for the record When "Love Story" came out in the UK I actually wrote to CBS to complain at the track duplication - naive young man that I was - I got no reply! The "Summer Of '42" had, for me, such a beautiful cover and the new tracks were so good I thought it was terrific, I watched "Get Happy" when it was originally broadcast and enjoyed the album, then came "With Love" to top them all. Now we know of the turmoil of TB leaving one can perhaps understand (but not condone) why albums were padded out with old recordings. At the time we also had a compilation double LP issued "Love Songs" which included lots of earlier songs that had not registered in UK before.
As a compiler of a discography on Tony Bennett (Tracked Down) published some 15 years ago I know how difficult it is to be accurate and to prevent errors, I had the benefit of an expert who edited my data and he had had access to the Columbia recording date work sheets although we elected not to include matrix numbers at that time (although they have been published in "In Tune" magazine since I think), I haven't had time to compare any of the information in the book with my data and have just managed to corrupt my most up to date version and am having to restore from a six month old back-up - I get lost in listening and forgot to back-up frequently - I wonder if it might be time to pass the data on.
The last album during Tony Bennett's original tenure with Columbia (and my last disc post of the year) follows... Happy New Year to all!
Disc 44: With Love Disc 44: With Love Original Album: KC 31460 (Columbia LP) [gatefold jacket] Released: 1972 Recorded: 1971–72 (see below) in London Arranger: Robert Farnon (10/01/71) Here's That Rainy Day (10/01/71) Remind Me (02/26/72) Maybe This Time (10/01/71) The Riviera (10/01/71) Street Of Dreams (10/01/71) Love (10/01/71) Twilight World (10/01/71) Lazy Day (10/01/71) Easy Come, Easy Go (10/01/71) Harlem Butterfly (10/01/71) Dream
THIS ALBUM IS DEDICATED TO FRANK SINATRA, KING OF THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD…with LoveTony saves his finest for his (then) swan song from Columbia Records, his home since 1950. It is a tour d’ force of romance and IMHO “pure saloon” despite the swingers on side one. Tony (in his finest voice) takes us thru the ups, downs, over and outs with an elegant lineup of musical gems. “Here’s That Rainy Day” may be a tribute to Mr. S but we can also view it as the subject of this album coming to us at the end of a romance. He seeks new love in a superb “Remind Me” and hopes that “Maybe This Time” he has found his true love. A surprise swinger here in “The Riviera”. Maybe the two are off to Vegas on a wild romantic fling? (It may also be a pure plug for Tony’s big, just signed contract at the Riviera Hotel in which his pal Dean Martin just became part-owner!) “Street of Dreams” is purely sung; along with another swinger “Love”. (Perhaps our boy is caught in the trap of love and all of its twists and turns once again?) Side Two of this album is without a doubt the finest single side of any record Tony ever made! Surprise seldom heard gems are blended together with an old, rich stand-by. Marian McPartland’s exotic beauty “Twilight World” is so filled with visuals that one can actually see the sand pans passing at dusk as our boy sips from a frosty glass. Arranger/conductor Robert Farnon’s own “Lazy Day” finds Tony still able to have some sweet, cozy time in love. The pluperfect is reached in the next two unearthed baubles “Easy Come, Easy Go” and Johnny Mercer’s haunting “Harlem Butterfly”. Love has once again become the unreachable star to our subject and he is left to reach into his musical bag of standards to close his latest dance with love. He chooses to “Dream” and be ever the optimist as he travels down the road of life still happily searching for that one love. Tony at his absolute best as an artist…showing us he was off to create this type of music on other palettes. (I recently purchased a 1st pressing copy of this LP and the sound is so incredibly rich and warm that I have fallen in love all over again with an album I’ve owned since I was 17 years old.)
THIS ALBUM IS DEDICATED TO FRANK SINATRA, KING OF THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD Perhaps this was Tony's way of reciprocating for the banner which appeared on the back cover of TONY BENNETT'S "SOMETHING" ([post=7262968]Disc 40[/post]) two years earlier? “Tony Bennett is the greatest singer in the world.”—Frank Sinatra
Here's a review of this album I wrote a long while ago: "With Love" was one of three albums Tony Bennett made with the Britain-based, Canadian-born arranger and composer, Robert Farnon. Farnon was somewhat a legend for his ability to write for strings and many A-list singers such as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, and Bennett sought Farnon out and travelled to London to record with him. This was Bennett's last great album before departing Columbia Records a year later. Although not commercially successful, the disc is an artistic triumph. "Commercial" trash not polluting the proceedings as was typical of Bennett's latter-years Columbia output, the song selection is superb, with a number of lesser-known gems such as the arranger's own "Lazy Day" and a great Marion McPartland-Johnny Mercer collaboration called "Twilight World." There are also two other Mercer songs, the well-known "Dream" and "Harlem Butterfly," both of which also feature rare melodies from the celebrated lyricist, who did not compose much music during his long career. Present as well is Bennett's exciting then-hit, "Maybe This Time," composed by Kander & Ebb of "New York, New York" fame. Other highlights include Cy Coleman's "The Riviera" (also sung marvelously by Blossom Dearie), Jerome Kern's magnificent "Remind Me," and composer Jimmy Van Heusen's masterpiece "Here's That Rainy Day" with a lovely lyric by Johnny Burke. The ballads are lovingly sung and are enhanced by Farnon's silk-like string settings. The up-tempo numbers swing with an easy lilt, Bennett's voice supported well by muted horns (check out "Harlem Butterfly" for great obligatto muted trumpet) and warm trombones (listen to the dreamy 'bone accompaniment in "Lazy Day"). This is a special album in Bennett's career: his singing is tender and the charts are beautiful.
Maybe. But, remember that Mr. S was now newly "retired" and the ball was definitely thrown into Tony's court to carry the torch. I believe Tony actually thought the retirement was permanent and paid tribute to Mr. S personally with this LP because of that.
With Love I agree with all your comments on how wonderful this album is, which as you say, was recorded in London with Robert Farnon who had recently conducted the LSO for the live "Get Happy". In the UK "Maybe This Time" was susbstituted by "How Beautiful Is Night (With You)" which has been included on the Singles of The Complete Collection - however it should probably be included in preference to the US inclusion of "Maybe This Time" which was I believe a live recording, the matrix number is out of sequence with the rest of the album and it may have had more to do with "Get Happy" and have been popular in the US at the time making it's inclusion a marketing decision. Whichever version this is an excellent collection and far too long overdue for it's CD release. Happy New Year to all from this still "Junior" Member
I've long wondered whether this album was as special to other Tony fans as it is to me. Seeing the commentaries here confirm that it really is quite an extraordinary album. Scoredaddy, your review from long ago captures perfectly my feelings and observations about the various recordings, right down to your note about the trumpet on the exquisite 'blues in the night' "Harlem Butterfly": check out "Harlem Butterfly" for great obligatto muted trumpet Paulmock, when you wrote Side Two of this album is without a doubt the finest single side of any record Tony ever made! Surprise seldom heard gems are blended together with an old, rich stand-by, you captured exactly the thrill I felt when I first heard this album 40 years ago. I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again: I was 18 years old, a long-haired rookie disc jockey in love with everything "Rolling Stones"-oriented, working my first radio job at an "MOR" station spinning the pablum of the day, silly stuff like Olivia Newton-John, Lobo, Helen Reddy. The radio station was at 1490 on the dial (silent dog whistle territory on the AM dial ), with a night-time signal that went about 5 miles on a good night, because the station tower was actually below the line of sight for the small city in which I worked, the tower tucked in a little valley below Main Street level. I did the night shift, working from 6PM to Midnight, and when 10PM rolled around, I probably had an audience of two dozen people listening, so I could play what I wanted without the station owner likely to hear me deviating from the format. And I discovered that I could get away with dumping the Helen Reddy records (yecchhh!) and play Sinatra, and Ella, and Tony, and instrumentals from the likes of Ferrante & Teicher (a guilty pleasure for me). Because the horrible reality is that those artists were already considered to be too "old", passe for an MOR station in 1972. 18-year old rock and roll me pretty quickly figured out there was something of a very high quality in the songs and the talents found on albums by artists like that....and it provided relief from the dreariness of the schlock that passed for "adult" fare on MOR radio at the time. I may not have fully understood or fully appreciated what I was playing at the time, but I knew I liked it a lot more than the junk I had to play as part of the station's format. One day, a new batch of promo records came in, and in it was "With Love". The album had zero chance of airplay on that station, so I took it home that night, and put it on my stereo and listened through headphones to it for the first time. Simply put, I was stunned by its beauty. The incredible orchestration, the world-class songs that didn't insult my intelligence, Tony's exquisite phrasing. I had listened to Tony a little bit, but that night he hit my radar screen forever as a personal favorite. And it was all because of the romantic, relaxed beauty of "Remind Me"...the otherworldly feel of "Twilight World"...and most of all, that bittersweet, dramatic blues and jazz aura of "Harlem Butterfly". They knocked me out in a way that touched me forever. I waited forever for this to finally show up on CD, playing a CDR needledrop for years from my first-pressing vinyl. And finally it's here, and I am ever so grateful for it. Last April, I was on the road on business, at a little jazz piano place called "Remington's" in Scottsdale, Arizona. A regular performer there is a woman from Chicago, Judy Roberts, who routinely plays/sings requests for the small audience of enthusiasts for her jazz and American Songbook stylings. I get there a couple times each year, and I've routinely asked her to play "Old Devil Moon", having become a huge fan of Tony's renditions of it, and she's obliged me each time. But on this April night, I requested "Harlem Butterfly", and she didn't know it. I told her it was a Johnny Mercer song, and that made her mad, in a funny way, because she thought she knew every song he'd written. She called her boyfriend to see what he could find on the internet about it, and they didn't find much....but I promised her I'd send a CDR of Tony's performance. So I have some unfinished business on my plate on this New Year's Day. Thanks to Bob F. for this fantastic thread! I don't comment much, because I'm nowhere near as learned about Tony's works as you folks are, so I'm not certain I have much to offer. Rest assured, though, you've inspired me to keep reading, and to dig into that back catalogue/box set even more deeply in the New Year!
Indeed to all of this. I hadn't listened to "Love" in perhaps twenty years until I got this box. It's about as pitch perfect an album as one could ask for. There's been much discussion about what music was all about in the early 1970s...turns out Tony Bennett is where it was at...everybody else was lost. This is one that would make an excellent Sony/Legacy "Legacy edition", provided there are some extra goodies available.
Disc 45: The Good Things In Life Disc 45: The Good Things In Life Original Album: MV-5088 (MGM/Verve LP) Released: 1972 Recorded: September 1972, in London With Trio: John Bunch, piano; Arthur Watts, bass; Kenny Clare, drums Arranger: Robert Farnon The Good Things In Life * ** Passing Strangers End Of A Love Affair Oh, Lady Be Good Blues For Breakfast Mimi * Invitation Someone To Light Up My Life It Was You Cute * The Midnight Sun London By Night * The Good Things In Life (closing) * [Also on Disc 47: Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits Volume 7] **Track #2 on original album ("O Sole Mio") has been removed and does not appear within the box set.
The tragedy of the deliberate elimination of "O Sole Mio" is mind-boggling! This was (as earlier stated) a staple in Tony's act for many years after this LP was released and it always got rave applause. (If Tony/Sony are embarrased in any way by it, why in hell did they ever let "Revolvin' Jones" see the light of day on this box set?????) RANT OVER... I can still see in my mind's eye Tony walking onto the stage of The Academy of Music in June of 1972 with a glass of champagne in his outstretched arm as he opened with "So I raise my glass to the good things in life!" A new (albeit short-lived) theme was born for Tony. Here is an absolute creme de la creme lineup of tunes arranged perfectly by Robert Farnon and sung perfectly-to-almost-oversung by Tony. It is a pity that this LP was so quickly lost in the shuffle of Tony's career moves at the time and held in the vaults for decades by Tony himself refusing any offers (of which there were many) for CD release. A personal note re: this album...I sent Tony a congratulatory letter telling him how much I enjoyed it. To my great surprise a package arrived at my parent's home a few weeks later. It contained a copy of the LP with a letter form Tony's manager Derek Boulton dated 5/11/73. In it he wrote: You'll be interested to know that the 1st batch of the album was made from a master that was cut from a Dolby compressed tape. Mr. Bennett has since remixed the LP and a new master has been cut and it is with great pleasure that we send you a copy of the new mix.
It's even more obviously deliberate on TONY BENNETT'S GREATEST HITS VOLUME 7, which we'll get to soon. "O Sole Mio" was THE featured track on that compilation, with its title appearing in larger type on the front cover than the other songs. Not only was the track eliminated, but both front and back covers have been Photoshopped to remove the song title (as I'll illustrate shortly when we reach Disc 47). On this album, the missing "O Sole Mio" is listed among the tracks on the back cover of the (unretouched) LP replica sleeve.
I am so angry this track has been removed from this otherwise wonderful album - I was thrilled with it when it was first released and loved this version of O Sole Mio having discovered the Elvis version in 1960 at the Rome Olympics - I have ordered a used copy of the Curb CD from the USA just to get a CD copy of this track and can then restore this album that has been on my CD wish list for ever.
Fascinating, Paul! I find this disc in the box set to be sonically pleasing. In contrast, the four tracks which are repeated on GREATEST HITS VOLUME 7 are mastered differently, with Columbia "church-style" (i.e. way too much) reverb. BTW, discographical details for this album are sketchy. The box set book page contains no matrix numbers or recording dates. The only hint in the book is the entry for the duplicate version of "The Good Things In Life" on GREATEST HITS VOLUME 7, which includes a mx. no. (72L 4047) and a date (9/25/72). That mx. agrees with another source, but the date differs... The online Tony Bennett Discography specifies a recording date two weeks earlier (9/11/72). However, that website also specifies all 14 original tracks in album order with sequential mx. nos. I find it difficult to believe that all this music was recorded in order in one session. (Especially because of the different orchestrations: Most of the tracks include strings, but "Mimi" and "Cute" have jazz trio-only backings.) It's possible that the recordings were made over multiple sessions, and the mx. nos. were assigned when the album was mastered. Perhaps Chris Phasey or someone else here can shed some light on the actual recording scenario in London during September 1972?
Bob, You will see as we get later into TB's recording career, that online discography often lists the songs as they appear on the album and the same (or in some cases different) recording dates. It's doesn't get easier.
Matrix numbers Maybe This TimeJ. Kander / F. Ebb CO 111857* or CO112414 *this track was substituted for “How Beautiful Is Night” on the US release * track is also reported as a live recording which may explain why the matrix number has been recorded as CO112414 The matrix numbers that I have end when Tony left Columbia and so I can offer you nothing further except the following which shows the order of recording. LONDON Studio recording, 1972 for Philips (MGM / Verve) Records arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon & The John Bunch Trio Blues For Breakfast Dennis / Gladstone The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Cute N. Hefti / J. Styne The Best Of Tony Bennett The Good Things In Life Curb D2-77447 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Invitation B. Kaper / P. Webster The Good Things In Life Philips 630813 MGM5088 It Was You Coleman / Lipton The Good Things In Life Philips 630813 MGM 5088 London By Night E. Coates The Best Of Tony Bennett The Good Things In Life Curb D2-77447 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Mimi R. Rodgers / L. Hart The Best Of Tony Bennett The Good Things In Life Curb D2-77447 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 arranged and conducted by Torrie Zito O Sole Mio Trad / Zito The Best Of Tony Bennett The Good Things In Life Verve K14607 Curb D2-77447 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon Oh, Lady Be Good G. Gershwin / I. Gershwin The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Passing Strangers Mitchell / Mann The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Some Of These Days S. Brooks The Good Things In Life Philips 6006372 / Brut 813 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Someone To Light Up My Life A. C. Jobim / G. Lees / Moraes The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 End Of A Love Affair Redding The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 The Good Things In Life L. Bricusse / T. Newley The Best Of Tony Bennett The Good Things In Life Verve MV10690 Curb D2-77447 Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 Philips 6006260 / 6006309 the album contains an edited version of this track as a final reprise The Midnight Sun Hampton / Burke / Mercer The Good Things In Life Philips 6308134 MGM 5088 My tabs don't copy over exactly from my chronology but I think you can follow okay. This data is in Microsoft Works and I have struggled to keep it up to date so some recent items may be missing, it includes public domain concerts I have (CD rot willing) or aware of but if one of you would like me to try sending it as an e-mail attachment I'm prepared to try, e0-mail me. Errors by record companies are common, to this day I'm still amused by the cover notes to TB Sings His All-Time HOF Hits :- Interesting sleeve notes - they compliment pianist Ralph Bunch and the composer of "This Is All I Ask" is Gordon Jacobs! - pass me a Jenkins cracker. Not even corrected on the CD - just in case you don't get it in the UK we can buy very popular Jacobs Cream Crackers here.
I've edited this twice to try and make it clearer but it just reverts to this chunk of matter - my apologies
Disc 46: Listen Easy Disc 46: Listen Easy Original Album: MV-5094 (MGM/Verve LP) Released: 1973 Recorded: 1972–73 (see below) Arranger: Don Costa (12/12/72) Love Is The Thing (12/12/72) Rain, Rain (Don't Go Away) (12/12/72) The Hands Of Time (Brian's Song) (12/13/72) I Concentrate On You (12/13/72) At Long Last Love * (12/13/72) On The Sunny Side Of The Street [also on Disc 47: Greatest Hits Volume 7] (09/15/72) Once In A Garden ( unlisted ) My Funny Valentine ( unlisted ) How Little We Know (02/22/73) Tell Her It's Snowing (unedited) [abridged on Disc 47: Greatest Hits Volume 7] *Track #6 on original album ("If I Could Go Back") has been removed and does not appear within the box set.
Don Costa and Tony at their best together! Tony settles down a bit after his romp thru all sorts of tunes on his 1st MGM/Verve release and takes things easy. Beautiful chestnuts like "Sunny Side of the Street" and "My Funny Valentine" are joined with lesser-known tunes like "How Little We Know", "Love is the Thing", and "Rain, Rain" and new beauties like "Tell Her It's Snowing", "The Hands of Time" and "If I Could Go Back" "Tell Her It's Snowing" can be a bit too-much at times and yes, Tony goes over the top at the climax of "Hands of Time"...but this is a real winner of a collection of tunes masterfully created by a great vocalist and arranger. Tony was headed in the right direction on his own! P.S. Please note the updated version of the famous "Bob Peak profile" on the album cover.
