The Music Stays With Us
"A Wonderful World,"(2002), a collection of duets by Tony Bennett and K.D. Lang, to songs inspired by the legendary New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong, included "What a Wonderful World," "Exactly Like You," and "You Can Depend on Me." It was produced by the near-legendary T Bone Burnett, and includes trumpet work by Scott Hamilton. Of course, in 2002, the New York-born crooner was 76 years old; and his voice was not what it once was: but still, the embers of it, with its liquidity, smoothness, intonation and phrasing are enough to cast his light upon the world. Critic Howard Garwood wrote of him, "He has the face you'd want on your neighborhood bar owner - seamed, rumpled, and infinitely kind.... It's the face of a man who has seen life and triumphed, and who proclaims his joy of living through one of the best sets of pipes in the business."
And as for K.D. Lang's voice, 2002 found it still in top form. It's a thing of unearthly, silken beauty, a voice that comes along only once in a generation: in her case, from Alberta, Canada. I remember seeing her once on late night television, early in her career, wearing the silliest cowgirl outfit and hopping up and down, and wishing I could tell her that with her voice, she didn't need to hop, she could leave that to Herman's Hermits. Of course, I couldn't, but she seems to have figured it out, anyway.
The title song, as done by this pair, boasts all the colors of the rainbow. And some of the quieter ballads are still waters running deep, indeed. Just listen, to say, "La Vie En Rose," or "If We Never Meet Again."
I am lucky enough to have seen this pair present this repertory in person, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, in the most striking of circumstances, to wit: late September, 2001, about two weeks after the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center, and so much of downtown Manhattan. I already had my ticket, and anxiously watched the paper to see if they would keep the date: they did, and so did I. So did most of the ticket holders, I believe: there were empty seats, but not that many. Took ages to get through security, of course. You can believe that emotions ran high in that theater, on stage and in the audience: you could describe it as a love-in. And as for the music that came from that stage - it was simply blessed, and unforgettable. Lucky for all of us, the music, so evanescent in live performance, stays with us on this cd.
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Tony, it's over....
Listening to Bennett on this CD is like listening to post-1965 Sinatra. They're both just faking it, but, due to their iconic status, they get away with it. On this CD, Lang just plain carries Tony, which is the only reason I gave it 2 stars.
Take a pass on this one and the 'Duets' album; age has caught up with Bennett. Instead, give a listen to 'Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett'. Hearing his early material will make the deterioration in Bennett's voice quite obvious and make you wonder if it's really the same vocalist.
Time marches on and it's cruel what it has done to Bennett's range, but, thankfully, the great work of his early and middle years is still around....
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