Tony Bennett US Store

Tony Bennett's career has enjoyed three distinct phases, each of them very successful. In the early '50s, he scored a series of major hits that made him one of the most popular recording artists of the time. In the early '60s, he mounted a comeback as more of an adult-album seller. And from the mid-'80s on, he achieved renewed popularity with generations of listeners who hadn't been born when he first appeared. He has remained largely constant to his goals of singing the best available songs the best way he knows how. He continues to sing popular standards in a warm, husky tenor, varying his timing and phrasing with a jazz fan's sense of spontaneity to bring out the melodies and lyrics of the songs effectively. By the start of the 21st century, Bennett seemed like the last of a breed, but he has remained as popular as ever.  

Bennett's warm style is especially winning on classic Christmas material.  The Classic Christmas features 17 songs from 4 of Bennett’s Christmas Albums, hand-picked by Tony Bennett himself, as well as the previously unreleased “What Child Is This.”

The Classic Christmas includes 5 tracks from the Grammy-nominated A Swingin’ Christmas (featuring the Count Basie Big Band). A beautiful arrangement on "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (which also happens to be a rare duet with his daughter, Antonia Bennett) compliments the great accomplishment of treating standards, like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "My Favorite Things" -- as though they were ripe for the reimagining (which, of course, they are).

Five tracks are pulled from Bennett's 1968 release, Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, which features a playful orchestral backup, courtesy of Robert Fanon. The versions of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" emphasize the romantic elements to great effect, while Bennett's take on "My Favorite Things" is superlative. Where so many artists just re-make the same holiday album every other year, Bennett has opted to append new material to his sole original.
The London Symphony Orchestra lend support on 4 more traditional favorites;  "Deck The Halls," "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night"

TRACKLIST:
1. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
2. My Favorite Things
3. Christmas Time Is Here
4. Deck The Halls
5. The First Noël
6. The Christmas Song
7. Silver Bells
8. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. I Love The Winter Weather/I've Got My Love To Keep Me warm                    
11. I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
12. Christmas In Herald Square
13. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
14. O Come All Ye Faithful
15. What Child Is This
16. Winter Wonderland                                      
17. Silent Night
18. White Christmas