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BookPrices.net - A Swingin' Christmas
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $9.92
Your Save: $ 9.06 ( 48% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sony
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0886973225028
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2008-10-14
Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Tony Bennett Christmas
Comment: Tony Bennett at his best sharing his talents with other musicians. A real treat!!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Feh...
Comment: I really admire Tony Bennett, and I love Count Basie; their albums together, though not the equal of Basie's work with Sinatra, are outstanding...but the engineering/production on this disc is very flat. It reduces the sound of the Basie band to a quasi-karaoke background (it sounds more like a trio than a band); there's no 'richness' in the playing. Since Bennett's voice is understandably thin at this point in his career, the result is a washed-out sound that sounds more like a demo than a finished product. The swinging work sounds better than the ballads, but there needed to be sweetening of both the bass and perhaps the judicious introduction of strings to give this some depth. I don't think this will get a lot of playtime at our house.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Reality Check
Comment: I wanted to really get excited over this release, since I really like jazz big bands doing holiday music - with or without singers. At 37 minutes and 6 seconds, this CD reminds me of an LP and is very short on music. The Basie band is "featured" on only 6 of the 11 tracks and is very subdued. As described on the "Making Of" DVD, Tony Bennett has his own tempo - and this is a tempo different from the normal Basie band tempo. This "Making Of" DVD also has the Basie band working with Bennett on "A Christmas Song" for a brief segment, but this chart is not on the CD for whatever reason. The Deluxe edition (apparently only available at Target) has a "Live in Concert" DVD add on in addition to the "Making Of" DVD that covers only 4 of the Basie charts with Bennett (genereously considering that "My Favorite Things" is a Christmas song).
I would really want to give any Basie & Bennett collaboration all the stars possible, but with the Basie band on a little more than half the songs, with the 37 minutes of music around half of a normal CD, and with the music coming across as half of what it is capable of being, 3 stars is quite generous.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Little Disappointed
Comment: We love Tony Bennett AND big band music, but we were a little disappointed in this. Just seemed bland, with little feeling.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!Tony Bennet always comes through,you can never lose with any of his recordings.Having the Count Basie Band is a bonus.
Comment: Tony Bennett never disappoints.Having the Count Basie Band was an added bonus,those musicians are ageless.
This CD was enjoyed by family & friends of all ages & I gave it for gifts.
I recommend it highly.
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Editorial Reviews:
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2008 album release Swingin' Christmas featuring the Count Basie Big Band. Bennett has 15 Grammy Awards along with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2001). 'Tony Bennett is among the most recognized human beings on the planet.' ~Vanity Fair. The album tracks are 'The Christmas Song', 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', 'I'll Be Home for Christmas, 'Winter Wonderland', 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town', 'Christmas Time is Here', 'My Favorite Things', 'The Christmas Waltz', 'Christmas Auld Lang Syne', 'Silver Bells' and 'Christmas Tree'.
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