FIFTY YEARS: THE ARTISTRY OF TONY BENNETT

“People in the streets embrace him with their eyes, without tense or complicated worship.  ‘Tony!’ they shout, in Boston or Vegas or Paris.  He is an intimate, discovered on a street corner or coming out of a coffee shop or getting into a taxi.  He has been the soundtrack of their lives in the second half of the 20^th century, and … it has become obvious that there is no functioning troubadour left who can come anywhere near Tony’s almost majestic stature as a communicating musician.”

– Jonathan Schwartz, “The Next Generation”

The consummate recording talent of Tony Bennett has been on display for virtually a half-century at Columbia Records, the longest track record that any living, charting popular music artist can claim.  More than a dozen years ago (in 1991), at the dawn of multi-CD deluxe long-box productions, the first forty years of his remarkable career were revisited on a collection that has now been updated for a new generation.  Adding a decade onto its original title, and newly christened FIFTY YEARS: THE ARTISTRY OF TONY BENNETT, the box set has been expanded to five CDs (from four) and 110 tracks (from 87).

FIFTY YEARS: THE ARTISTRY OF TONY BENNETT (C5K 92784)

            Volume 1 (1950-1959) – Selections: 1. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1950) • 2. Because of You (1951) • 3. Cold, Cold Heart (1951) • 4. Blue Velvet (1951) • 5. Rags To Riches (1953) • 6. Stranger In Paradise (1953) • 7. While The Music Plays On (1954) • 8. May I Never Love Again (1955) • 9. Sing You Sinners (1955) • 10. Just In Time (1956) • 11. Lazy Afternoon (1957) • 12. Ca, C'est L'Amour (1957) • 13. I Get a Kick Out Of You (1957) • 14. It Amazes Me (1958) • 15. Penthouse Serenade (1958) • 16. Lost In the Stars (1958) • 17. Lullaby Of Broadway (1958) • 18. Firefly (1958) • 19. A Sleepin' Bee (1959) • 20. The Man That Got Away (1959) • 21. Skylark (1959) • 22. September Song (1959) • 23. Till (1959).

            Volume 2 (1960-1963) – Selections: 1. Begin the Beguine (1960) • 2. Put On a Happy Face (1960) • 3. The Best Is Yet To Come (1960) • 4. This Time the Dream's On Me (1960) • 5. Close Your Eyes (1961) • 6. Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Good-Bye)(1961) • 7. Dancing In the Dark (1961) • 8. Stella By Starlight (1961) • 9. Tender Is the Night (1961) • 10. Once Upon a Time (1962) • 11. I Left My Heart In San Francisco (1962) • 12. Until I Met You (1962) • 13. If I Love Again (1962) • 14. I Wanna Be Around (1962) • 15. The Good Life (1962) • 16. It Was Me (1962) • 17. Spring In Manhattan (1963) • 18. The Moment Of Truth (1963) • 19. This Is All I Ask (1963) • 20. A Taste Of Honey (1963) • 21. When Joanna Loved Me (1963) • 22. I'll Be Around (1963).

            Volume 3 (1964-1966) – Selections: 1. Nobody Else But Me (1964) • 2. It Had To Be You (1964) • 3. I've Got Just About Everything (1964) • 4. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) (1964) • 5. Waltz For Debbie (1964) • 6. I Walk a Little Faster (1964) • 7. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) (1964) • 8. If I Ruled the World (1965) • 9. Fly Me To the Moon (In Other Words) (1965) • 10. Love Scene (1965) • 11. Sweet Lorraine (1965) • 12. The Shadow Of Your Smile (1965) • 13. I'll Only Miss Her When I Think Of Her (1965) • 14. Baby, Dream Your Dream (1965) • 15. Smile (1965) • 16. Song From "The Oscar" (Maybe September) (1965) • 17. Emily (1965) • 18. The Very Thought Of You (1966) • 19. A Time For Love (1966) • 20. Country Girl (1966) • 21. Days Of Love (1967).

            Volume 4 (1967-1989) – Selections: 1. Keep Smiling at Trouble (Trouble's a Bubble) (1967) • 2. For Once In My Life (1967) • 3. Who Cares (So Long As You Care For Me) (1967) • 4. Hi-Ho (1968) • 5. Baby Don't You Quit Now (1968) • 6. Something (1969) • 7. Cold, Cold Heart (1970) • 8. I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You (1970) • 9. Old Devil Moon (1971) • 10. Remind Me (1971) • 11. Maybe This Time (1972) • 12. Some Other Time (1975) • 13. My Foolish Heart (1975) • 14. But Beautiful (1975) • 15. How Do You Keep the Music Playing (1986) • 16. What Are You Afraid Of (1986) • 17. Why Do People Fall In Love?/People (1986) • 18. I Got Lost In Her Arms (1986) • 19. When I Lost You (1987) • 20. Shakin' the Blues Away (1987) • 21. Antonia (1989) • 22. When Do the Bells Ring For Me (1989).

            Volume 5 (1992-2002) – Selections: 1. East Of The Sun (West Of The Moon) (1992) • 2. New York, New York (1993) • 3. Steppin' Out With My Baby (1994) • 4. They All Laughed (1994) • 5. They Can't Take That Away From Me (1994) • 6. Speak Low (1994) • 7. Solitude (1997) • 8. I Wished On The Moon (1997) • 9. When A Woman Loves A Man (1997) • 10. That Ole Devil Called Love (1997) • 11. The Way You Look Tonight (1997) • 12. Ac-Cen-T-Chu-Ate The Positive (1998) • 13. Bein' Green (1998) • 14. Mood Indigo (1999) • 15. Day Dream (1999) • 16. Azure (1999) • 17. Sophisticated Lady (1999) • 18. Alright, Okay, You Win (2001) • 19. Let The Good Times Roll (2001) • 20. Evenin' (2001) • 21. La Vie En Rose (2002) • 22. What A Wonderful World (2002).