Tony Bennett - Duets II

Tony Bennett - The big 85th birthday bash doesn't officially happen until Sunday night (with a gala featuring Elton John and Alec Baldwin), but the ageless and iconic crooner has again tapped some of pop's biggest names for this star-studded seventeen-track duets album produced by the legendary Phil Ramone...// Release: Duets II (September 20, Columbia) // Sounds like: the hoopla surrounding the tracks with Amy Winehouse (her last completed studio performance) and the likes of Lady Ga-Ga have overshadowed the bulk of fine performances here including sumptuously produced turns from Norah Jones, long-time Bennett fan k.d. lang, Michael Buble, John Mayer, Josh Groban, Mariah Carey and Sheryl Crow...(watch the Norah and Amy videos after the jump)...

Quote: "I've just always love him and getting the chance to sing with him is a big deal for me. It's nice to sing this song with someone like him, who speaks the language (of jazz) so well." -- Norah Jones // What we like: unlike the phoned-in performances on the Sinatra duet albums, there's some real energy and emotion on display as these artists join Bennett in the studio for some pages from the great American songbook...Crow's lovely handling of "The Girl I Love" is surprisingly graceful while Tony's amusing verbal sparring with John Mayer adds a light touch to "One More For the Road"..it's heartbreaking to hear Bennett launch into "Body and Soul" with Amy Winehouse with the line "my heart is sad and lonely" and then hear her touching response -- you can practically feel the damage of the past few years in her voice, like a ravaged Billie Holiday near her own weary end...

Tony Bennett & Norah Jones - "Speak Low" (from Duets II)

Tony Bennett & Sheryl Crow - "The Girl I Love" (from Duets II)

Get More: Tony Bennett, Music, More Music Videos