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| |  | CDs | Home » » Duets: An American Classic | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | 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 BublĂ©, 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) |
| | | Features: | |
• BENNETT TONY DUETS AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
| | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| September 26, 2006 | | Studio:
| Sony | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 271 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | LULLABY OF BROADWAY – duet with Dixie Chicks | | 2. | SMILE – duet with Barbra Streisand | | 3. | PUT ON A HAPPY FACE – duet with James Taylor | | 4. | THE GOOD LIFE – duet with Billy Joel | | 5. | THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE – duet with Juanes | | 6. | RAGS TO RICHES – duet with Elton John | | 7. | THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU – duet with Paul McCartney | | 8. | COLD, COLD HEART – duet with Tim McGraw | | 9. | IF I RULED THE WORLD –duet with Celine Dion | | 10. | THE BEST IS YET TO COME – duet with Diana Krall | | 11. | FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE – duet with Stevie Wonder | | 12. | ARE YOU HAVIN’ ANY FUN? – duet with Elvis Costello | | 13. | BECAUSE OF YOU – duet with k.d. lang | | 14. | JUST IN TIME – duet with Michael Bublé | | 15. | THE BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS – duet with Sting | | 16. | I WANNA BE AROUND - duet with Bono | | 17. | SING, YOU SINNERS – duet with John Legend | | 18. | I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO | | 19. | HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING? – duet with George Michael | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 271 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 40 found the following review helpful:
 Stellar Duet Partners Offer Vocal Diversity As Bennett Stays True to His Classic Erudite SelfSep 26, 2006
By Ed Uyeshima
There are several top-selling singers who mine the Great American Songbook without having an innate understanding of its musical context. The results can consequently amount to contrived posturing as much as singing. Tony Bennett is not one of them as he so completely understands what music works with his sturdy, mellifluous voice that he makes almost everyone else featured on this disc sound vocally compatible even if several are out of their comfort zones. What makes this a better listen than Frank Sinatra's similar efforts in the early nineties is that Bennett recorded all the duets in person with his partners and has figured out how to retro-fit their musical sensibilities with his own. Intriguingly, industry veteran Phil Ramone produced both the Sinatra and Bennett projects.
Things start energetically with a big-band arrangement of "Lullaby of Broadway". The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines sings with surprising aplomb but only on the first verse, and as a group, they spend the rest of the track mimicking the Andrews Sisters with their WWII-era girl-group background vocals. The cheery "Put on a Happy Face" from "Bye, Bye Birdie" has the normally taciturn James Taylor sounding very Gene Kelly-like and bantering quite easily with Bennett. A melancholy tone seeps into "Because of You", Bennett's first major hit in 1951, with Chris Botti's sad-eyed trumpet and a sonorous K.D. Lang sounding most assured given her previous experience as his partner.
A surprisingly confident Bono extracts the usual gruffness from his arena-rock voice and dexterously matches with Bennett on a sauntering version of "I Wanna Be Around". Elton John provides an unforced swing on the brief "Rags to Riches", while Elvis Costello loosens up considerably with the jazzy arrangement and Hope-Crosby-style bantering of "Are You Havin' Fun Yet?". A smoky-voiced Billy Joel is the ideal partner for the reflective "The Good Life" which soars with their intertwining voices, just as Sting is for a highly dramatic, Weill-style rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" featuring some nice guitar work. As Bennett's youngest partner, John Legend provides energy to spare on an Ella-style "Sing You Sinners", though I wish there was more scatting during the interlude.
The comparatively weaker tracks just miss the mark by mere inches, not miles. As expected, Celine Dion overdoes her part on "If I Ruled the World", and a slightly Latin-tinged "The Shadow of Your Smile" has a lush sound save for Columbian rock singer Juanes' somewhat tinny tone. Stevie Wonder sounds a tad resistant to Bennett's nightclub-style arrangement of his own composition, "For Once In My Life" since he still applies his familiar melisma. Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" looks to drop its country roots for a more generic treatment until Tim McGraw starts to dip his notes like Williams. And one of the most beautiful love songs on the disc, Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You", has Bennett sounding velvety smooth in a swooning arrangement but Paul McCartney comparatively stiff with his phrasing a bit off.
The best tracks produce the magic you expect from Bennett when coupled with partners with perfectly complementary styles. Crooner Michael Bublé shows a great affinity for "Just in Time", while the jazzy sass of "The Best Is Yet to Come" benefits considerably from Diana Krall's dusky voice. George Michael makes a welcome return to the pop mainstream on the silky smooth "How Do You Keep the Music From Playing?". Not too surprisingly, the best duet is the lushly orchestrated "Smile" with Bennett and Barbra Streisand alternating verses as if on gossamer wings. Along with Pinchas Zukerman's masterful violin, they make stunning magic together, and the praise they sing to each other at the end seems most justified. Bennett includes a valedictory "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by himself, beautiful as always and a subtly ironic choice for a duets album.
35 of 42 found the following review helpful:
 I'm sure it looked good on paperOct 02, 2006
By Rich Given
"richgiven"
Tony Bennett's 80th birthday deserves commemoration by something better than this collection of his signature tunes recorded with duet partners obviously chosen more for their value as marketing hooks than than their interpretive skills with the great american songbook.
The pairing of Bennett with Barbra Streiand on Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" yields a surprisingly uninspired collaboration. James Taylor, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and The Dixie Chicks are so far out of their depths with this material and in Bennett's company that the results are borderline painful.
You have to get half way through the collection before one of these recordings truly hits the bullseye, with Diana Krall joining Bennett brilliantly on Cy Coleman's classic "The Best is Yet to Come." Along the way, Tim McGraw is a worthy complement to Hank William's "Cold, Cold Heart" and k.d. Lang and Michael Buble provide competent support on "Because of You" and "Just in Time" respectively.
But the majority of this album's 19 tracks constitute little more than a poorly executed marketing gimmick with artists who do not belong on the same record as Mr. Bennett, or for that matter anywhere in the vicinity of these great songs.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 TONY-YES / GUEST STARS-NOMar 10, 2007
By S. D.
There's no doubt that Tony knows his business and the types of songs that fit him best. And while this CD is filled with many "superstar" guests singing duets with him, it just seemed lackluster overall.
Practically every song had Tony singing the first verse with the guest artist coming in on the second verse. Both usually wrapped up the song together; but not before verbal praise was dished out from Tony to his co-artist (come on...Stevie Wonder...full???) or vice-versa SOMEplace in the song. Come on...cut the yapping and sing the song already!
This SHOULD have been a much more entertaining CD. Unfortunately, it drags along from start to finish.
20 of 24 found the following review helpful:
What a Disappointment!Oct 24, 2006
By bals gal
Let me preface this rating by saying that I have been a Tony Bennett fan for over 50 years. His songs are magnificent. However, this cd did not impress me at all. The artists added nothing to the music which was extremely draggy, slow, and rather boring. It just didn't have the "umph" Sinatra's "Duets" had.
23 of 28 found the following review helpful:
A Worthy Effort, But Tony's Voice Falters, Which Makes CD DisappointingApr 24, 2007
By Peter
Yes, I am another fan who bought into the hype of thinking this CD was one of 2006 best releases. How could you ignore it -- all the ads, billboards, Tony's tireless push on the TV talk shows. On effort alone, I would easily give this CD 5 stars. It's a HUGE, huge undertaking, teaming Tony (a legend himself) with the music biz's biggest legends and newest stars.
But the fact is....Tony Bennett is 80 years old. It's been a while since I listened to his recent recordings, and I was SHOCKED how his voice has deteriorated since his last outing, the wonderful "Art of Romance", released in 2004 when he was in great voice -- GET IT !! The voice is now reduced to a craggy, ragged, and vibrato-heavy fraction of its former self. Perhaps it was Tony's son (a very smart manager) Danny's idea to team his dad with the music biz's biggest stars, where Tony would only work half as hard at singing. Sadly, that still cannot hide the fact Tony is 80-years old and sounds like it. I say this in the fondest way when I think Mr. Bennett should seriously entertain the idea of retiring gracefully. He has one of the best bodies of work in the music biz (spanning over 50 years). Why ruin his stellar reputation and legacy with disappointing recordings such as this?
This CD does have its share of great performances from Tony's duet partners, nearly every singer shines in his/her half. First, the ones that DIDN'T make the cut: Sorry "Celine Lovers", but Ms. Dion is "El Stinko" in her wailing version of "If I Ruled the World". Does she think that screaming her way thru the song would show that she "Ruled the World"? There is ZERO chemistry between her and Mr. Bennett. They might as well sang in different parts of the world because that's what the track sounded like. The last minute of the song turns into a wailing match as both singers try to outscream each other.....Bad, bad bad ! The Dixie Chicks also sound as though they drank half a bottle of Geritol because their interpretation of "Lullaby of Broadway" sounds half asleep. Lastly, Juanes uses showmanship to hog the spotlight away from Tony in "The Shadow of Your Smile". His inappropriate showy performance is way, way off the map and you get the sense Tony really sounds annoyed with him (tsk, task...shame on you, Juanes). John Legend is largely wasted in a big-band swing version of "Sing You Sinners". His voice is buried way deep in the arrangements. A large waste of talent.
But the rest perform wonderfully. I have to say my personal faves are k.d. lang and George Michael. Ms. lang is hauntingly beautiful and powerful in "Because of You". Her memorable performance stays with you long after the CD has stopped playing. It is the only track here I could easily put on "Repeat" for 10 or 15 listens. She's THAT good ! Also, George Michael is barely recognizable in a good way as he dives deep into "How Do You Keep the Music Playing". His tenor range blends seamlessly into the melody of this beautiful song. Stevie Wonder also performs his "For Once In My Life" memorably. Stevie's voice is as rich and resonant as ever. The interplay between him and Tony is priceless, as is the one between James Taylor and Tony. Mr. Taylor starts off almost shyly in "Put on a Happy Face" but really picks up steam as the song progresses.
If you are just interested in the novelty of hearing Tony perform with duet partners songs made famous by him from over 40 years ago and don't mind his ragged, craggy voice, then "Duets" is still worth it. But if you are a fan of Mr. Bennett's going way back and can't bear to hear this legend in declining voice, then skip it. Again, I think he should hang it up after this one. The advances of time sound like they have taken a toll. Still, this would be a great CD to retire on. He has the love and support of his peers and fans from around the world, and nothing shows that overflowing love better than this CD.
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