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Music CD - Tony Bennett: The Ultimate Tony Bennett
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Music CD: The Ultimate Tony Bennett
Artist: Tony Bennett
List Price: $16.97
Our Price: $5.95
Your Save: $ 11.02 ( 65% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sony
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
2. Because Of You
3. Rags To Riches
4. Just In Time
5. Stranger In Paradise
6. The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
7. I Wanna Be Around
8. The Good Life
9. The Shadow Of Your Smile
10. Put On A Happy Face
11. If I Ruled The World
12. Smile
13. Night And Day
14. How Do You Keep The Music Playing
15. Mood Indigo
16. Blue Velvet
17. Steppin' Our With My Baby
18. When Joana Loved Me
19. When Do The Bells Ring For Me
20. The Best Is Yet To Come
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0074646357026
Format: Enhanced
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2000-10-03
Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Going from Rags to Riches..............
Comment: Due to the fine contributions of my vast fan club, I was able to afford a 5 star restaurant for some fine cuisine. I took my seeress love Sondra to the world reknown Le Chateau de Penguin (named, I suppose, for the way the waiters look). We were seated immediately in the lush Iceberg Room, with beautiful paintings of lettuce on the walls. Awesome and stunning. And let's not forget the ice sculptures of Dr. Federick A. Cook and Admiral Robert E. Peary, at opposite ends of the center french provincial table that was home to the Louis the 14th crystal punch bowl. It was all pomp and atmosphere folks. Sort of like Metamorpho.
After some amuse-bouches and apertifs, we settled down for the main course. She- la coq au vin and me- le boef bourguignon. To compliment this we had the finest chardonnay Boone's Farm makes - vintage 1999 - yes, made a century ago! You can't get better than this people.
Anyway, to go along with this pleasant evening, they had the background songs of Tony Bennett playing. I had almost forgotten about him although I believe he is (or was) a resident of my hometown. Anyway, I was so taken with hearing this that I went out and acquired The Ultimate Tony Bennett. Needless to say, this is so good it's sinful.
First off I believe Tony is not only a superb American vocalist, but probably one of the best in contemporary music. You only need to listen to the burst of vocal dexterity at the end of "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" to know this is true. Tony is the master of mood. Suave, sophisticated adult love tunes that compliment a romantic evening.
This is a collection of wonderful music. Sweet, sentimental ballads like "Mood Indigo" and "Blue Velvet". Fine jazz excursions like "Steppin' Out With My Baby" (Sondra threw her head back and laughed like Lauren Bacall with that one), "Night and Day", and let's not forget one of my favorites "The Best is Yet to Come".
But, more than these morsels of sound, Tony gives you more food for thought with timely classics. "Stranger in Paradise", "Rags to Riches", "I Wanna Be Around" "Put On a Happy Face" can certainly be regarded as very high points in an illustrious career. But, at the top of the hill has to be the finest he's ever recorded. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". If I was locked away at Alcatraz, this would be the one I'd want to hear. I'm glad I'm not, but I forever want to hear it anyway.
Every song here, in it's own way, is pure pleasure. Relaxing, pleasant to hear, and so very very fine. I am grateful that Tony is still around to pick up the pizzas. ;)
Anyway - highly recommended. Now, your Metamorpho is giving another lecture tour, coming to a city near you very soon. And your contributions will help me get back to Le Chateau de Penguin once again. You wouldn't deny me this small indulgence, would you? Make check payable to me and make sure it doesn't bounce! The waiters don't expect shabby tips you know!
On the Boulevard of Broken Greens -- Metamorpho ;)
Customer Rating:
Summary: fine single CD retrospective
Comment: The Ultimate Tony Bennett is essentially a single CD retrospective of what Tony Bennett himself considered to be his best work. (Bennett himself picked the songs for the album.) The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is nicely done. The selection of songs may lean toward to 1950s and the 1960s but Tony Bennett truly was so great that just about anything he ever sang is priceless.
The album starts off with Tony singing the single version of "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." This is one of Tony's signature songs and it's not hard to understand why. Tony's ability to convey the emotions in every subtle nuance of the lyrics to this ballad strikes me as incredibly wonderful. Tony sings with excellent diction; and the piano arrangement lacks nothing--it's THAT good.
"Rags To Riches" features Tony's vocals squarely in the spotlight; and the lush musical arrangement enhances the natural beauty of this number. Tony sings this so well I am sure you will enjoy this song if you haven't heard it before. Moreover, "Stranger In Paradise" places Tony in the spotlight; he sings "Stranger In Paradise" to perfection and the backup vocalists support Tony very well. "I Wanna Be Around" is a romantic, emotional love song that couldn't sound any better if anyone even tried to perform this one. Tony sings this with great sensitivity at the same time that his voice is strong and full of warmth. Great!
"The Good Life" is utterly charming when Tony sings it; and listen also for Tony's fine rendition of "Smile." Tony delivers "Smile" with panache and I always enjoy this ballad. "Night And Day" is a romantic ballad and Tony swings slowly to perform this with an elegant style all his own. The piano and percussion on "Night And Day" are arranged with great sophistication, too.
"Blue Velvet" gives us Tony singing an interpretation of this classic love song with an almost operatic style; and the CD ends strong with "The Best Is Yet To Come." "The Best Is Yet To Come" features a fine musical arrangement and Tony sings this with such optimism that you experience the same optimism just listening to this!
Overall, any single CD retrospective of Tony Bennett's career could never truly hope to even scratch the surface of what this man could do on stage; but this one CD does come close to truly being his best. It's revealing that Bennett himself picked these numbers out for this CD. I highly recommend this for Tony Bennett fans; and people who like classic pop vocals won't be disappointed either.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best Tony Bennett single disc complilation out there!!!
Comment: 20 Tony Bennett classics on one great sounding re-mastered CD!!! Absolute classic stuff from start to finish!!! Really lives up to the name of "The Ultimate Tony Bennett"!!! Thats all that needs to be said!!! 20 Timeless classics for us to cherish forever!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five stars!!! A+
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great CD A Bennet Classic
Comment: I purchased this CD for a good friend as a birthday gift. He is a huge Tony Bennet fan and just returned from seeing him in concert in Illinois. The disc is wonderful and made my friend's day. He is a Bennett efficionado and thought the disc was the best he had heard.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sexy relaxation
Comment: I keep this CD in my car. Tony Bennett's voice is amazing. This collection has selections from his early days to more recent times, and each one, regardless of when it was recorded, it so sensous and relaxing to me. "The Best is Yet to Come" is a great selection, as is "When JoAnna Loved Me". The best one has to be Cole Porter's "Night and Day." Great CD!
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Editorial Reviews:
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While Sinatra, Martin, and the Rat Pack were busy sacrificing a good measure of their vocal talents in the sordid business of fame and fortune, Tony Bennett was quietly, stubbornly, burnishing his vocal gifts into High, if seemingly effortless, Art. How good is Bennett? Just ask the Chairman of the Board and Head Rat: "The best goddamned pop singer I've ever heard." While a single disc can't offer much more than a sketchy outline of Bennett's rich, seven-decade career, this one offers the commercial peaks--and some telling hints at the restless artistic instinct that produced them. From the pure, nearly operatic power and perfect vibrato he displays on early hits such as "Rags to Riches," "Stranger in Paradise" and the overly theatrical, borderline kitsch of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" through his signature "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" to his gratifying if unlikely '90s resurgence, you can literally hear Bennett's voice tempering like the wood of a Stradivarius, his phrasing taking on a deceptively loose, jazz-fueled languor that tells you where his musical heart really lies. The singer, not the song; damn straight advice--take it from a master. -Jerry McCulley
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