Album Reviews

Today we mostly think of Tony Bennett as a jazz singer but back in 1962 Tony Bennett was one of Columbia Records' pop music stars. He had his first #1 hit for the label in 1951 with "Because of You". In 1953 Bennett's "Rags to Riches" topped the Billboard charts for 8 weeks. "Stranger In Paradise" only made it to #2 that year but you couldn't avoid it on the radio and few back then wanted to.

With popular music taking a turn towards rock'n'roll in the mid '50's Bennett wouldn't again score a #1 hit single but he still was often found on the singles charts and was enormously popular in American pop culture throughout that decade and well beyond. In fact, despite the musical upheavals that took place during the second half of the 20th Century, Bennett's popularity never diminished. He was simultaneously a pop singer, a jazz singer, and an all-around icon of "cool" and still is.

The expert impressionist Sammy Davis, Jr. made excellent fun of Bennett's vocalizing on his 1955 debut album Starring Sammy Davis, Jr. (Decca) and more recently on "Saturday Night Live" Alec Baldwin and Martin Short performed hilarious Bennett impressions on the spoof "The Tony Bennett Show." Rumor has it—and I don't know whether or not it's true—that when in Las Vegas both Bennett and Louis Armstrong carried letters from the Mayor instructing the police to not bust them if they were caught smoking or with marijuana joints in their pockets. A great story even if not true.

Even a classic like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" only reached #19 in 1962 (perhaps in part because it was issued as the "B" side of "Once Upon a Time") but when disc jockeys began flipping over the "A" side and playing "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", it eventually was certified gold, won "Record of the Year" and "Best Male Vocal Performance" Grammys® and went on to become Bennett's signature song.

Bennett's long time accompanist Ralph Sharon from whom he's now estranged and who leads his orchestra on this live recording, introduced Bennett to the song, which was written by his composer-friends George Corey and Douglass Cross. In December of 1961 Bennett first sang it in The Venetian Room of San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel.

Bennett had released well over a dozen albums (including three with The Count Basie Orchestra, one of which was a live performance) when he appeared at Carnegie Hall on the evening of June, 9th, 1962 backed by The Ralph Sharon Orchestra, in a show directed by Arthur Penn ("Bonnie and Clyde", "The Miracle Worker", "Alice's Restaurant", etc) and Gene Saks ("Barefoot in the Park", "The Odd Couple" and many Neil Simon plays). The 20 piece orchestra included ample brass and string sections, Sharon's longtime trio drummer Billy Exner, guitarist Kenny Burrell and Candido Camero on bongos and conga.

Best known as a recording star, with some nightclub experience, Bennett decided to follow large venue performing veteran Judy Garland as the next pop performer to play the fabled classical music venue. Garland's Carnegie Hall performance became an instant legend and the double LP on Capitol was a huge success, with the record still considered among the best pre-rock era concerts ever put on vinyl or polycarbonate—along with, of course, Belafonte's from 1959 that was issued complete on vinyl (this one is edited down to fit the format).

Bennett's decision was risky but the show quickly sold out and obviously the folks behind him, including Columbia Records and Bennett's management, put together a terrific production team and delivered a generous budget for both the music and the recording.

While Columbia Records rarely gave recording engineers their due, here Frank Laico finally gets his name in print as does the tape engineer, the remote equipment supervisor, and even the tape editor gets named. The microphones are identified (Bennett's was a Schoeps) as was the recording tape (1/2" 3-track MMM (3M) 120 High Output).

And deserve the credit they did! The original of this double LP set was a sonic spectacular that now sounds veiled and somewhat distant compared to this stupidly, insanely spectacular sounding reissue cut for the first time from the edited original 3-track tape. Two recorders were utilized, probably either one for backup or for when reels were about to run out of tape. We know the reels were edited both because the complete concert was eventually issued on CD and because here, with the high resolution mastering and jet black backgrounds of the QRP pressing, you can better hear the edits—not that they distract from the proceedings.

Bennett is in superb voice (though I keep seeing Alec Baldwin now, damn him!) as he runs through many of his hits, some Broadway tunes and a few oddities.

The opener, "Lullaby of Broadway" with Candido pounding away on his bongos and the crowd going crazy from the get go , sets the tone for the performance and the audience's enthusiast reaction—including one butt-hole whistler whose "mouth selfies" can be heard throughout. The audience's adulation sounds over the top but was clearly genuine.

Bennett was no Belafonte at the time in terms of working a crowd or ingratiating stage patter and the between song material lacks the polish and "you're the only person in the audience to whom I'm talking" magic that Belafonte managed, but once Bennett opened his mouth to sing, his vocal and emotional power were undeniable. That he's still at it, and is as popular as ever with music lovers or all ages is a testament to his talent and his ability to remain contemporary and relevant in an era where so much has changed since 1962. On the other hand talent, a good band and great songs will never go out of style even if the latter two have all but disappeared on the pop charts (there's still plenty of talent including, IMO Mylie Cyrus) and Lady GaGa who recorded an upcoming album with Mr. Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett has long reminded me of Bruce Springsteen, physically and vocally. If you don't get the connection Bennett's song/story closer here "De Glory Road" will make it.

This reissue is incredible in every way, starting with the cover art. The laminated cover's front and back photos are of far higher resolution and quality than the ones on the original. The same is true of the inside cover photos that include the full wide orchestra shot cropped on the original. But most importantly, the mastering by Ryan K. Smith from the original 3-track master tapes is nothing short of astonishing. It offers proof to anyone who will listen, both that AAA vinyl kills any digital format and that the art of recording, especially live recording, reached its pinnacle during the '50's and '60's.

You'll be transported, entertained, wowed and amazed by both Bennett's and the orchestra's performances and the sonic documentation. It goes without saying that this is highly recommended, but I said it anyway.