Got mine today. Went to a B&N north of LA (called ahead) and got it for $159 plus tax (only because I joined their program). I had most of the albums on vinyl and CD but this was too good to pass up. I thank you all for posting about this as I would not have known otherwise (and thanks to scoredaddy for the missing tracks info).
Nearly every album was complete. Overall, it is the best remastered major box set by any classic pop/jazz singer. No complaints about that.
Yes sure, I‘m aware of that. I‘m sure it‘s beautiful. It is just not common practice to shorten albums in a „complete“ set.
What a great segment on Tony‘s life with the desease. Love him so much. „Things can change and you can still be magnificent.“
I don't think I've seen any other artist remove tracks that were released on their albums. I'm sure theres a ton of performers who don't like certain songs on their albums but they're never intentionally removed. Bonus tracks are a different story. a lot of FS re-releases omitted the bonus tracks to keep the albums as they originally were. Frank never removed "Mama Will Bark" from the BBB!
When artists have control over their releases, which is rare, or when they are offered control (very rare), they have often suppressed reissues of entire albums, let alone cherry picked specific tracks only for reissue. Artistic control is still not common. But when artists have control, they often exercise it.
What is weird in TB's case is that he was paid IIRC $10 million dollars to give SONY complete control of his entire catalog several years prior to the release of this box set.
I must respectfully disagree. Several of the CD's I've listened to so far are compromised sound-wise. Very compressed vs. the LP's I have been listening to for decades as well as other CD's of the same album. And as has been mentioned earlier in the thread the sound level is not the same from album to alum in some cases. In other words.. a rush job!
At the greatly reduced price it is a great "add" to the collection. None of the "warts" I recently mentioned are new to the thread.
Oh ****, Happy Birthday Tony Bennett! I had the great opportunity to see Tony twice both at the Fox Theatre in Detroit my first time was 2016 I was only 16 lol Tony had just turned 90 and he put on a Phenomenal show, he made a joke to a guy walking in during the second song and said "you missed the whole show" the audience loved it. The second time was in 2019, Tony 93 now was great the only thing different was he didnt communicate with the audience as much and tell stories between songs (his condition wasnt known yet) but it was great at the end he said "he and the band always love coming to detroit" and brought his dog on stage it was sweet, I was supposed to see him a 3rd time in 2020 right before covid in Canada but alas it didnt happen. Enough rambling though, my gateway drug into the American Songbook was Tony's Heres to the Ladies album and Cheek to Cheek. What a legend and beautiful human being happy 96th Tony. Now if they'll release the full One Last Time concert I can die content just for that performance of Last Night When We Were Young(until then I got Perfectly Frank). I got videos as well if I can figure out how to post them
of course I agree with Paul, it was carelessly assembled and the sound is NOT top-notch. I guess CBS thought that the "old" people who would purchase this set would never notice the difference. On the other hand, this is something that Bennett fans like me were dreaming about for years and years. I thought it would never actually happen so many of us were obtaining good quality LP versions of TB's rarer albums/singles and ripping them lossless/hi-res. As it turns out, many of these rips ended up sounding far superior to the CD versions included in the "complete" box. That being said, I would nevertheless HIGHLY recommend that everyone buy the box despite these caveats. It reflects the lifework of a unique artist and is worth exploring and studying.
I hope to make this dream come true (dreaming is still allowed lol); it is necessary to redo the box with Tony's entire catalogue, with due revision and the addition of tracks that have not yet been found and with the (even inopportune) addition of "O Sole Mio".
I don't know how many of you are following the Mobile Fidelity debacle re: using digital sources on some of their LP's that were advertised as coming directly from the original master tapes. However, it looks like it all started with one of our boy's MoFi releases! Mobile Fidelity and its parent company, Music Direct, were slow to respond to the revelation. But last week, the company began updating the sourcing information on its website and also agreed to its first interview, with The Washington Post. The company says it first used DSD, or Direct Stream Digital technology, on a 2011 reissue of Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” By the end of 2011, 60 percent of its vinyl releases incorporated DSD. All but one of the reissues as part of its One-Step series, which include $125 box set editions of Santana, Carole King and the Eagles, have used that technology. Going forward, all MoFi cutting will incorporate DSD.
Came across this today on YouTube it appears there is a documentary out called "Tony Bennett: Forget Me Not" was wondering if anyone here had watched it?
Thanx so much for the info. I'll check it out@ I have a best friend who produced a few of Tony's more recent comeback albums. He told me some odd things (like Tony can't immprovise) and that he was the nicest person in the world. We visited my friend some years back and when I walked in his cool House there was a nifty Painting on the wall... and I asked who did it... my buddy said, "It was a gift from Tony..." then i realized it was painted by Mr. Bennett. How friggin' cool is that.
