Remember all those wonderful 1950s albums where Ella Fitzgerald or Anita O'Day or Jeri Southern were recording tribute to Cole Porter? Those were actually not the originals. They were a second life for the material mostly written for 1930s Broadway shows and the rise of LP format made them popular again. Decades later, there was another Porter renaissance with charity album "Red, Hot & Blue" where than-current artists like Neneh Cherry, The Pogues and U2 re-shaped these songs in a pop idiom. Now, with this album we come full circle back to the originals, where modern day polished production meets the spirit of old 1950s LP albums. And we have an actual singer who was there in the 1950s.
Contrary to my expectations and despite my reservations, I was instantly won over with the music. I knew the material - heard it in hundreds of versions - and its quite impossible to resist such a feel-good, foot-tapping swing and naturally classy lyrics. It felt so cheerful and somehow Christmasy that I have listened it several times in a row. Thankfully, there were no attempts to modernise old school music, it was done exactly as we know it. If it true that this is last studio album by Tony Bennett, well he is leaving on a uplifting, optimistic note. As for much-hyped Lady Gaga, I must admit that she actually shoulders majority of the project here and for her obviously this is a labour of love: for that reason I can't criticise her because her heart is in the right place. Initially I wanted to write something about her seeking respectability and validation with this kind of music, but hey, she is in pop music arena and its just a matter of time before she will be forced to return to pop ("return to form" they would say) because this genre is simply not so commercially visible as what she is usually doing. Remember Natalie Cole? She made a sudden excursion into American Songbook and couldn't get out if it anymore, it became artistic cul-de-sac of sorts, because the industry always bets on proven cards, while paradoxically actually needs something new and fresh. I must be honest and compliment her version of "Do I Love You" which is genuinely beautiful. I enjoy this very much.
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