With his warmth and upbeat attitude, Tony Bennett makes an excellent interpreter of Irving Berlin, whose songs share exactly those qualities.
This was Bennett's second newly recorded album in his return to recording and to Columbia Records, and it's a classy collection, with Bennett breathing life into songs like "Isn't This a Lovely Day" and "Cheek to Cheek." He stuck to the backing of his regular piano-bass-drums trio, led by Ralph Sharon, with extra colors provided by guests Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, and George Benson.
The result is an understated, informal session that brings out the best in the already impressive material.
The only real criticism of the album is that it's so short -- just over 30 minutes -- which, in the emerging CD era, seems pretty skimpy.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | They Say It's WonderfulIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 02:00 | 4 MB | 11 MB |
| 2 | All of My LifeIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | Now It Can Be ToldIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 4 | The Song Is EndedIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | When I Lost YouIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 01:11 | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| 6 | Cheek to CheekIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Let Yourself GoIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 01:27 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 8 | Let's Face the Music and DanceIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 01:55 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 9 | Russian LullabyIrving Berlin | Tony Bennett | Play | 02:10 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 10 | Isn't This a Lovely Day | Tony Bennett | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | Shakin' The Blues Away | Tony Bennett | Play | 01:46 | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| 12 | White Christmas (1987 Version) | Tony Bennett, Dexter Gordon | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 30 mins | 69 MB | |||||
| 30 mins | 173 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dae Bennett | Engineer |
| 2 | Danny Bennett | Producer |
| 3 | Tony Bennett | Arranger, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 4 | George Benson | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 5 | Irving Berlin | Composer |
| 6 | Tom Chiappa | Production Coordination |
| 7 | Josephine DiDonato | Artwork |
| 8 | Dizzy Gillespie | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 9 | Dexter Gordon | Guest Artist, Saxophone |
| 10 | Joe La Barbera | Drums |
| 11 | Paul Langosch | Bass |
| 12 | Annie Leibovitz | Photography |
| 13 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 14 | Paul Mufson | Engineer |
| 15 | Ralph Sharon | Piano |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |