Tony Bennett

At 81 and with over 50 years of recordings under his belt, Tony Bennett is still swinging around that eternal American lamppost — and still keeping it lit with pop fire. But for all of his vocal gifts — Sinatra once called him the best singer in the business — Bennett's taste and humility (which shouldn't be confused with lack of ambition) remain his calling cards. That grace only makes last year's Duets, an overly decorous set with the blood-chilling likes of Celine Dion, Tim McGraw and Bono, a pointless footnote to one of the great second acts in American music. By any law of nature, Bennett shouldn't be able to outsing the generations who've learned from his in-around-and-upside-down-the-beat phrasing. That he can, without ever missing the soul of the beat, is cause for joy and respect. <