Review Summary: Canned nostalgia.
I believe that the first thing anyone with a good head on their shoulders would do when hearing of
Cheek to Cheek would be a slight raise of the eyebrow, or at the very least an incredulous “What the fuck?” shouted to the heavens.
Even more surprising than the actual release of the album is the fact that it's rather enjoyable, and probably works a lot better than it should, even if not as well as it could have. Indeed, upon first starting the album, one is surprised by the simplicity of it all. It’s not that the music itself is simple, or that the partnership between Bennett and Gaga lacks energy, it's that it’s jazz, pure and
simple. No tricks lie under the sleeves of our dear Miss Gaga, she’s simply along for the ride, learning the genre inside and out from a master.
That’s not to say that Gaga takes a backseat on this record; despite her inexperience with the genre oftentimes she overshadows her partner, to the point where we feel the drain in energy when Bennett takes the center stage with his solo “Sophisticated Lady”. The last thing Gaga is is uncomfortable, and she seems ridiculously at home here on the album, her incredible voice blending with the genre with uncommon grace, perhaps suiting jazz even better than her usual pop stylings. Her vocals grace the two best songs on the album, “Lust Life” and “Nature Boy.”
But this isn’t to say that
Cheek to Cheek is Lady Gaga’s strongest work. While it’s inherently superior to her previous two albums
Born this Way and
Artpop, it lacks the fierce energy of her debut. For all the personality the singers exude, it can’t help but cover up a slight lack of passion seeping from the record. If anything, the monumental size of both of their combined voices often rises high above the music rather than molding with it. Needless to say, it drains the album significantly, and gives the illusion of an karaoke party rather than a full, engrossing jazz sound.
Indeed, there’s no mistake why they call these songs jazz “standards.” There’s nothing particularly remarkable about the sounds. We’ve heard them all before, but there’s comfort in doing something well even if it's been done before. These are covers, and not once do they pretend like they’re singing words that they themselves wrote.
At the same time, it’s not just a cash grab. Both Bennett and Gaga seem to be having an absolute blast, and as mentioned earlier, there’s a type of mentor-apprentice relationship going on throughout. At the least, it gives Bennett a chance to be relevant once again, if he even needed it. And on the other hand, it seems like a interlude for Gaga’s career, a spin-off if you will, as she learns what she can before moving back onto her given path. There’s no mistaking that without this album, she wouldn't have struck the return-to-form she did with
Joanne. This was a big step for her, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.
While my feelings on
Cheek to Cheek may be mixed, it in itself is not a confusing album. Rather, it’s very straightforward, and achieves its goals with absolute ease. Purposefully evoking a time long past, rather than recreating it, it is not an album of great ambition, nor one of great importance in the grand scheme of things. But it most certainly is a warm pleasure to listen to, and isn’t that what they set out to do all along?
