Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
2. Because of You
3. Cold, Cold Heart
4. Blue Velvet
5. Rags to Riches
6. Stranger in Paradise
7. While the Music Plays On
8. May I Never Love Again
9. Sing You Sinners
10. Just in Time
11. Lazy Afternoon
12. �a C'est l'Amour
13. I Get a Kick Out of You
14. It Amazes Me
15. Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)
16. Lost in the Stars
17. Lullaby of Broadway [Live]
18. Firefly
19. Sleepin' Bee
20. Man That Got Away
21. Skylark
22. September Song
23. Till

Disc 2:

1. Begin the Beguine
2. Put on a Happy Face
3. Best Is Yet to Come
4. This Time the Dream's on Me
5. Close Your Eyes
6. Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye
7. Dancing in the Dark
8. Stella by Starlight
9. Tender Is the Night
10. Once Upon a Time
11. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
12. Until I Met You
13. If I Love Again
14. I Wanna Be Around
15. Good Life
16. It Was Me
17. Spring in Manhattan
18. Moment of Truth
19. This Is All I Ask
20. Taste of Honey
21. When Joanna Loved Me
22. I'll Be Around

Disc 3:

1. Nobody Else But Me
2. It Had to Be You
3. I've Got Just About Everything
4. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
5. Waltz for Debby
6. I Walk a Little Faster
7. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)
8. If I Ruled the World
9. Fly Me to the Moon
10. Love Scene
11. Sweet Lorraine
12. Shadow of Your Smile
13. I'll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her
14. Baby, Dream Your Dream
15. Smile
16. Maybe September [From "The Oscar"]
17. Emily
18. Very Thought of You
19. Time for Love
20. Country Girl

Disc 4:

1. Days of Love
2. Keep Smiling at Trouble (Trouble's a Bubble)
3. For Once in My Life
4. Who Cares?
5. Hi-Ho!
6. Baby, Don't You Quit Now
7. Something
8. I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You
9. Old Devil Moon [Live] - Tony Bennett, London Philharmonic Orchestra
10. Remind Me
11. Maybe This Time
12. Some Other Time
13. My Foolish Heart
14. But Beautiful
15. How Do You Keep the Music Playing? - Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio,
16. What Are You Afraid Of?
17. Why Do People Fall in Love?/People
18. I Got Lost in Her Arms
19. When I Lost You
20. Shaking the Blues Away
21. Antonia - Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon Trio,
22. When Do the Bells Ring for Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62431 in Music
• Released on: 1991-07-02
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
Tony Bennett's commercial renaissance, complete with MTV Unplugged appearance, hadn't yet peaked when this four-CD set appeared in 1991. Forty Years, however, makes clear just why Bennett's comeback was so richly deserved: from early hits such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and his version of Hank Williams's "Cold, Cold Heart" to late-life triumphs such as "When Do the Bells Ring for Me," this is a testament to the singer's verve and unstinting good taste. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

A TREASURE
I first saw Tony Bennett when I walked into the rear of the orchestra at a Broadway musical for which I did the casting. Bennett slipped in during Act 2 and simply stood watching the show. When I recognized him in the dark, I asked if I could find him a seat. He quietly turned me down. He had seen the show from great seats three times, but loved it so much, he "sneaked" into the theatre to watch a few moments of it between his performances at a nearby cabaret.

Bennett's love of musical theatre and great music ("It's not old music...it's great music," he said on the Rosie O'Donnell television show this morning) is obvious through his decades of recording and performing the best songs in his own very personal way, emphasizing the words and what they mean to him, letting the song speak for itself through him.

This four CD album takes Bennett from the 50's through the 80's and song after song is a gem. His arrangers and conductors are only the best from Percy Faith to Ralph Sharon, from Neal Hefti to Frank DeVol, from Ralph Burns to Don Costa just to name a few. And the songs, themselves, are gems from cabaret to Broadway to jazz. My personal favorites are four from the 1950's, all on the first CD: Arlen and Capote's "A Sleepin' Bee," Arlen and Gershwin's "The Man That Got Away" (absolutely the best version of this song I've ever heard besides Garland's), Carmichael and Mercer's "Skylark" and Weill and Anderson's "September Song."

This set is a treasure and one that you will continually find yourself coming back to for sheer enjoyment of a great singer in his prime. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Pure Bennett Gold
This is a fabulous 4-disc compilation of Tony in his musical prime from the 50's through the 80's. There are 87 tracks, and a 60 page booklet that contains essays by Ralph Sharon and Will Friedwald and extensive notes by Tony himself. The audio quality is outstanding, and Bennett's voice, diction, and the emotional depth of his phrasing and interpretation of the songs and lyrics is magical. This a must purchase if you collect Tony Bennett. It's a great sampling from his amazing catalog and further proof of the man's musical genius.

The best of Tony!
Tony Bennett is at once amazing, subtle, and charismatic in his interpretaions of so many classics. Listen as he starts off, he grows and develops his talent only to get get better as he goes along. This is really a must have for any Bennett fan or vocal Jazz fan. The liner notes, by Tony, are a great bonus!