RBNLM 1,640 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 It's the oldest trick in the book: Past-prime pop singer attempts to boost his or her relevance in the face of dwindling sales and hastily changing trends by commissioning the help of a hotter, more bankable artist. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's Cheek to Cheek is the latest product of such a collaborationâ€â€except I'm not referring to the octogenarian Bennett, who, after 60-plus years in the business, is selling more albums than ever before, but to Gaga, whose free-fall from the upper echelons of pop has been as precipitous as her rise was meteoric. Despite her claims that she grew up listening to the jazz greats, Gaga comes off more as a dilettante than an aficionado on Cheek to Cheek, a collection of duets with the seasoned Bennett. (Between Madonna, Bowie, Motley Crue, and now Ella and Billie, it's hard to keep track of just how many posters adorned her bedroom walls as a child.) On songs like the Cole Porter standard "Anything Goes" and the title track, Gaga sounds like what she thinks a jazz singer should sound like; her performances are blatantly affected, marred by shouting and clichéd phrasing. She displays a total dearth of the vocal precision and enunciation that made her so-called idols the masters they were; her timbre on eden ahbez's "Nature Boy," for instance, is wildly inconsistent, shifting from soft and almost pleasant to parodic and comical, often within just a few short bars. Bennett doesn't fare a whole lot better, his otherwise charming performances strained throughout. The pair's solo efforts, particularly Gaga's clumsy interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and Bennett's surprisingly pitchy rendition of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," only serve to spotlight their shortcomings. The 87-year-old Bennett, who's managed to stretch his career into not just a second, but third act, obviously deserves some slack, but for a singer who isn't even 30, Gaga's voice is shockingly rough-hewn, especially on "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "I Won't Dance." Even when all that's required of her is cheeky, spoken repartee on "Goody Goody," her persistent vocal fry is insufferable. If not for the session musicians' top-notch work, including Joe Lacorno's virtuosic tenor sax solos, much of Cheek to Cheek, which drags at an economical 45 minutes, would sound like glorified karaoke. I can't believe this is a "professional" review, here we go again ARTPOP 2.0 http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/tony-bennett-lady-gaga-cheek-to-cheek Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaybeKermit 4,888 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 wtf, is this fo real :millie: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inuborg 4,136 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 goddamn goddamn goddamn I root for you. I love you. You, you, you, you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thathimerosguy 3 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlaeUrAnus 15,955 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Professional review my backside. ****ing bull****. In my messy era. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroubleClef 0 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 incredible. What do critics think? That their opinions matter more than anyone else? Just because they have a louder voice, doesn't make them more relevant. ITS BS. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaybeKermit 4,888 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 did she really say that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionic 49,829 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I kind of agree with Gaga sounds like what she thinks a jazz singer should sound like but damn @ the rest. cruelincredible. What do critics think? That their opinions matter more than anyone else? Just because they have a louder voice, doesn't make them more relevant. ITS BS. It's their job to tell us what to think. stream bionic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 13,289 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 wtf is a slant magazine anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry 2,374 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Who? Next review please They try way to hard to bring her down :madge: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girl Under You 332 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 nnnnnnn her vocals on Nature Boy are her best vocals ever Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphine Prince 105,659 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 This reviewer sounds really obnoxious for some reason. Oh, well. You can't please everyone. Let's wait for more reviews and not just focus on this negative one. "her timbre on eden ahbez's "Nature Boy," for instance, is wildly inconsistent, shifting from soft and almost pleasant to parodic and comical, often within just a few short bars." :roll: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Josh 3 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 what's a slant magazine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lego 44,165 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Is this written by Madonna stan? FreePalestine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Jeans 3,815 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 The Hate for gaga is real omg, what a biased review, he's not even reviewing the piece of work, he's being judgemental towrds Gaga's intententions with this album, that's why he's being so negative... probably a madonna fan who can Handle the fact that Gaga can sing circles around his idol Destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for things to happen instead of making them happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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