Tony+bennett

From a 6-eye white label promo copy.

Celebrating 10 years since they first recorded together, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga return for another collaboration featuring the best of the Cole Porter Songbook. This album captures the creative and personal relationship of these two world-famous artists. Tony, who turns 95 on August 3, has spent over 7 decades dedicated to performing the Great American Songbook. Both artists are accompanied by the Brian Newman Quintet with arrangements by Marion Evans & Jorge Callandrelli.

Duets II: The Great Performances is a visually stunning video companion to Tony Bennett's history-making #1 album, Duets II. The Blu-Ray features the full song performances from Tony and today's greatest artists as they were recorded live in the studio. The musical segments are enhanced by insights on the process from Tony and the duet partners, providing an inside look at this landmark album in an unprecedented career.

While the original albums have been issued on CD before, complete sessions have never been available until now. Along with the original LPs are unissued alternate takes, 45s, and even an unreleased tune finished for a particular session but never used. In addition, the album with the McPartlands is here on compact disc for the first time. It should also be noted that this box finally completes the two different Tony Bennett and Bill Evans Together Again CD issues that were released on Rhino and Concord with different material.

Tony Bennett’s first album of celebrity duets (2006's Duets: An American Classic) featured an impressive cast of superstars answering the call from the dean of pop vocalists, but the arrangements were overly safe – virtually all of them ballads with soft strings or brassy finger-snappers. Duets II follows the first by five years and features, surprisingly, a cast just as star-laden, but also arrangements that are much more dynamic, and suitable for each song and its participants…

This CD is a quite unknown Christmas album by Tony Bennett and the London Symphony Orchestra. Despite usually stating that he only recorded two Christmas albums (Snowfall and the recent Swingin' Christmas), Tony Bennett recorded six songs on August 2nd, 2002 in the Abbey Road Studios in London for this limited edition Christmas album.