Love For Sale

トニー・ベネット&レディー・ガガによる初のジャズ・アルバム『チーク・トゥ・チーク』より7年。2人が再度タッグを組み、2枚目となる共作ジャズ・アルバムをリリース

今作は、コール・ポーター(アメリカの作曲家・作詞家 / 1891-1964年)の音楽の世界をトニーとガガが声で体現

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded Love for Sale, their second duet album, with the knowledge that it was likely the last from Bennett. Back in 2016, two years before the sessions for Love for Sale started, Bennett received a positive diagnosis for Alzheimers. By the time Love for Sale was released in 2021, hed officially retired from live performances. The Gaga collaboration wasnt billed as Bennetts final album, but given his health and advanced age (he turned 95 in 2021), Love for Sale is more likely than not a farewell. The record doesnt have the gravity of a final statement, though. Its light and sweet, containing 12 breezy renditions of Cole Porter warhorses. Bennetts sung these songs his entire career but he still delivers them with a grin. Gaga takes her cue from Bennett, adding a bit of humor to her phrasing which helps temper her tendency toward the theatrical. The contrast is clear: Gaga sings with total awareness of the audience, hitting her marks with a sense of flair, while Bennett is pleasing the crowd with casual charm. Its a nice dynamic, one that gives the album a pulse and helps distract from the slight air of televised variety shows that permeate the record. This isnt a record where the songs and arrangements are at the forefront, its an album thats all about the show and spectacle. Its pleasures are slightly fleeting but theyre pleasures all the same. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

グラミー受賞作『Cheek To Cheek』から7年、名コンビがついに復活。今回取り上げるのはコール・ポーターのペンによるお馴染みのジャズ・スタンダード曲ばかり。というので、2人は伸び伸びと持ち前のリッチでゴージャスな歌唱を存分に披露する。95歳とは思えぬトニー・ベネットの安定したボトムに支えられ、レディー・ガガがワイルドにアッパーに跳ねまくる。時にハメを外しすぎかも?とヒヤッとさせるあたりはご愛敬& 確信犯。奔放なガガをトニーとビッグバンド/オーケストラの演奏が優しく、しっかり受け止める。ウィットに富んだ大人の男女はこうじゃなきゃ、と思わせる小粋な掛け合い集は、カクテル片手にラグジュアリーな気分を満喫するには打ってつけ。ホリデイ・ムードを盛り上げる一枚としても重宝するはず。
bounce (C)村上ひさし