Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s collaboration does not seem to be an obvious — or even likable — choice at first, but it definitely works. Their new album, “Cheek to Cheek,” was released Sept. 23 with the hope to introduce jazz to a younger generation and to properly introduce Gaga to the jazz scene.
The pair already sang together on a version of “The Lady Is a Tramp,” a classic jazz track included on Bennett’s 2011 record, “Duets II.”
The LP kicks off with the first single, “Anything Goes,” showing off Gaga’s powerful soulful vocals matched with Tony’s remarkable voice. The energy of the song, mainly derived from the arrangement, defies the stigma of jazz music being boring.
The same sense of fun is present in “I Won’t Dance,” “Firefly,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and on the two best up-tempo songs: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” The latter, composed by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields and performed by names such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, also serves as the second single off the album.
Apart from nine duets, there are three solo performances on the record ) — two by Lady Gaga and one by Bennett. Between these, the best is Lady Gaga’s rendition of Cher’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).”
Even though the project is tailored for a younger audience with Gaga’s involvement, there are moments when it fails to engage those listeners. Because the album in general consists of classical/old jazz without any element of current music, it is difficult especially for younger fans to enjoy some of the songs, such as “Nature Boy” and “But Beautiful,” since most of them listen to mainstream music. However, both singers still deliver incredible emotional vocals on those tracks.
Whether you are a jazz lover or not, the greatness of “Cheek to Cheek” in terms of vocal performance, production and honesty is undeniable. It will probably be more beneficial for Gaga to release something like this, as her last album “ARTPOP,” released in 2013, was not received well commercially or critically.
In fact, Gaga made a statement during an interview with Ryan Seacrest on Sept. 25 that indirectly references her “auto-tuned” pop album, “ARTPOP.”
“After lots of this electronic sound that’s been trendy for awhile, I think everybody is hungry for something that’s more authentic, and more honest and more human,” she said.
When Tony Bennett’s “Duets II” debuted at No. 1 in 2011, he became the oldest living artist to top the Billboard 200 chart, in addition to earning his 16th and 17th Grammy Awards. And based on critical opinion and sales predictions, he will most likely relive those accomplishments with “Cheek to Cheek” alongside Lady Gaga.
Bennett and Gaga have been spending a lot of time promoting the album lately. Their PBS concert special titled “Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!” is scheduled to air on Oct. 24.
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