When Do the Bells Ring for Me - Tony Bennett, DeForest, Charles
I Was Lost, I Was Drifting - Tony Bennett, Gannon, Kim
A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet - Tony Bennett, Kahn, Gus
The Girl I Love (The Man I Love) - Tony Bennett, Gershwin, George
It's Like Reaching for the Moon - Tony Bennett, Lewis, Al [1]
Speak Low - Tony Bennett, Nash, Ogden [Author
The Folks Who Live on the Hill - Tony Bennett, Hammerstein, Oscar
Antonia - Tony Bennett, Segal, Jack
A Weaver of Dreams/There Will Never Be Another You - Tony Bennett, Elliott, Jack
Body and Soul - Tony Bennett, Eyton, Frank
Where Do You Go from Love? - Tony Bennett, DeForest, Charles
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Tony Bennett, Dubin, Al
Where Did the Magic Go - Tony Bennett, Erickson, P.J.
I've Come Home Again - Tony Bennett, DeForest, Charles
Astoria is both Tony Bennett's mature look back at the very young man pictured on its cover and his affirmation that the values he and his Queens, New York, community forged midcentury are still relevant ones. In a mix of ... more »trio and orchestra recordings, Bennett sings a trenchantly chosen stack of classics dealing with longing ("The Girl I Love"), contentedness ("The Folks That Live on the Hill"), and aching ("The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," which he originally cut as his first single for Columbia in 1950, and "When Do the Bells Ring for Me"). A couple of new numbers provide a sort of continuity, but even without them Astoria is one man's testament--filled with a universality much bigger than the trendiness that occasionally attended Bennett's commercial rebirth in the '90s. --Rickey Wright« less
Astoria is both Tony Bennett's mature look back at the very young man pictured on its cover and his affirmation that the values he and his Queens, New York, community forged midcentury are still relevant ones. In a mix of trio and orchestra recordings, Bennett sings a trenchantly chosen stack of classics dealing with longing ("The Girl I Love"), contentedness ("The Folks That Live on the Hill"), and aching ("The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," which he originally cut as his first single for Columbia in 1950, and "When Do the Bells Ring for Me"). A couple of new numbers provide a sort of continuity, but even without them Astoria is one man's testament--filled with a universality much bigger than the trendiness that occasionally attended Bennett's commercial rebirth in the '90s. --Rickey Wright
"This is a Tony Bennett album, in every sense of the word. First, as a record album, it is a well-produced, impeccably recorded (triple-digital), and sensitively compiled collection of songs that will delight you if you are a Tony Bennett fan already, and surprise you if you're not. Second, as a personal album, it expresses Bennett's need to show the continuity of what matters across the expanse of his own life, to remember the people and places that are worth remembering, and savor their lasting influence. Everyone is from somewhere, and this album takes you to where Bennett is from. You will like the territory. Certainly, you'll enjoy listening to this by yourself, and will probably think about your own roots as you do, but you'll enjoy it even more if you are lucky enough to have a sophisticated uptown woman accept your invitation to come over for a highball. Put this album on, smoky and low, and then focus on more important things....Bennett's been called the last of the saloon singers, a high compliment and an apt one. Like the subjects of his musical portraits here, Bennett has delivered the goods over the long run. Classic American music."
Tony Bennett Is A Singer's Singer
Jay R. Adler | Massapequa,NY | 05/16/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'll never forget when Frank Sinatra when asked to describe Tony Bennett called him a "singer's singer". This CD, Astoria: Portrait of the Artist brings us back to a different time, when there were singing waiters (Tony was one in Astoria, Queens) and he even goes back to being an infantry man in WWll. But these songs depict the smoothest and the best in crooning, something we don't usually come across in our American Idol mentality today.There are two selections on this CD that I must refer to as absolutely outstanding and they are "The Folks That Live On The Hill" and "Where Did The Magic Go". These songs reap nostalgic memories from all of us who are mature enough to appreciate a gentler time with negligible anxiety and no web to constantly bannish us to. This is top notch, classy fare and the CD brings out the masterful style of Tony Bennett and his cherished history.
Jay Adler, Massapequa, New York"
Tony rediscovered
marshall blondy | northville, mi United States | 07/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i found this cd on a shelf at home. i played it in the car and i am delighted each time i listen to it. what a great way to go to work and even better coming home from work. many of the songs are a bit obscure but still wonderful.i have loved his music for the past forty years.he truly is a wonderful entertainer."
Some of Bennett's Finest
John A Lee III | San Antonio, TX | 07/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album tugged on my heartstring. I still prefer the style of someone like Sinatra, all the while conceding that Bennett is a fine talent in his own right, but the songs on this album grabbed my attention and held it. That is primarily because most of the songs are love songs and an all too familiar feeling swept over me on hearing them. Some are of unrequited love and others of love fulfilled. In any case, they are well done, emotional and a pleasure to hear... even bearing in mind the "unrequited" part.
As is to be expected from an artist of this caliber, the quality of the recordings themselves match the quality of the lyrics, the singing and accompaniment. This is a fine selection for anyone who loves love songs done in an older style.