Singing along with the legend

I imagine that the rule for all the artists invited must have been, best foot forward, you are singing with a legend. And though some are legends themselves, they did put their best feet forward to justify their inclusion in one of the biggest music productions ever recorded, Duets II starring Tony Bennett with his guests.

Bennett has been a star for over 70 years. He has recorded over a hundred albums and sold over 50 million records. Among his biggest hits are I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Cold Cold Heart, From The Candy Store On The Corner To The Chapel On The Hill, The Good Life, Because Of You, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, The Best Is Yet To Come, For Once In My Life, Stranger In Paradise and many others. He is truly an American icon.

To celebrate his 80th birthday in 2006, Bennett recorded Duets: An American Classic. The album featured his hits rerecorded as duets with some of the biggest names in the business. Barbra Streisand, Sting, George Michael, Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Billy Joel and Elton John were some of them. 

As could be expected, the album was a huge success. So when it came time to decide how best to celebrate Bennett’s 85th, the easy answer was, do another Duets. And so, here it is. Duets II. It is a feel-good album, sweet, divine bringing lots of smiles. Bennett’s easy-going singing is so easy on the ears. His vocals, sure and remarkably strong and as always velvety smooth. Any singer who uses age as an excuse for his inadequacies should listen to this octogenarian crooner and feel ashamed.

I love listening to the full orchestra. We now use mostly sequenced accompaniment for recordings. While this does okay and can sound almost real, nothing matches hearing live instruments in the background. Producers Phil Ramone and Dae Bennett and musical director Lee Musker, milked every song with the dreamiest arrangements for Duets II. I would have, too, because, this is Tony Bennett.

I love it that every cut was recorded with Bennett and his guests together in the studio. You know how it is nowadays. Technology enables singers to record duets without them being actually together. Like one can be in Timbuktu and the other in Kota Kinabalu and they will sound like they are singing together in the final mix. Nothing like that for Bennett. He was there with each artist. As a result, there is spontaneity in their interaction that would not have been possible had they been miles or time zones apart. Listen to how he plays around with John Mayer in One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).

I love the song choices. Most of them are the usual standards from when music and lyrics were meant for romance. But I love more the fact that there are songs here I discovered by myself, while growing up. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) with Queen Latifah who sounds fantastic singing a ballad; This Is All I Ask, a surprising choice for the young Josh Groban; Watch What Happens with a brilliant Natalie Cole; Yesterday I Heard The Rain, that Latin pop idol Alejandro Sanz turns into a tribute to Bennett; and the one I like best, the lovely Blue Velvet, with Bennett’s favorite singing partner k.d. lang. She was also in Bennett’s Duets I, where she did Just In Time.

Much has been made of the fact that included is Amy Winehouse’s final recording, Body And Soul. She does okay but the real thrill comes from hearing a joyful, scatting Lady Gaga in The Lady Is A Tramp. Good pipes. This girl should do a standard album. And not to forget, the best of the lot, Speak Low with Norah Jones. She was born to sing this song and how nice she gets to do it with Tony Bennett.

The other duets that I am sure everybody will also love are: Don’t Get Around Much Anymore with Michael Bublé who was also in Duets 1; How Do You Keep The Music Playing, Aretha Franklin; The Girl I Love, Sheryl Crow; On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Willie Nelson; Stranger In Paradise, Andrea Bocelli; The Way You Look Tonight, Faith Hill; It Had To Be You, Carrie Underwood; and When Do The Bells Ring For Me with Mariah Carey.

Wonderful album. I hope and I pray that Tony Bennett will treat us to Duets III soon.