The Complete Improv Recordings (2004)

About this title: For those new to the music of Tony Bennett, Improv was a label started by Tony Bennett and businessman Bill Hassett. Bennett was fed up with the suits at Columbia Records, who were trying to make him sing rock & roll. When his contract expired at the beginning of the 1970s, he and Hassett formed a label to help him realize his aesthetic ambitions, and Improv was born. Bennett recorded five albums for the label between 1975 and 1977 before it went bankrupt. These recordings may not have sold well -- due largely to distribution problems -- but all of them were critically acclaimed. On these ... read more

Tracks:

1. Life Is Beautiful [Astaire/Wolf]
2. All Mine [Evans/Guerra/Hime]
3. Bridges (Travessia) [Lees/Nascimento]
4. Reflections [Ellington/Raskin]
5. Experiment [Porter]
6. This Funny World [Hart/Rodgers]
7. As Time Goes By [Hupfield]
8. I Used to Be Color Blind [Berlin]
9. Lost in the Stars [Anderson/Weill]
10. There'll Be Some Changes Made [Higgins/Overstreet]
11. Cole Porter Medley: What Is This Thing Called Love/Love for Sale/You'd [Porter]
12. There's Always Tomorrow [Cahn/Zito]
13. One [Hamlisch/Kleban]
14. Mr. Magic [MacDonald/Slater]
15. This Can't Be Love [Rodgers/Hart]
16. Blue Moon [Rodgers/Hart]
17. The Lady Is a Tramp [Rodgers/Hart]
18. Lover [Rodgers/Hart]
19. Manhattan [Rodgers/Hart]
20. Spring Is Here [Rodgers/Hart]
21. Have You Met Miss Jones? [Rodgers/Hart]
22. Isn't It Romantic? [Rodgers/Hart]
23. Wait Till You See Her [Rodgers/Hart]
24. I Could Write a Book [Rodgers/Hart]
25. Thou Swell [Rodgers/Hart]
26. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World [Rodgers/Hart]
27. There's a Small Hotel [Rodgers/Hart]
28. I've Got Five Dollars [Rodgers/Hart]
29. You Took Advantage of Me [Rodgers/Hart]
30. I Wish I Were in Love Again [Rodgers/Hart]
31. This Funny World [Rodgers/Hart]
32. My Heart Stood Still [Rodgers/Hart]
33. My Romance [Rodgers/Hart]
34. Mountain Greenery [Rodgers/Hart]
35. This Can't Be Love [Alternate, Take #1][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
36. I Could Write a Book [Alternate, Take #2][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
37. Thou Swell [Alternate, Take #1][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
38. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World [Alternate, Take #4][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
39. I Wish I Were in Love Again [Alternate, Take #1][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
40. This Funny World [Alternate, Take #3][Take] [Rodgers/Hart]
41. The Bad and the Beautiful [Raksin/Langdon]
42. Lucky to Be Me [Comden/Green/Bernst]
43. Make Someone Happy [Comden/Green/Styne]
44. You're Nearer [Rodgers/Hart]
45. A Child Is Born [Jones/Wilder]
46. The Two Lonely People [Evans/Hall]
47. You Don't Know What Love Is [Raye/DePaul]
48. Maybe September [Livingston/Evans/Fa]
49. Lonely Girl [Hefti/Livingston/Ev]
50. You Must Believe in Spring [Bergman/Bergman/Dem]
51. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) [Bricusse/Newley]
52. Dream Dancing [Porter]
53. The Bad and the Beautiful [Alternate, Take #1][Take] [Langdon/Raksin]
54. 'S Wonderful [Gershwin/Gershwin]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.