The Essential Tony Bennett [Columbia/Legacy]

• Artist: Tony Bennett
• Rating:
• Release Date: July 23, 2002
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Vocal Music

Review

Like most entries in Sony/Legacy's Essential series, 2002's The Essential Tony Bennett is an excellent, exhaustive retrospective of a lengthy, hit-filled career at Columbia. Although Bennett spent time at other labels -- particularly in the '70s -- he made his best-known and greatest recordings for Columbia, from the late '50s through the '90s, which is what provides the bulk of the material here. Though this skips through the '70s material, it does provide what amounts to Bennett at his best, whether it's on "Rags to Riches" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in the '60s, or on latter-day classics like "Steppin' out with My Baby." Bennett surely recorded more great material than can fit on a two-disc, 40-track collection, but this contains the cream of the crop and it's hard to imagine a collection like this being executed better than this. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Because of You [#]	Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson	Tony Bennett	(2:58)
Cold, Cold Heart [#]	Hank Williams	Tony Bennett	(2:39)
Blue Velvet [#]	Bernie Wayne, Lee Morris	Tony Bennett, Percy Faith & His Orchestra	(3:01)
Rags to Riches [#]	Jerry Ross, Richard Adler	Tony Bennett	(2:49)
Stranger in Paradise [#]	Alexander Borodin, Robert C. Wright, George Forrest	Tony Bennett, Ray Charles Singers	(3:06)
Sing You Sinners [#]	Sam Coslow, W. Frank Harling	Tony Bennett	(2:16)
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams [#]	Al Dubin, Harry Warren	Tony Bennett	(2:31)
Just in Time [#]	Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne	Tony Bennett	(2:34)
It Amazes Me	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	Firefly	(3:23)
Love, Look Away	Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II	Tony Bennett	(2:46)
Firefly	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	Count Basie, Tony Bennett	(1:38)
Put on a Happy Face	Charles Strouse, Lee Adams	Tony Bennett	(2:38)
The Best Is Yet to Come	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	Tony Bennett	(2:34)
Tender Is the Night	Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster	Tony Bennett	(2:40)
Once Upon a Time	Charles Strouse, Lee Adams	Tony Bennett	(2:58)
I Left My Heart in San Francisco	George Cory, Douglass Cross	Tony Bennett	(2:51)
I Wanna Be Around	Johnny Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstadt	Tony Bennett	(2:11)
The Good Life	Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon	Tony Bennett	(2:15)
This Is All I Ask	Gordon Jenkins	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(3:15)
When Joanna Loved Me	Robert Wells, Jack Segal	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(3:07)
The Rules of the Road [#]	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(2:20)

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)	Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(2:55)
If I Ruled the World	Leslie Bricusse, Cyril Ornadel	Tony Bennett, The Will Bronson Chorus	(3:01)
Fly Me to the Moon	Bart Howard	Tony Bennett, The Will Bronson Chorus, Ralph Sharon Trio	(4:11)
The Shadow of Your Smile	Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster	Tony Bennett	(3:38)
Smile	Charlie Chaplin, Geoff Parsons, John Turner	Tony Bennett	(3:33)
The Very Thought of You	Ray Noble	Tony Bennett, Bobby Hackett	(4:32)
For Once in My Life	Orlando Murden, Ron Miller	Tony Bennett	(3:23)
Yesterday I Heard the Rain	Gene Lees, Armando Manzanero	Tony Bennett	(3:41)
My Favorite Things	Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II	Tony Bennett	(3:17)
I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You	Richard Rodgers, Martin Charnin	Tony Bennett	(3:28)
How Do You Keep the Music Playing?	Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman	Tony Bennett, The U.K. Orchestra Ltd., Ralph Sharon Trio	(4:20)
When Do the Bells Ring for Me	Charles DeForest	Tony Bennett, The U.K. Orchestra Ltd., Ralph Sharon Trio	(2:58)
Night and Day	Cole Porter	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(3:35)
Last Night When We Were Young	Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(2:27)
Steppin' Out with My Baby	Irving Berlin	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(2:54)
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) [Live]	Irving Mills, Duke Ellington	Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio	(3:06)
Mood Indigo	Irving Mills, Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington	Tony Bennett	(4:34)
Keep the Faith, Baby	Luchi de Jesus, Mayme Watts, Lila Lerner	Tony Bennett, k.d. lang	(3:51)

Credits

Ray Conniff (Arranger), Ray Conniff (Conductor), Percy Faith (Arranger), Percy Faith (Conductor), Tony Bennett (Producer), Tony Bennett (Main Performer), Cy Coleman (Conductor), Tommy Flanagan (Piano), Bobby Hackett (?), Jimmy Rowles (Piano), Ralph Burns (Arranger), Ralph Burns (Conductor), Ralph Sharon (Piano), Ralph Sharon (Arranger), Johnny Keating (Arranger), Johnny Keating (Conductor), Mitch Miller (Producer), Frank DeVol (Arranger), Frank DeVol (Conductor), George Siravo (Arranger), George Siravo (Conductor), Ettore Stratta (Producer), Stephen Moore (Project Director), Steven Berkowitz (Compilation Producer), Steven Berkowitz (A&R), Al Cohn (Sax (Tenor)), Ernie Altschuler (Producer), Danny Bennett (Producer), Danny Bennett (Executive Producer), Jorge Calandrelli (Conductor), Clayton Cameron (Drums), Don Costa (Arranger), Don Costa (Conductor), Didier C. Deutsch (Compilation Producer), Robert Farnon (Arranger), Robert Farnon (Conductor), André Fischer (Producer), David Kahne (Producer), Joe La Barbera (Drums), Paul Langosch (Bass), Teo Macero (Producer), Johnny Mandel (Arranger), Johnny Mandel (Conductor), Marty Manning (Arranger), Marty Manning (Conductor), Glenn Osser (Arranger), Glenn Osser (Conductor), Phil Ramone (Producer), Gray Sargent (Guitar), Allen Stanton (Producer), Mark Wilder (Mastering), Torrie Zito (Arranger), Torrie Zito (Conductor), Al Ham (Producer), Herman Leonard (Cover Photo), Howard Fritzson (Art Direction), Sandy Speiser (Photography), Risa Zaitschek Noah (Design), Howard Roberts (Producer), Seth Foster (Mastering), Darren Salmieri (A&R), Mark Unterberger (Packaging Manager)