Here you go!: https://tonybennett.com/pre_order_collection.php One of the best measures of true musical talent is not simply the ability to remain popular as the years go by, but to continue to create vital music that people want to hear. Tony Bennett is one of those rare artists. Debuting as a recording artist in 1950, he has continued to create best-selling music up through the present day: an unbroken timeline of more than 60 years. Tony Bennett’s impact can be measured in a number of ways; he has sold over 50 million records worldwide, garnered 15 Grammy awards, and been named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when most singers of his generation were retiring, Bennett’s career exploded as he was embraced by the MTV generation – performing alongside many of the day’s most contemporary stars. “[Bennett] has steadfastly remained the embodiment of heart in popular music,” wrote the New York Times in 2006. This year Tony Bennett turns 85 years old and to celebrate this, Sony Music presents an unprecedented box set collection, TONY BENNETT: The Complete Collection. FIRST-EVER COMPLETE CAREER-SPANNING DELUXE BOX SET * - 73 CDs – Contains ALL original albums in replicas of original LP jackets PLUS NEVER-BEFORE-HEARD RARITIES * - 3 DVDS - Featuring Never Before Released Tony Bennett Sings With The London Philharmonic Orchestra * - 250 PAGE BOOKLET with RARE photos, original album notes, sketches and an essay by Tony BOX SET OVERVIEW: Between 1952 and 1972, and then 1986 to the present day, Tony Bennett recorded an astounding 52 albums for the Columbia, CBS, and Sony labels – all of which now fall under the umbrella of Sony Music. This extensive box set brings together six decades of music, including the 11 albums he recorded for other labels, making this the first true complete albums collection. The box will also gather Bennett’s non-album singles from the ‘50s and feature an array of rarities, outtakes and other delights – including his very first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues.” Also included is the never-before-released Live At The Sahara: From This Moment On – an incredible document of Bennett’s Las Vegas debut in 1964. The box also includes 3 DVDs, including the classic 1994 MTV Unplugged, the award-winning 2006 Rob Marshall-directed NBC special and the Never before released, Tony Bennett Sings with The London Philharmonic Orchestra. These albums define the essence of Bennett’s career, and this exquisite collection includes such historic highpoints as: 1. 1955: The famous Cloud 7 album that marked Bennett’s transition from being primarily a singles star to a full-fledged artist capable of album-length statements. At the age of 30 and after years of pushing, he was finally allowed to make the 12” recording he desired; a consistently soft, late-night mood pervades this classic. 2. 1957: The Beat of My Heart was another winner for Bennett, his third album, matching his voice with such percussion masters as Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton and Candido. 3. 1959: In Person! Bennett’s aborted live debut recording resulted in this studio album that features him in the august company of Count Basie and his Orchestra, then at the top of their game. 4. 1962: I Left My Heart in San Francisco – the album that included the Top 5 single that helped launch Bennett from the confines of being a jazz/cabaret balladeer to a pop stylist on a par with Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. 5. 1963: I Wanna Be Around... generated two Top 20 hits -- "The Good Life" and the title track – and firmly established Bennett’s as a mainstream star. 6. 1968: Snowfall still stands as one of the rare Christmas albums that – tune by tune – rises above its novelty aspect and is as musically consistent as a five-star, non-seasonal recording. 7. 1975: Tony records with legendary jazz pianist and arranger Bill Evans for Fantasy Records. 8. 1986: Bennett’s return to Columbia after a fourteen-year hiatus yielded The Art of Excellence, a collection of old and newer standards that lived up to its title, and became a best-seller. 9. 1992, 1993: Perfectly Frank and Steppin’ Out were Bennett’s sincere and worthy tributes to two of his stylistic mentors – Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire (respectively); they both went gold and garnered back-to-back Grammy awards. 10. 1994: MTV Unplugged was the album that introduced Bennett to an entirely new generation, which he won over without changing a single personal or musical aspect: still the same tuxedo, still the same standards from the Great American Songbook. 11. 2001: On the heels of two more award-winning tributes – one to Billie Holiday and the other to Duke Ellington – Bennett released Playin’ With My Friends, a collection of duets with such pop, rock and R&B stars as Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt, and others. 12. 2006: Duets: An American Classic managed to outshine Bennett’s previous album of one-to-one meetings, with a wider stylistic range and added star-power, including Elton John, Sting, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, George Michael, and others. 13. 2011: Duets 2, the fantastic follow-up to his ’06 release, continues to prove his revered position among his global superstar peers.
Maybe this thread could be merged into the existing one? http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=259085&highlight=tony+bennett
Have to beg the Mrs. What I usually do for sets like this is trade up...so I'll try to sell the velvet box from a few years ago and the Fifty Years box. If not, order and sneak it in the house at 3AM.
This website is sure short on details! For example, are you paying the extra $100 for the limited edition just for the benefit of it being autographed? Is the set ready for shipment currently, or is this a pre-order? Will they charge your credit card upon shipment or will they charge it immediately and "hold onto your money" until the set is ready for shipment (which may not be for months!). Seems a little shady to me!
Well, $400 is a helluva lot more appetizing than the earlier announced $500. The real gem here is the long "lost" performance from the Sahara in Vegas. Many TB completists say it is his finest performance ever. Plus, I was not aware the box would include (which I assume it does) the 3 MGM/Verve LP's. Also, the video of the "Get Happy with the London Philharmonic" is quite rare. Bits of it are usually up on youtube. The box set production looks very similar to the latest Sinatra/Reprise box set...even down to the booklet. Nice job! 73 CD's and 3 DVD's at $410 or so with tax comes to about $5.40 per disc. So when it gets discounted this sounds like quite a deal. So, I don't feel quite as strongly about this set being a high-priced gouger as I initially did. I can live without an impersonal autograph for the extra $100. I'm sure the more knowledgeable price-watchers will keep us posted here where the discounts are once this is released.
Personally I think this box set is a great value but I can't justify adding this many CDs by a single artist to my collection when I have an over abundance of music as it is. I'd also want to know how it sounds first before I make a committment to buy.
This statement concerns me: "The box will also gather Bennett’s non-album singles from the ‘50s..." Does this mean that Bennett's non-album tracks from the 60's and 70's will NOT be included?
Did he have that many? One or two come to mind but that's it. Remember, this is not being touted as a "Complete" box set.
Well, what I plan on doing is waiting to hear the news of sonics, etc. Then if that is all well and good and I find a nice reduced price somewhere, I have a whole bunch of Tony CD's previously released that I'll take to Amoeba for trade. That will help "justify" my purchase.
I paid a fortune for Tony's "Alone Together" and "Time fo Love" on Japan Cd from Ebay,also got the box that contains "When Lights are Low" and "Sings for two", now I have buy THIS!! Got to cut back on kitty food!
@paulmock - yes, there are quite many non-LP selections from the 60's and it would be a pity to have to spend $400 and not to get them. And, at the same time, be forced to buy again all the albums that were already released on CD. Take, for example, the 13 "historical highlights" that the COMPLETE COLLECTION (yes, Paul, it IS being touted as a "complete" collection) promotes. EVERY one of those 13 points discusses albums ALREADY released on CD, many multiple times and most still available to purchase without plunking down $400 for this box (will I will do, nonetheless!). With the dozens of albums never released in digital form, these are the "highlights" that the record company is excited about! Do they have no idea that virtually EVERY potential buyer of this set will be Tony diehards that already have all these titles? I know that they must be present as this is the "complete" collection, but why publicize and sell these as the highlights when the rarities are what we are after? Why not tout WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW, perhaps Tony's best album and never released as a stand-alone release on CD (except in Japan)? Why not promote MY HEART SINGS, a superb big band album that is one of his best (again, never released on CD except in Japan)? This is puzzling to me, as is their audacity to ask $400 and not even provide a full listing of the 76 discs in the collection... I will buy this set despite all my bitching, but I will never understand the marketing stupidity of the record labels, that's for sure.
scoredaddy, apologies...I did not completely read the ad to see it being touted as complete. And I agree with you on what they should be hyping up...especially the Sahara CD. I aslo agree with you re: "When Lights Are Low" and "My Heart Sings". Thank God I have all the LP's all in superb shape to keep me going. I'm just happy that there is a set $100 cheaper than Tony announced. Let's see who'll find the cheapest place to purchase this behemoth. P.S. I'm sure there will be a complete list of contents coming out soon.
by the way, I have heard that Sahara concert and it IS very, very good. That and the London concert are GREAT bonuses, I have to admit. I wonder if the set will include THE GLORY ROAD, an album recorded by Bennett in the early 60's and never released (some, but not all, of the tracks were released on other LP's).
for those not aware of it, there is an excellent Bennett discography here: http://www.steve-albin.com/Artists/Bennett/index.html
