The Classics

The 20 tracks on The Classics distill Tony Bennett’s 60-plus years of recording into a single package that testifies to his uniqueness and versatility as an artist. This collection documents the full blossoming of Bennett's talents from the end of the swing era into the 21st-century pop scene. After a glance at Bennett’s early operatic leanings with “Because of You,” the album catches him in the midst of his jazzier phase with such ‘60s standards as “I Wanna Be Around,” “The Good Life,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Elegant solo performances like “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” and “When Do the Bells Ring for Me” find him at his purest, while team-ups with fellow legends like Frank Sinatra (“New York, New York”) and Ray Charles (“Evenin’”) show further shadings of his style. The latter half of The Classics is devoted to Tony’s genre-leaping duets with everyone from Stevie Wonder (“For Once in My Life”) to Lady Gaga (“The Lady Is a Tramp”) and Amy Winehouse (“Body and Soul”). Surveying Bennett’s best work is no easy task, but The Classics offers a fine overview of this American master’s career.