Cheek to Cheek reveals the considerable warmth and depth of her voice. She and Bennett play it absolutely straight – there are no radical reboots, just two accomplished vocalists having fun
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Lady Gaga and the King of Cool are made for each other: ADRIAN THRILLS reviews their classy collection of covers
Verdict: Pop's odd couple strike gold
Rating: 4/5 stars
It reiterates Bennett’s easy charm and flawless pitch — and shows Gaga in a fascinating new light: as an authentic jazz vocalist with decent phrasing and a winning appetite for playful, sassy interjections.
Refreshingly, without all the electronic bells and whistles that usually submerge her natural talent, Gaga enjoys herself.
In fact, Cheek To Cheek serves both singers well. For Bennett, it continues a process of introducing the classics of yesteryear to a younger audience that began with 1994’s MTV Unplugged; for Gaga, it puts music above her desire to shock. And that, perversely, is the most surprising move she has made in ages.
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 collaboration—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.
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