Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cheek to Cheek, by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

Cool crooner and shock popper an unlikely, entertaining pair

In a smoky, darkened nightclub, the stage is bare save for two figures singing in the gloom. A woman sits playfully at a piano as her partner sips a scotch on the rocks and smiles at his muse. A single spotlight illuminates the two as they steal each other’s hearts and souls.

This is the image that Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s new album of jazz standards, Cheek to Cheek, evokes. It may seem like an odd pairing, having smooth-voiced Bennett and shock popper Gaga duetting on an album, but once the horns kick in on the opening track, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” all doubts are washed away, as Gaga’s surprisingly sultry voice weaves its hypnotic spell.

Bennett remains as loveable as ever, merrily swinging his way through each tune, giving Gaga plenty of room to play. She shows the impressive range of her voice on tracks such as “Cheek to Cheek” and “Firefly,” harkening back to the days of Ella Fitzgerald, when a vocalist’s pipes, not their looks, garnered chart hits.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gaga and Bennett work well off of each other, giving the right amount of tongue-in-cheek playfulness. The duo turn in one of the finest, if not most reverent, performances of Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy” ever recorded and lay out a rousing take of “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” On the hilarious “Goody Goody,” the two trade barbs and quips over a story of heartbreak and deceit. This odd couple is anything but odd, showing that opposites do indeed attract.

Back in that dingy nightclub, the show is long over. Only the piano remains on the hardwood stage, alone and inviting, waiting to be played again. Here’s to hoping that the duo returns to the stage, ready to meter out another encore of sweet melodies.

  • Album: Cheek to Cheek
  • Artist: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
  • Label: Columbia
  • Songs: (Deluxe Version) (1) Anything Goes (2) Cheek to Cheek (3) Don't Wait Too Long (4) I Can't Give You Anything But Love (5) Nature Boy (6) Goody Goody (7) Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (8) Firefly (9) I Won't Dance (10) They All Laughed (11) Lush Life (12) Sophisticated Lady (13) Let's Face the Music and Dance (14) But Beautiful (15) It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led

In a smoky, darkened nightclub, the stage is bare save for two figures singing in the gloom. A woman sits playfully at a piano as her partner sips a scotch on the rocks and smiles at his muse. A single spotlight illuminates the two as they steal each other’s hearts and souls.

This is the image that Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s new album of jazz standards, Cheek to Cheek, evokes. It may seem like an odd pairing, having smooth-voiced Bennett and shock popper Gaga duetting on an album, but once the horns kick in on the opening track, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” all doubts are washed away, as Gaga’s surprisingly sultry voice weaves its hypnotic spell.

Bennett remains as loveable as ever, merrily swinging his way through each tune, giving Gaga plenty of room to play. She shows the impressive range of her voice on tracks such as “Cheek to Cheek” and “Firefly,” harkening back to the days of Ella Fitzgerald, when a vocalist’s pipes, not their looks, garnered chart hits.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Gaga and Bennett work well off of each other, giving the right amount of tongue-in-cheek playfulness. The duo turn in one of the finest, if not most reverent, performances of Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy” ever recorded and lay out a rousing take of “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” On the hilarious “Goody Goody,” the two trade barbs and quips over a story of heartbreak and deceit. This odd couple is anything but odd, showing that opposites do indeed attract.

Back in that dingy nightclub, the show is long over. Only the piano remains on the hardwood stage, alone and inviting, waiting to be played again. Here’s to hoping that the duo returns to the stage, ready to meter out another encore of sweet melodies.

  • Album: Cheek to Cheek
  • Artist: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
  • Label: Columbia
  • Songs: (Deluxe Version) (1) Anything Goes (2) Cheek to Cheek (3) Don't Wait Too Long (4) I Can't Give You Anything But Love (5) Nature Boy (6) Goody Goody (7) Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (8) Firefly (9) I Won't Dance (10) They All Laughed (11) Lush Life (12) Sophisticated Lady (13) Let's Face the Music and Dance (14) But Beautiful (15) It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader