Product ReviewsDuets: an American Classic by Bennett, Tony (CD, 2006)

Thanks PBS...

Congratulations to Grammy Winner Tony Bennett! If it wasn't for watching the Tony Bennett Duets special on PBS, then I might not have happened across the availability of this particular CD...although I did eventually purchase it from eBay.

This CD seeks to further cement Bennett's reputation as the last of the great living postwar pop and jazz crooners, and to me, Mr. Bennett hasn't lost his touch. At 80 years young, his superb vocal quality sounds as good today, if not even better, than he did in his earlier years. Tony Bennett won the award for Traditional Pop Vocal Album for "Duets: An American Classic." His collaboration with Stevie Wonder, "For Once In My Life," won Grammys for Pop Collaboration With Vocals and Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.

An impressive roster of vocalists joined Tony in the recording studio to record duet versions of the songs most associated with Bennett's repertoire. Among the list of guest duet artists are: Michael Bublé, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, John Legend, James Taylor, k.d. lang, Juanes, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Sting, and others. Instrumental musical guests on the album include trumpeter Chris Botti and violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

Tony Bennett, who first joined Columbia Records in 1950, has been signed to the label longer than any other recording artist in its history. With over 50 million records sold worldwide, more than 100 recordings to his credit and thirteen Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Album of the Year Award, Bennett's career is unparalleled in the industry.Read full review...

Collection of Songs and Artists Familiar to Just About Everyone

This CD, "Tony Bennett, Duets has many familiar songs and various artist(s) performing them. It is easy to sing along and most people are going to love the selections. The thing I especially like is to hear the artist sing a song that is different from his/her genre. Then there is Tony Bennett, an icon in the music industry.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

Tony and who??

First of all, I'm going to admit that I like the CD. I heard the Michael Buble "Just in Time" on the radio and thought it was great so I looked up the CD. When I read who all was going to be on it, I jumped at the chance to get it. However, after listening to it there were only a few people whose voices remained distinctive enough to recognize. There was no doubting Barbra Streisand, but everybody else began to sound like generic lounge singers. Now, I mean lounge singers in a good way...top notch, high quality lounges, of course. But, their distinctive sounds and inflections got lost in translation. Only Buble and Streisand really stood out, perhaps because that is more their style any way. It is a great CD of old standards. It is a fun game to try to guess who is performing without cheating. I certainly didn't get many right, but I enjoyed the game and the music. Tony is as strong as ever. It is a fitting tribute to an icon of music.Read full review...

Duets: An American Classic - Bennett, Tony

I bought this as a direct result of watching the PBS special, which showed the recording of the album with Tony Bennett and his guests. The PBS special was awesome and shed wonderful insight on the professionalism of all the artists. Of particular interest was the guests' admiration for Mr. Bennett. I had to have this CD and whenever I play it, I can picture the visuals from the TV special. If the CD were a "dual disc" where the visual images from the TV show were on one side and just the music on the other side, that would have made this album perfect!Read full review...

Great Album

Tony Bennett still sounds as good as ever on this CD. My favorite songs from this album are his duets with Michael Buble ("Just In Time") and Tim McGraw ("Cold, Cold Heart"). Tim sounds a lot different when he sings this style of music. There's a good range of songs with a variety of different artists, from Paul McCartney to Bono to Barbra Streisand. I'm not a fan of the Dixie Chicks, but their song with Tony, "Lullaby of Broadway", is the best I've ever heard them sound...a very upbeat song. This is a great sing-along CD and a lot of fun to listen to.Read full review...

Duets with Tony Bennett

It is amazing to hear popular artists from a variety of styles of music sing with Tony. He brings them to his style, yet they add their own style just enough to make their voice heard... And not just as a backup singer! Fascinating!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

Tony, tony, tony!

Don't let this old one get away from you. Tony is so amazing on this cd!!! He puts every other "male" singer he duets with to shame. (It's hard to outdo Barbra or Celine...although, Stevie Wonder is fabulous). Tony's voice has held throughout all these years. Amazing. Hope he lives forever & records many more. So, when out there trying to buy the latest & greatest, you are really missing out if you don't search out this older Tony Bennett duet cd.Read full review...

Required listening for every jazz fan

Some friends bought the album and after listening to just one track I knew I had to have it for my collection. It is masterful in every sense--lush arrangemnets with full string orchestras and and intimate ballads with just a piano and bass. Recognizable ballads, a star studded lineup of singers accompanying the maestro and somehow he never overwhelms his partner. It's impossible to listen to the disc without humming along or tapping to the inviting beat. I play the disc so often I should probably buy a spare as a safeguard.Read full review...

Duets with Tony Bennett

Love to listen to Tony Bennett, I could listen to him all day long and now I have his duets CD and am enjoying all the difference songs he is singing with other singing stars! Enjoy!!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: gjt2008

Tony and Gang

Tony still has the sound, and teaming him with some of the best make for a very enjoyable evening.