Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga // Cheek To Cheek

It won't be what most expect from Lady Gaga but an album of duets with King of Crooners Tony Bennett is right up her street. The avant-garde popstrel, famous for wearing dresses made of meat and gyrating in tubs full of slime, is a product of stage school and has a background singing in jazz bars in New York, so the collaboration is not as surprising as first thought. Ms Gaga is also no stranger to changes of direction and style, having released hip hop tracks, blues ballads, German dance tunes and psych-pop over her career. What is surprising though, is that this album remains traditional throughout, with the classic duets rarely straying from form. Gaga’s vocals are soulful, Bennett’s are classical and full of experience. They each take just one solo on the album and while everyone involved are well known names and the production faultless, there is something missing. The little spark of rebellion that makes Gaga stand out from other pop acts isn’t present, so some fans are likely to be disappointed. It’s the kind of album people who don’t usually like Lady Gaga can buy, and say “I’ve got a Lady Gaga album! That one with Tony Bennett”. And the Gaga fan will say “Ah, the Tony Bennett one”.