Tony Bennett and Bill Evans – The Complete Recordings – Fantasy FAN31281-
CD1: 77:26, CD2: 75:26 ***** [Distr. by Concord Music]:
(Tony Bennett, vocals; Bill Evans, piano)
Though it must have seemed a strange combination on paper, the partnership of Bill Evans and Tony Bennett ended up sounding as perfect as you could imagine. Recording two albums over two years, the duo elegantly melded together each other’s styles. Now Fantasy has reissued both albums on one disc, along with a bonus disc of alternate takes and liner notes by Bennett biographer Will Friedwald.
From the first chords of "Young and Foolish," the pairing sounds effortlessly natural. While Evans adds lyrical flourishes to the ends of each bar, Bennett sings in a searching style, never content to sing the melody in a straightforward way. Taking Evans’s lead, Bennett experiments with phrasing and unexpected leaps to his high and low registers, but never in a way that distracts from a song’s dominant mood.
As you would expect, the ballads on both albums are the highlights. Songs like "Some Other Time," "My Foolish Heart," "The Days of Wine and Roses," "You’re Nearer," "Maybe September," and "You Must Believe in Spring" capture the duo’s intimacy with each other and the material, distilling all that they’ve learned in their years of playing into versions that could easily be called definitive. Bennett’s singing on "The Days of Wine and Roses" is especially moving, his delivery telling us everything we could ever learn about the song’s doomed couple in under three minutes.
The bonus disc’s alternate takes are an interesting mix of versions where Bennett is experimenting with note choices in search of the perfect fit and slightly longer, more languid versions that may have seemed self-indulgent to the pair, though I prefer the alternate take of "You’re Nearer" to the one chosen for the album. The sound on both discs is crisp and clear, with Evans’s piano ringing out as bell-like as ever.
I highly recommend The Complete Recordings, especially for Tony Bennett fans that may have never heard of Bill Evans. Also for Evans fans that skipped this collaboration the first time around because they underrated Bennett, now is the perfect time to have their minds changed.
TrackList: CD1: Young and Foolish, The Touch of Your Lips, Some Other Time, When In Rome, We’ll Be Together Again, My Foolish Heart, Waltz for Debby, But Beautiful,
The Days of Wine and Roses, The Bad and the Beautiful, Lucky to be Me, Make Someone Happy, You’re Nearer, A Child is Born, The Two Lonely People, You Don’t Know What Love Is, Maybe September, Lonely Girl, You Must Believe in Spring, Who Can I Turn To?, Dream Dancing
CD2: Alternate tracks for all but My Foolish Heart, But Beautiful, The Days of Wine and Roses, and Dream Dancing.
– Daniel Krow
