Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Cheek to Cheek: Live Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 28, 2015

For those wanting an object lesson in great pop singing, may I suggest a listen to Tony Bennett performing the criminally underappreciated “Song from The Oscar (Maybe September)” in its original, orchestrated (by Glenn Osser) version from 1966 (Tony revisited the song with a jazz group decades later). This Percy Faith penned tune, written for the much lambasted film which provided Bennett his only “dramatic” film role, is deceptively simple sounding, but it includes long, languid phrases that include several huge interval jumps, especially in the opening eight bars. Tony’s rendition isn’t just pitch perfect (as in completely in tune), it contains some of the most absolutely astounding breath control I’ve personally ever heard. Tony just keeps singing and singing, seemingly never pausing to take a breath. Of course that’s just one in what is a fairly endless array of unbelievably brilliant Bennett performances, and though the singer is pushing 90, he still manages to create magic, albeit with a slightly more gravelly ambience, along with the unlikeliest duet partner imaginable, Lady Gaga, in the nostalgic but energetic Cheek to Cheek Live! Bennett has reached out to a younger generation (and by default, listening demographic) many times through the years, most notably with his best selling Duets albums, and in fact Lady Gaga appeared on the second album in the franchise, Duets II (the two artists had met previously at a benefit concert where Lady Gaga had performed). There was an odd if endearing rapport between the two, with Lady Gaga obviously smitten in her own way with the elder statesman of pop and jazz, and Bennett seeming slightly bemused by the extravagant if undeniably gifted younger chanteuse. Those elements are firmly on display throughout this concert, which has already been utilized to garner pledges on the unavoidable semi-annual PBS shill-a- thons, and which seems poised to become a concert video evergreen for some time to come.

The first thing that becomes apparent in Cheek to Cheek Live! is that Gaga and Tony are having fun. There is an undeniable ebullience that suffuses this concert that combines a relatively restrained glitz factor (considering this features Lady Gaga, that is) and sterling musicianship. In fact one of the most commendable pleasures that Cheek to Cheek Live! offers is a magnificent live orchestra, there sharing the stage with the two singers. A full brass and wind contingent is augmented by strings and it's an incredible joy to see so many actual real, live human beings playing actual real, live instruments, instead of the typical battery of keyboards and synthesizers (and I say this as a guy who makes part of my living playing those very same keyboards and synthesizers).

A lot of people have claimed that Lady Gaga is some kind of ersatz Madonna wannabe, though it seems obvious (to my ears, anyway) who the more gifted vocalist is (hint: it isn’t Madonna). Gaga is of course unabashedly theatrical, something that unites her with the Material Girl’s frequent onstage persona, but in Cheek to Cheek Live! she seems to be channeling not Madge but a kind of odd combination of Cher and Liza Minnelli. The Cher attributions come courtesy not just with regard to at least one of Lady Gaga's unavoidable costume changes, but also in her totally unique take on Cher's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), which Gaga transforms into a lounge number that segues into an exuberant Salsa piece. (And again, how refreshing to hear an audience actually applaud for the brief but virtuosic solos by the pianist and trumpeter on the piece.)

The repertoire here tilts rather vigorously toward swing, with evergreens like Anything Goes and Cheek to Cheek given exuberant, playful but respectful renditions. Even Tony’s solos tend to be on the traditional side, with a huge sweeping orchestral sound that evokes his old Columbia albums on ballads like How Do You Keep the Music Playing? As indicated above, Lady Gaga is more on the playful side with her solo material, vamping it up as everything from a kind of elegant Lolita to the funny red jumpsuited creature that, again, seems to be Cher in some alternate universe.

The complete setlist for the concert is:

1. Anything Goes
2. Cheek to Cheek
3. They All Laughed
4. Lady’s In Love With You (Tony Bennett solo)
5. Nature Boy
6. Goody Goody
7. How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (Tony Bennett solo)
8. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (Lady Gaga solo)
9. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Lady Gaga solo)
10. Firefly
11. I Won’t Dance
12. Don’t Wait Too Long (Tony Bennett solo)
13. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
14. Lush Life (Lady Gaga solo)
15. Sophisticated Lady (Tony Bennett solo)
16. Let’s Face the Music and Dance
17. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Lady Gaga solo)
18. But Beautiful
19. It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

Cheek to Cheek: Live Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cheek to Cheek Live! is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Music (as well as a coalition of various other entities) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The progressive presentation smooths out a number of typical bugaboos that afflict concert videos, and the result is a nicely fluid and largely problem free offering. Colors are very accurate looking, black levels are excellent, and best of all there's only extremely minor crush in evidence (typically in shots of a not very well lit orchestra). In fact as can be seen in the screenshots, the outline of Tony's jet black tux is still readily apparent even against a stark black background. Similarly, when Lady Gaga wears black, there are few if any problems. There are a few (again minor) instances of banding when cameras are aimed toward lights.

Cheek to Cheek: Live Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Cheek to Cheek Live! has both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix, as well as an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mix, some genius authored the disc to default to the DTS 2.0 option also available, so make sure to check your audio choice when the disc boots up. There is perhaps a negligible difference between the two 5.1 tracks. With an understanding that a comparison comes by toggling and occasionally rewinding, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix sounded just slightly brighter to my ears, something that tends to make things like audience applause sound a bit boxier. The musical elements are delivered flawlessly on both 5.1 tracks, with excellent clarity and good spatial delineation. The mix is also superb, delivering the voices up on top where they should be, despite the groovalicious ensemble playing of the top flight orchestra.

Cheek to Cheek: Live Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

Cheek to Cheek: Live Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Not having seen it in its broadcast iteration, I went into Cheek to Cheek Live! thinking something along the lines of, "Great, another PBS pledge-a-thon masquerading as a "real" release." I'm happy to report I was pleasantly blown away by this concert, one which finds Tony Bennett still in amazingly good voice for his age, and Lady Gaga rather restrained (for Gaga) and obviously delighted to be sharing the stage with one of her idols. A great selection of material that actually puts the emphasis on the songs rather than the august performers helps to elevate this offering as well. Technical merits are very strong and even without the presence of any supplemental material, Cheek to Cheek Live! comes Highly recommended.