Search - Tony Bennett :: Art of Romance

"Then I Shall Them I Remember You"

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* | CA USA | 02/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""If music be the food of love, play on." ~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616) ~



This recording won the Best Traditional Vocal Pop Album in the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. My congratulations to Tony Bennett, conductor/arranger Johnny Mandel, arranger/pianist Lee Musiker, arranger Jorge Calandrelli, producers Phil Ramone and Danny Bennett, and the rest of the talented musicians involved in such a remarkable recording for a well-deserved recognition.



The repertoire consists of eleven slow tempo ballads that reflect the joy and pain of love and romance. These songs are seldom recorded but were made so remarkable and worthy to any music lover with Johnny Mandel's rich orchestration and superb arrangements as well as Tony Bennett's elegant style of singing. The quality of his voice never changes, there's still that eternal glow in his voice akin to a fine wine that enhances its richness with the passage of time. His vocal elegance has that special kind of power that gets to the listener's ears and evokes a wonderful marriage of elegance and power, and to think that he was in his late seventies when this album was recorded in 2004.



Tony Bennett is not only a great singer but also a talented songwriter as he penned the lyrics of one of the highlights of this album, "All For You," which was adapted from "Nuages" by one of guitar legends, Django Reinhardt. Another highlight is his heartfelt and moving interpretation of "Where Do You Start?" -- a poignant song penned by the brilliant team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman and the melody was composed by a gifted Oscar-winning composer and arranger, Johnny Mandel. I also love the tempo on Lee Musiker-arranged-track, Johnny Mandel and David Frishberg's "Little Did I Dream," which features Phil Woods on sax.



He gives my favorite Johnny Mercer classic, "I Remember You" the retire-the-trophy treatment and Johnny Mandel presented his flawless arrangement to make this version stand out. It's simply *the best* version I've ever heard so far.



"I remember you

You're the one who made my dreams come true

A few kisses ago

I remember you

You're the one who said "I love you, too"

I do, didn't you know?



I remember, too

A distant bell and stars that fell

Like rain out of the blue

When my life is through

And the angels ask me to recall

The thrill of them all

Then I shall tell them

I remember you"



Mr. Bennett is also a creative artist having done some artworks and portraits of the fine musicians in this album as shown on the CD inside cover: Gray Sargent (guitar), Lee Musiker (piano), Clayton Cameron (drums), Paul Langosch (bass) and Candido Camero (congas on "Being Alive"). He paints under the name of Anthony Benedetto, his birth name. I'm so impressed with his incredible works of art. I've checked out some of his artworks and I would say they're so charming, especially his watercolor paintings of still life flowers and oil paintings of landscapes.



Thanks so kindly to a dear friend of mine who recommended this CD to me and whose musical sensibilities are beyond compare. It's a CD to treasure and enjoy forever. This is truly an award-winning album. I wholeheartedly recommend it for your listening enjoyment now and forever.



Happy Valentine's Day!"