Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett

Disc 1
1	The Boulevard of Broken Dreams 2:57
2	Because of You 2:58
3	Cold, Cold Heart 2:40
4	Blue Velvet 3:02
5	Rags to Riches 2:50
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Disc 2
1	Begin the Beguine 3:26
2	Put on a Happy Face 2:40
3	The Best Is Yet to Come 2:37
4	This Time the Dream's on Me 3:14
5	Close Your Eyes 2:22
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Disc 3
1	Nobody Else But Me / Ralph Sharon Trio 2:58
2	It Had to Be You 3:16
3	I've Got Just About Everything 6:11
4	Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) / Ralph Sharon Trio 2:57
5	Waltz for Debby / Ralph Sharon Trio 3:39
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Disc 4
1	Keep Smiling at Trouble (Trouble's a Bubble) 3:05
2	For Once in My Life 3:24
3	Who Cares? 2:11
4	Hi-Ho! 4:42
5	Baby Don't You Quit Now 2:50
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Disc 5
1	East of the Sun (West of the Moon) / Ralph Sharon Trio 4:13
2	New York, New York / Gregg Field 3:31
3	Steppin' Out With My Baby / Ralph Sharon Trio 2:54
4	They All Laughed / Ralph Sharon Trio 2:13
5	They Can't Take That Away from Me / Ralph Sharon Trio 3:33
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Barnes & Noble

Tony Bennett's half-century career, celebrated on this majestic five-disc set, is a wonder of consistency and vocal excellence. Bennett began his tenure at Columbia in the early 1950s with an impressively powerful and emotive voice that, over the years, richened into a gorgeous instrument capable of the most penetrating expressiveness. Decades after his initial hit-making days -- all documented here --Bennett continued evolving as an artist. Just listen to his more recent work from the past decade to hear how much deeper this vocal genius has taken his song readings. If the soaring notes of his youth aren't as audible anymore, Bennett's moving sensitivity to a lyric, superb phrasing, and unvarnished swing more than makes up for any technical failings. But the mature years are only a segment of this radiant retrospective; the majority of the set centers on the classics that established and fortified Bennett's fame, including such signature performances as "I Wanna Be Around," "Stranger in Paradise," "Once Upon a Time," and, of course, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Yet those who are most familiar with Bennett's theme songs will also be blown away by his soaring interpretations of songs associated with Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Fred Astaire, and others that were originally found in Bennett's highly acclaimed tribute albums. Sinatra may reign as America's numero uno popular singer, but, as this glorious collection proves, Bennett has been, and remains, his only true heir. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

When the first version of this impressive box set was originally released in 1991 (as Forty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett), it put the capstone upon Tony Bennett's remarkable return to prominence by looking back at a legacy that had been overshadowed by that of the colossus Sinatra. The collection methodically traced his career from his first Columbia record, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," in 1950, through the hit singles and key or capriciously selected album tracks up until 1972. Then, after borrowing three tracks from Fantasy's 1975 Tony Bennett/Bill Evans project (including an exquisite "Some Other Time" with a "Peace Piece" introduction from Evans), the box leapt ahead 11 years to contemplate Bennett's unlikely resurrection as an icon of the cynical young. From there, Fifty Years departs from its predecessor by adding a fifth disc which, at 23 tracks, boosts the total from 87 to 110 tracks. Bennett's unlikely popular success during the '90s and 2000s is surveyed with a parade of Grammy winners, including selections from 1993's Perfectly Frank, 1994's Steppin' Out and MTV Unplugged, 1999's Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, and 2002's A Wonderful World (among others).

Bennett's early records are almost operatic in feeling, a honey-smooth Italian tenor building toward histrionic climaxes, but the voice eventually busts loose into an outgoing, life-celebrating baritone, and, by the 1980s, reemerges as a darker, softer, even somewhat raspy replica of itself. There isn't much for the jazz listener here other than an occasional session with Count Basie (dig their ebullient "Lullaby of Broadway" together), a few cameos by jazz names, the Evans tracks, or some upbeat charts by Ralph Sharon, Ralph Burns, and a few others. Ultimately, the most striking difference between Bennett's records and Sinatra's is the sheer, unbeatably high quality of arrangements that Sinatra was able to get. Yet despite the abundance of period MOR treacle, many of these records are more interesting than memory recalls; for example, it's difficult to resist such a naïvely joyous track as Frank DeVol's rendering of "Put on a Happy Face" that has the Mitch Miller era written all over it. There is no better Tony Bennett retrospective at any price, although jazz specialists might be better served by the Jazz compilation. Richard S. Ginell