REISSUE: Tony Bennett – MTV Unplugged

 

The 90’s were a crazy time!  College dorm rooms and teenage bedrooms were plastered with posters depicting everything from Bob Marley to the Rat Pack.  Lollapalooza and festivals like it created an eclectic sense of style pre-internet.  Likewise, MTV also showcased different musical acts that at first, some may have thought were “uncool”.  And that is how we got a legendary MTV Unplugged performance from Tony Bennett, a 67-year old (at the time) jazz and pop standards crooner. 

In case you missed it, Legacy Recordings issued Tony Bennett’s Grammy-winning MTV Unplugged album on vinyl for the first time ever on Record Store Day this past April.  The 2LP set pressed onto black vinyl may still be available at your local record store.     

Recorded live in New York City in April of 1994, Tony Bennett was backed by the Ralph Sharon Trio - featuring bassist Doug Richeson, drummer Clayton Cameron and pianist Sharon – and assisted by special guest vocalists Elvis Costello (on “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”) and a duet with K.D. Lang (“Moonglow”).  Over the course of 21 tracks, Bennett showcased his smooth vocals and unique cadence as he put his own spin on The Great American Songbook, with classics such as, “Fly Me To The Moon”, “It Had To Be You”, “Rags To Riches”, “Old Devil Moon”, and “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”.  The set is highlighted by two songs that are synonymous with Bennett himself, with the melancholic “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” and peppy “Steppin’ Out With My Baby”, taken from his album of the same title, released just a year before.  

Ok, so maybe Tony Bennett on MTV wasn’t the epitome of cool to every teenager in 1994, but this 15 year old at the time fell in love with his performance on the Jon Stewart Show, begged for a cassette copy of Steppin’ Out for Christmas that year and set his VCR to record his MTV Unplugged performance.  So, I for one was excited to get this vinyl copy of Tony Bennett MTV Unplugged! 

Watch “Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)” here: