I bought this album years ago in a bargain bin (on vinyl) for a buck, and loved it. Recently I bought the CD version and realized how great it really is! Turns out that the original vinyl version had a fake "live" audience spliced onto the record. The CD strips that out and just gives you pure, studio-recorded music.

This is a fabulous record for anyone who's a fan of Tony Bennett or big-band singers in general. The Basie band backing is terrific; the sound is great, and Bennett's voice was in top form. If you've only recently become a Bennett fan in the past few years ago, you owe it to yourself to hear his voice when it was in peak form.

Tony and Count Basie originally intended to record a live concert at the Latin Casino in late November of 1958. It sold out, of course, but the tapes were unusable. Fortunately, Mitch Miller brought Tony and The Count to the CBS studios in New York to re-record the concert on Dec. 22nd and 30th that year. And thank God he did! What a spectacular collaboration! Tony is in prime form and The Count and his orchestra were never better. This is a Bennett/Basie CD that is not to be missed. It is an absolutely essential purchase for collectors of either one of these Hall-of-Famers. There are SO MANY spectacular tracks that it's hard to pick any favorites. I never thought that anybody could do more justice to "Ol' Man River" than Sinatra did, but the Bennett/Basie version is right there - it's that close. "There Will Never Be Another You" is almost a definitive version, and "Lullaby of Broadway" is prime-time Bennett and Basie. This is not an easy CD to get. You can find it on the Amazon marketplace, but it's expensive. Get it anyway. It is a musical treasure. Too bad they didn't do another dozen. Five stars, spectacular. Buy it. Music just doesn't get any better. Thank you Tony! Thank you Count! I only wish there was more.

Tony Bennett and Count Basie - what could be better? The sides on this CD were recorded live in Philadelphia in December 1958 before one of the most enthusiastic crowds I've ever heard on a live date. Sometimes it feels as if the applause is going to last as long as each track it's honoring. Selections revert back and forth between up-tempo swingers and slow ballads, with JUST IN TIME, FIREFLY, LULLABY OF BROADWAY, and OL'MAN RIVER (which features a long, fantastic Candido solo on conga) being the major highlights. The Basie band is a solid accompaniment for Tony, as to be expected, but other than a little trumpet and flute obbligato here and there individual members are kept under wraps solo-wise. Bennett is in great form (was he ever not?) and seems to be amazed at the reception he's getting from the crowd. This album is not as well known as the Bennett-Basie collaboration on Roulette recorded a month earlier, but it's just as good. Check it out.