, he tries to sound like Julio Iglesias (definitely not one of my favorites...) but you can feel it's really not his cup of tea. This is definitely the weakest number.

"Rags to riches" is quite fun, with Sir Elton putting up quite a vocal show. Nice, really nice.

Well, what can I say about Billy Joel if not that he's the closest thing to Tony Bennett himself! Wow, two consummate crooners singing one heck of a duet!! Stellar!!

Tim McGraw represents America's country singers (well, with the Dixie Chicks, but we know how they're straying away from mainstream country --and fortunately so, at least for those of us who don't fully appreciate that type of music-- their talent would be a little...wasted...:-) ) in the country classic "Cold cold heart" with Tony's usual jazz arrangement. Almost every time I went to one of Tony's concerts, I heard him tell this story of how Hank Williams didn't particularly appreciate his song crossing genre. Tim sounds a bit like he's still mad at tony for the same reason. I appreciate his effort though.

In "If I ruled the world" Celine Dion is being...Celine Dion. Great voice, we know, but it comes with the usual grandstanding. Still, it's a very appreciable duet.

Diana Krall...oh well...I love her, she's by far my favorite jazz vocalist, so I can't help praising her performance. Nice choice of song, a true classic. I just wished Tony did an entire album of duets with her, that would be a true blast!!

In "For once in my life", the guest star is also the author of the song. Yes, Stevie is a class act, but he's not completely comfortable with this style and that's pretty obvious. Still, an interesting choice.

Oh my God, does Elvis Costello always come as a package deal with Diana? I hardly tolerated him in "De-lovely" (a dreck of a movie, but the guest stars did a fantastic singing job --except for Elvis--) and now he's here too? Admit it Elvis, you're no jazz singer, stop fooling around, do what you usually do and enjoy the voice of your wonderful wife when you feel in the mood for jazz vocals. (OK, I admit it, there might be a bit of jealousy here...:-) )

K.D. Lang is a great singer and, of course, she performs beautifully. She's not new at duetting with Tony and you can really feel the chemistry. Too bad we never hear enough of her. Chris Botti's excellent trumpet solo is noteworthy.

Michael Buble' is a consummate professional, yet he's still one of several Sinatra-wannabes, virtually indistinguishable from one another. I don't particularly care for his voice, but this duet is undoubtely nice.

Of all the pop/rock singers in this album, Sting is the one with the most familiarity with jazz (just think of how many jazz performers he's made famous...) and you can hear that. Too bad his voice has lost some luster in recent years, but the spirit is still there.

Bono is more than OK in "I wanna be around", another pleasant surprise.

John Legend also does a creditable job in "Sing, you sinners."

Tony must have sung and recorded "I left my heart in San Francisco" a gazillion times, yet this version is quite unique, being accompanied by reknown jazz pianist Bill Charlap alone. Very nice and sophisticated, although I can hear echoes of the "Tony Bennett/Bill Evans album." With all due respect to Mr. Charlap, he's obviously not a piano genius of the caliber of Bill Evans, yet his accompanying work and solo are competent and tasteful, albeit somewhat cliche'.

Although I've never fully appreciated George Michael's voice, he does a very nice job with "How do you keep the music playing?" Still, he sounds like...George Michael. :-)

Finally, although Tony's voice is not the same as it was decades ago (I guess he now greatly regrets smoking a pack a day for decades...), he
definitely sounds much much better than Sinatra in his last years and his remarkable verve is still there. What a great entertainer, the last of the great crooners. There will never be another one like him, sorry Buble', Connick, Cincotti etc.

This is a very enjoyable album, though if I had been the producer I would have replaced a few of the guests. How about Natalie Cole? A shame she's not in this production. And since Tony has always liked playing pygmalion, how about featuring a young and talented jazz singer? My vote would have gone to the amazing Renee Olstead (still a teenager, if I remember correctly!)

If you buy your CD from Target, you will enjoy four bonus tracks, featuring previously released duets with Krall, Buble', Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Nice stuff, you definitely want the extra tracks, unless you already have them.

[thevoice]

the fact remains the same - the critics in their majority hated FIY , LTAL and all her albums that sold the most copies . critics hate it=the fans love it!!
critics love it = well, seb loves it

[Céline's Blues]

thevoice, on Sep 28 2006, 05:07 PM, said:

critics love it = well, seb loves it

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So well put!  

[CSCfan]

Quote

BENNETT'S DUETS ARE REAL:

Friday, September 29, 2006

BENNETT'S DUETS ARE REAL:

TONY BENNETT

Duets: An American Classic RPM Records/Columbia

Part of the problem with most "duets" recordings is that they often sound sterile, usually because the singers aren't even in the same time zone, never mind the same studio, when they record their individual vocal parts.

Advanced technology has allowed performers who may even be on different continents to attempt a recording that sounds as if they're singing around the same microphone at the same time. But careful listeners can notice the emptiness of it all.

That's not what happened when Tony Bennett set out to record a set of duets to celebrate his 80th birthday. The singer and his seasoned touring quartet went from London to Los Angeles to New York to sing with his partners live in the studio with no gimmicks involved.

With his esteemed reputation and track record, Bennett had no problem attracting big names to be part of the project.

The 19 songs feature a "who's who" of superstars ranging from Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Bono and Elton John to James Taylor, Tim McGraw, Sting, Celine Dion, k.d. lang and many others.

The album starts with a bang, thanks to the rather unlikely pairing of Bennett with the Dixie Chicks. It might seem unlikely the country trio would want to take on "Lullaby of Broadway," but they do, and it absolutely swings. It's by far the highlight of an album with an abundance of memorable musical moments.

Among several other standouts is the duet between Bennett and Streisand on Charlie Chaplin's "Smile"; the loose-as-a-goose collaboration with Taylor on "Put on a Happy Face"; the smooth, subdued but expressive match with McCartney on "The Very Thought of You"; and an outstanding rendition of "The Best is Yet to Come" with Diana Krall. The latter, like many of the songs on the disc, was recorded previously by Bennett, in this case on his 1962 breakthrough album "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

Speaking of "Left My Heart," it's the one selection here that is so associated with Bennett that it would make no sense to bring another voice to it. So he reprises it on his own, all these years later, still sounding exquisite on his signature song.

The voice at 80 sounds remarkably well preserved. Sure there's a slight rasp, but that rasp has been part of Bennett's makeup for decades and it suits him just fine. Call it character. But his distinctive phrasing has gotten even better with time and his ability to reach into his upper octave at this point in his life is extraordinary. In the duet with Bono on "I Wanna Be Around," it is Bennett who grabs the high harmony, and the notes that both he and Stevie Wonder hit toward the back end of "For Once in My Life" are likely to leave the listener astounded.

This isn't just a testament to Bennett's enduring talent. It's pure joy. Even a couple of tracks that don't work that well, as when Elvis Costello falls short on "Are You Havin' Any Fun?" and Celine Dion oversings on "If I Ruled the World," it isn't enough to detract from the overall splendor of the album.

At 80, Bennett is still in a class by himself. But on "Duets, he shares the spotlight with some of his students.

[source]

[Céline's Blues]

LMAO I told y'all! I told y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CSCfan]

So a critic agrees with siur....   

WORLD NEWS!  

[Céline's Blues]

Read on he amazon reviews. Besides literally every reviewer agreed on her style of singing during the 90's. It's not a big deal, tho. I don't care what others think. My opinion is still valid as much as is theirs.

[Bellamy]

This album makes me :sleep1:  I'm awaken only for "If I Ruled the World".  

[CSCfan]

As is ours..

[Céline's Blues]

CSCfan, on Sep 29 2006, 05:39 AM, said:

As is ours..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course. I don't even know why you're so keen to underline it.

[isurrender]

What does "overemotive" mean?  

[Céline's Blues]

isurrender, on Sep 30 2006, 06:07 AM, said:

What does "overemotive" mean? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Listen to Falling Into You or LEt's Talk About Love - two best reference albums for "overemotive".  

Seriously it means that when you sing smething you overly exaggerate your emotions, playing it high like a drama. It's like you sit in a theatre and see an actor evidently "overplaying" his or her role on stage. OVeremotive would mean to use some excessive vocal takes on a song that would have required you to just sing from the heart, not let's say hit thousand Oohhhoohohohohoooooh oohhhhh like Xtina or the dog whitsles like the one who "we don't mention or speak about here".

In my opinion one who overplays is not a good actor at all. It has to come naturally and if you force it, you SO see it. It's as if the actor on stage is imposing his emotions on you just cuzz he/she can't transport them via a more gentle elegant and sophisticated way.

[thevoice]

good morning america lol!
celine is the queen of drama and of long and dramatic notes - that's why she is the best selling female artist ever (i just love to say it ) and that's why so many people love her voice

[isurrender]

Thanks !


Another question : who produced the duet?  

[Mohsin]

i LOVE the song. i think its fantastic!

[CSCfan]

siur, on Sep 30 2006, 01:18 PM, said:

Listen to Falling Into You or LEt's Talk About Love - two best reference albums for "overemotive". 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My 2 favourite Celine albums..   
(and coincidentally her best selling albums! )

thevoice, on Sep 30 2006, 01:21 PM, said:

good morning america lol!
celine is the queen of drama and of long and dramatic notes - that's why she is the best selling female artist ever (i just love to say it ) and that's why so many people love her voice

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly..   

[nico robin]

thevoice, on Sep 30 2006, 06:21 AM, said:

good morning america lol!
celine is the queen of drama and of long and dramatic notes - that's why she is the best selling female artist ever (i just love to say it ) and that's why so many people love her voice

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    so true"!!