Complete Tony Bennett on Columbia

[crisp]

From this interview in the LA Times:

Sony Columbia will also soon bring out a $500 box set of every album Bennett ever recorded dating back to 1950, an achievement the performer said he was especially proud of. "I'm thrilled about it, because 50 years from now, or 100 years from now, it won't sound dated," he said. "And that's really important to me. I'm anti-obsolescence."

As a song fan I'm quite excited about this. Bennett has recorded lots of material that other singers never touched, and has had consistently good taste in his choices of material and collaborators (and apparently quite a bit of freedom to indulge that taste). Until now, he's also suppressed a lot of his early work, post-revival, so much will be new to many. This could be a very good -- and huge -- set to explore.

Via this site, where there's a bit of educated speculation.

[gmonahan]

Interesting news. If it truly is *complete* I might be interested. I already have just about everything that's been available on cd. Love Tony!

gregmo

[Ted O'Reilly]

Interesting news. If it truly is *complete* I might be interested. I already have just about everything that's been available on cd. Love Tony!

gregmo

Greg, you may be able to tell me if Bennett's "Sings A String Of Harold Arlen" has been on CD. I have always liked that particular disc...great tunes, fine arrangements, good singer.

EDIT: Shoulda done this first (sorry, lazy today)...It was issued, and new copies on Amazon start at $92. Must have been even better than I remembered.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Ted O'Reilly

[Fer Urbina]

Interesting news. If it truly is *complete* I might be interested.

Mmmm... That'd be interesting to see. There's a bunch of stuff that has not been released on CD. And then, there are things like the reissue of The Beat of My Heart (the album with Blakey, Candido, Jo Jones, et al) reissued with six extra tracks, but missing a track from the original LP ("Army Air Corps Song").

There was also some tweaking done in other tracks... as far as I can remember the intro to "Blues in the night" on the CD is not the same than on the LP.

F

[gmonahan]

Interesting news. If it truly is *complete* I might be interested. I already have just about everything that's been available on cd. Love Tony!

gregmo

Greg, you may be able to tell me if Bennett's "Sings A String Of Harold Arlen" has been on CD. I have always liked that particular disc...great tunes, fine arrangements, good singer.

EDIT: Shoulda done this first (sorry, lazy today)...It was issued, and new copies on Amazon start at $92. Must have been even better than I remembered.

Ted, I had that one on my favorites list on Amazon for about a year before a used cd copy showed up at at a more or less acceptable price. It is a good record, and I'm very happy to have it. Particularly nice versions of "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Let's Fall in Love." If you stalk the Amazon sellers long enough, maybe one will show up!

gregmo

[crisp]

More comprehensive details now on Tony Bennett's website and available to preorder here.

One of the best measures of true musical talent is not simply the ability to remain popular as the years go by, but to continue to create vital music that people want to hear. Tony Bennett is one of those rare artists. Debuting as a recording artist in 1950, he has continued to create best-selling music up through the present day: an unbroken timeline of more than 60 years.

Tony Bennett’s impact can be measured in a number of ways; he has sold over 50 million records worldwide, garnered 15 Grammy awards, and been named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when most singers of his generation were retiring, Bennett’s career exploded as he was embraced by the MTV generation – performing alongside many of the day’s most contemporary stars. “[bennett] has steadfastly remained the embodiment of heart in popular music,” wrote the New York Times in 2006.

This year Tony Bennett turns 85 years old and to celebrate this, Sony Music presents an unprecedented box set collection, TONY BENNETT: The Complete Collection.

FIRST-EVER COMPLETE CAREER-SPANNING DELUXE BOX SET

* - 73 CDs – Contains ALL original albums in replicas of original LP jackets PLUS NEVER-BEFORE-HEARD RARITIES

* - 3 DVDS - Featuring Never Before Released Tony Bennett Sings With The London Philharmonic Orchestra

* - 250 PAGE BOOKLET with RARE photos, original album notes, sketches and an essay by Tony

BOX SET OVERVIEW:

Between 1952 and 1972, and then 1986 to the present day, Tony Bennett recorded an astounding 52 albums for the Columbia, CBS, and Sony labels – all of which now fall under the umbrella of Sony Music. This extensive box set brings together six decades of music, including the 11 albums he recorded for other labels, making this the first true complete albums collection. The box will also gather Bennett’s non-album singles from the ‘50s and feature an array of rarities, outtakes and other delights – including his very first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues.” Also included is the never-before-released Live At The Sahara: From This Moment On – an incredible document of Bennett’s Las Vegas debut in 1964. The box also includes 3 DVDs, including the classic 1994 MTV Unplugged, the award-winning 2006 Rob Marshall-directed NBC special and the Never before released, Tony Bennett Sings with The London Philharmonic Orchestra.

These albums define the essence of Bennett’s career, and this exquisite collection includes such historic highpoints as:

1. 1955: The famous Cloud 7 album that marked Bennett’s transition from being primarily a singles star to a full-fledged artist capable of album-length statements. At the age of 30 and after years of pushing, he was finally allowed to make the 12” recording he desired; a consistently soft, late-night mood pervades this classic.

2. 1957: The Beat of My Heart was another winner for Bennett, his third album, matching his voice with such percussion masters as Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton and Candido.

3. 1959: In Person! Bennett’s aborted live debut recording resulted in this studio album that features him in the august company of Count Basie and his Orchestra, then at the top of their game.

4. 1962: I Left My Heart in San Francisco – the album that included the Top 5 single that helped launch Bennett from the confines of being a jazz/cabaret balladeer to a pop stylist on a par with Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin.

5. 1963: I Wanna Be Around... generated two Top 20 hits -- "The Good Life" and the title track – and firmly established Bennett’s as a mainstream star.

6. 1968: Snowfall still stands as one of the rare Christmas albums that – tune by tune – rises above its novelty aspect and is as musically consistent as a five-star, non-seasonal recording.

7. 1975: Tony records with legendary jazz pianist and arranger Bill Evans for Fantasy Records.

8. 1986: Bennett’s return to Columbia after a fourteen-year hiatus yielded The Art of Excellence, a collection of old and newer standards that lived up to its title, and became a best-seller.

9. 1992, 1993: Perfectly Frank and Steppin’ Out were Bennett’s sincere and worthy tributes to two of his stylistic mentors – Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire (respectively); they both went gold and garnered back-to-back Grammy awards.

10. 1994: MTV Unplugged was the album that introduced Bennett to an entirely new generation, which he won over without changing a single personal or musical aspect: still the same tuxedo, still the same standards from the Great American Songbook.

11. 2001: On the heels of two more award-winning tributes – one to Billie Holiday and the other to Duke Ellington – Bennett released Playin’ With My Friends, a collection of duets with such pop, rock and R&B stars as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt, and others.

12. 2006: Duets: An American Classic managed to outshine Bennett’s previous album of one-to-one meetings, with a wider stylistic range and added star-power, including Elton John, Sting, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, George Michael, and others.

13. 2011: Duets 2, the fantastic follow-up to his ’06 release, continues to prove his revered position among his global superstar peers.

This looks absolutely gorgeous. And people say that Sony doesn't do new reissues any more!

Edit: there's a Bennett discography here.

Edited August 25, 2011 by crisp

[vajerzy]

Wow- I'd like to get this. I enjoy Tony Bennett.

[tranemonk]

$400???? :unsure::unsure:

That's a lot of money.... and I do like Tony Bennett.

[crisp]

I've just learnt that this will be sold only through Bennett's own website and Barnes and Noble, which has some more precise information and an album listing here. Sorry if this is old news to some people.

[AllenLowe]

look out for his latest: "I Don't Want to set the World Trade Center on Fire (I Just Want to Start a Little Flame in Your Heart)" -

[mikeweil]

400 bucks? 76 discs?

[paul secor]

You'd have to really love Tony to lay out the $ and do the listening.

[crisp]

I do and I shall! I'm glad it's being sold at B&N -- it's usually possible to get 10% or even 20% off coupons for that site and if you order through an affiliate, you can a little bit more off besides.

[Fer Urbina]

Has anyone here gotten the Bennett set? How complete is the discographical info in it?

Thanks!

F

[crisp]

I've got it and yearning for the time to start playing it! The discographical information is fairly basic, just recording dates, arrangers and occasionally some personnel, especially on jazzier dates. TBH the info on that discography I linked to above is probably more thorough. If you've any specific questions, I'll be happy to look them up for you.

[fasstrack]

From this interview in the LA Times:

Sony Columbia will also soon bring out a $500 box set of every album Bennett ever recorded dating back to 1950, an achievement the performer said he was especially proud of. "I'm thrilled about it, because 50 years from now, or 100 years from now, it won't sound dated," he said. "And that's really important to me. I'm anti-obsolescence."

As a song fan I'm quite excited about this. Bennett has recorded lots of material that other singers never touched, and has had consistently good taste in his choices of material and collaborators (and apparently quite a bit of freedom to indulge that taste). Until now, he's also suppressed a lot of his early work, post-revival, so much will be new to many. This could be a very good -- and huge -- set to explore.

Via this site, where there's a bit of educated speculation.

Did they cover most of that material on 40 years of Tony Bennett (if that's the right title)? That started with Because of You and Cold Cold Heart and finished with the Bill Evans collaboration. Pretty great stuff.

[fasstrack]

From this interview in the LA Times:

Sony Columbia will also soon bring out a $500 box set of every album Bennett ever recorded dating back to 1950, an achievement the performer said he was especially proud of. "I'm thrilled about it, because 50 years from now, or 100 years from now, it won't sound dated," he said. "And that's really important to me. I'm anti-obsolescence."

As a song fan I'm quite excited about this. Bennett has recorded lots of material that other singers never touched, and has had consistently good taste in his choices of material and collaborators (and apparently quite a bit of freedom to indulge that taste). Until now, he's also suppressed a lot of his early work, post-revival, so much will be new to many. This could be a very good -- and huge -- set to explore.

Via this site, where there's a bit of educated speculation.

Did they cover most of that material on 40 years of Tony Bennett (if that's the right title)? That started with Because of You and Cold Cold Heart and finished with the Bill Evans collaboration. Pretty great stuff.

[Chuck Nessa]

Ditto again.

[Fer Urbina]

I've got it and yearning for the time to start playing it! The discographical information is fairly basic, just recording dates, arrangers and occasionally some personnel, especially on jazzier dates. TBH the info on that discography I linked to above is probably more thorough. If you've any specific questions, I'll be happy to look them up for you.

Thanks. Will do shortly. As for Steve Albin's disco, it's pretty good, but there are some inconsistencies with previously released data. The late-90s reissues produced by Bennett and Ralph Sharon included all details about personnel (at least in the Carnegie Hall album and The Beat of My Heart).

F