Lady Gaga
and
Tony Bennett
sang before 2014's
Cheek to Cheek
-- she popped up on his 2011 collection
Duets II
-- so this standards album isn't exactly out of the blue. Furthermore, the two aren't such an odd pair.
Bennett
naturally has a long track record not just in regards to the Great American Songbook, but in presenting it to modern audiences, freshening it up for an
MTV Unplugged
in 1994 and cutting a full album with
k.d. lang
in 2002, while
Gaga
is grounded in music theater and cabaret, a background that is perhaps too apparent on
even when it serves her well. She has the chops to sing these warhorses but she sometimes seems unsure of her skills, relying on sheer power when she'd be better off easing into a lyric.
also is occasionally betrayed by her taste for camp -- it's fetching when she's re-creating the splendor of 1976 within the album art but when she begins throwing out flirty asides on "Goody Goody" ("I'm no goodie, I'm a baddie"), she slips on the thin ice she's skating upon. Comparatively,
takes things perhaps a shade too casually, relying on charm as much as skill. This isn't entirely a bad thing. His ease provides a welcome tonic to
's eager glee club theatrics and there are some sparks that arise from this contrast. Also,
benefits from sharp arrangements and production that draw upon anything from boisterous, full-bore big bands to swinging, intimate cabaret. Such variety helps spice up a pretty predictable set of songs -- it's a familiar parade of
Porter
,
Berlin
Ellington
Kern
, with
Cy Coleman
&
Carolyn Leigh
's "Firefly" being the least-familiar tune (although
has recorded it numerous times since the late '50s) -- but
is a record where the music and even the songs take a backseat to the personalities.
intended to put on a razzle-dazzle show here and that's exactly what they did. Whether you like it or not depends entirely on how much you dig the way they swing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine