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Tony
Bennett Duets II
- reviewed by Lyda Loudon
(National Tea Party Youth)
Where can you find such disparate artists as Lady
Gaga, Norah Jones, and Michael
Bublé in one place other than Billboard and People Magazine? On
Tony Bennett‘s surprising new album
Duets II.
The album kicks off with
The Lady is A Tramp, a jazzy duet featuring
Lady Gaga (video below). Bennett in his usual
classy style brings out a more elegant side of Miss Gaga who adds her own
twist to it all. The green hair she sports in the video is an interesting
touch, to say the least.
In One for My Baby,
Tony and John Mayer pair up to create the
perfect jazz duo with a hint of the blues. A similar style is featured in
Don't Get around Much Anymore with
Michael Bublé, and
Speak Low with a very demure Norah Jones.
Despite the recent death of
Amy Winehouse, Mr. Bennett's duet with
her, Body And Soul, was released after she passed
away earlier this year. It carries on her irrefutable legacy of musical
authenticity.
The bewilderingly star-studded list
continues with Blue Velvet with
K. D. Lang, How Do
You Keep the Music Playing with Aretha
Franklin, On the Sunny Side of the Street
with Willie Nelson, and
Who Can I Turn To with
Queen Latifah.
The Girl I Love
with Sheryl Crow,
The Way You Look Tonight with
Faith Hill, and It
Had to Be You with Carrie Underwood
add a country element to traditionally jazzier songs. It isn’t the usual Tony
Bennett style, but it’s pulled off well.
The classics come alive with
Natalie Cole singing
Watch What Happens and Andrea Bocelli
in Stranger in Paradise.
The album is topped off with
Yesterday I Heard the Rain with
Alejandro Sanz, and
When Do the Bells Ring for Me with Mariah
Carey, bringing the perfect album to a perfect close.
CD MP3
Maya Beiser Provenance
(on the Innova label)
One heck of an adventure - let Beiser's cello take you into her
unique soundscapes.
Don't miss her cover of
Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.
Unfortunately,
Amazon's other
samples don't do justice to the rest of the album