You hear, for one final time, the promise of Amy Winehouse — if only in the way she can so expertly imitate the memorable phrasing of Dinah Washington.
No, it’s not a virtuoso performance in the traditional sense of the word, this duet with Tony Bennett. She sounds too much like her sultry mid-century forebear, right down to Washington’s sharp, blues-cut pauses. But it’s been enough, in the wake of Winehouse’s untimely passing earlier this year, to land the 85-year-old Bennett’s newly issued Duets II at an unlikely spot atop the Billboard album chart — his first ever such honor. Bennett also became the oldest artist to ever debut at No. 1, besting Bob Dylan — who was a spritely 67 when he hit No. 1 with 2009’s Together through Life.
[SOMETHING ELSE! SNEAK PEEK: Preview Tony Bennett’s track with Norah Jones from the RPM/Columbia Records release Duets II, a terrific take on ‘Speak Low.’.]
As expected in such enterprises, Duets II is vacuum-packed with notables. The difference here is generational. We get tastefully done, if occasionally rote, tracks with fellow oldsters like Willie Nelson and Aretha Franklin — but Bennett, in a stroke of lucky genius, also decided to include the likes of Lady Gaga (who seems to tickle Bennett with her space-cadet outlandishness) and Mariah Carey (who, ah, zzzzzzzz). None ended up attracting as much notice as Winehouse — whose recording of “Body and Soul” would, in fact, be her last.
I liked the way she never sounded too respectful, something that doesn’t often happen on Duets II. We’re talking about Tony Bennett, after all — and guys like John Mayer (sounding shamefully out of his depth) were playing on somebody else’s home turf. Winehouse, though, is bold enough to cut loose, giving her performance a sizzling vibrancy.
That said, does “Body and Soul” make good on the sweeping displays sorrow that seemed to surround her early passing? I’m not sure. As much as I appreciated then — and do, all over again, on Duets II — Winehouse’s connective passion for her childhood heroes, the fact is she never gave herself a chance to move beyond the easy mimickry of tracks like this. You wonder what she might have done, if she’d lived to be Bennett’s age, to build upon the foundation of influences like Washington — to create something that felt more like her own.
The answer, sadly, isn’t found on any of her own records, or on Duets II.
[amazon_enhanced asin=”B005KSJAD0″ container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B000V9HWJW” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”1400532620″ container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B0052GACNM” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B000069JIL” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /]
A portion of the proceeds from this project will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, an organization established by the singer’s family to provide support for young people dealing with substance abuse.
- How Deep Cuts on ‘Music From Big Pink’ Underscore the Band’s Triumph - July 31, 2023
- How ‘Islands’ Signaled the Sad End of the Band’s Five-Man Edition - March 15, 2022
- The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ Remains an Unjustly Overlooked Holiday Classic - December 25, 2016
