Search Results for: the complete collection

June 17, 2012 By Suzanne 3 Comments

Tony Bennett: The Complete Collection

As soon as this collection was announced, I knew I had to have it. As a latecomer to the music of Tony Bennett, so many of his earlier albums had gone out print. And so I bought myself this wonderful collection for myself.

The set contains music from Columbia, Verve, Improv (Tony’s label) and back again to Columbia. There are two CDs of “Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights” which include a recording of Tony singing “St. James Infirmary Blues” when he was a member of the 314th Army Special Services Band as World War II wound down. There are six CDs of the singles that he recorded for Columbia, including his first hit “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. The set contains 74(!) CDs and 3 DVDs.

As of this past weekend, I have added all 74 CDs to my iPod, where they join other CDs that I’d previously purchased, including the Complete Improv recordings, Jazz, and numerous others. Now the CDs are back to being safe and sound in that beautiful box. Just for kicks: iTunes shows 6.38 GB for Tony Bennett — 1289 items — 2.7 days of listening without repeats.

Album reviews to follow.

May 2, 2015 By Suzanne 2 Comments

Unboxing The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans LP Box Set

I finally broke down and ordered the new Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Box Set on 180-gram vinyl. It was waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday and I took a few snapshots.

First is the lovely glossy cover on the box:

When you open the box, the first thing you see is the beautiful 12-page liner notes with Will Friedwald’s excellent essay and some wonderful photographs. On the back of the liner notes is this great collage. I especially like the engineer’s sheets and the 8-track tape. I used to have an 8-track tape player in my first car, a blue VW Beetle.

Then there is this nice print of Tony and Bill. I think I’ll be finding a frame for this.

There are four LPs in the set. One for The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album and another for Together Again. The remaining two LPs are outtakes and bonus tracks. Here’s one of the covers:

On the back of each album are these great photographs from the sessions in contact sheets:

Here’s a close-up of one the photographs I liked, complete with a suggestion for cropping the photo:

And, finally, the back of the box:

This set is real class act. Concord Records did an outstanding job of packaging this set.

Alas, I don’t have a turntable anymore, though I am seriously considering buying one now. But my brother is an audiophile with a state-of-the-art system, so I’m sure I’ll be heading over to his house soon for a listen.

November 26, 2012 By Suzanne 3 Comments

Major Release on iTunes

Tony Bennett announced today that all of his catalog, as presented in last year’s Complete Collection, is now available on iTunes. This is an extraordinary collection that even includes six CDs of his singles for Columbia, dating back to 1950.

Most of these albums have been unavailable for some time, other than in the Complete Collection. This release is a chance for fans of Tony Bennett to add to their collection. They are priced nicely too, at $7.99 each.

The iBooks version of Life is a Gift and the documentary film The Zen of Bennett may also be purchased from iTunes as well.

I’ll follow up later with a definitive list of the albums included. You can view the Tony Bennett page on iTunes.

March 7, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Recordings for Audiophiles

I received DownBeat magazine yesterday and learned about an exciting new release of The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Recordings on 180-gram vinyl.

The box set consists of 4 LPs: the two original albums, plus 2 LPs of bonus tracks. It also includes a 12-page booklet with photos and the excellent Will Friedwald liner notes.

The box set is available for pre-ordering from Amazon and will be released on April 28, 2015. It’s not inexpensive at $110, but if you have the right equipment and, perhaps, a nice tax refund coming your way, it’s probably worth the price.

April 10, 2013 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: The Moment of Truth

The song of the day for Wednesday, April 10, 2013 is The Moment of Truth.

About This Song

The Moment of Truth was written by Tex Satterwhite and Frank Scott. I’ve not been able to find out much about either composer, other than Frank Scott worked with Lawrence Welk and that they wrote the song in 1963. It’s a terrific song and has been recorded by Peggy Lee (or Miss Peggy Lee, as I always call her) and Vic Damone. The Peggy Lee version is very good.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded a performance at the Sahara in Las Vegas on April 8, 1964 with the Ralph Sharon Trio and an orchestra led by Louis Basil. The performance was recorded by Bennett’s long-time recording engineer Frank Laico and was intended to be released as an album. The album was finally released as part of the 2011 Tony Bennett Complete Collection.

Bennett called the show The Moment of Truth, and the show both opens and closes with that song. In between is a fantastic performance by Bennett and even a comedy interlude with Milton Berle, Danny Thomas and Mickey Rooney. I wish I could point you to a location to hear this show, but as far as I know, it’s only available in the boxed Complete Collection. I recommend this concert recording highly.

Today’s version is from Bennett’s 1963 album This Is All I Ask. It has much of the same energy and punch as the concert version, with a wonderful arrangement by Ralph Burns.

http://open.spotify.com/track/39yeBiimbSr3Iimz0ckReB
The Moment of Truth, as well as the remastered This Is All I Ask album, is available from iTunes.