Still in ORIGINAL SHRINK-WRAP (opened). Vinyl plays with crackles and some clicks (play-graded). Cover looks great; a couple creases near edges; no scuffing (front/back). Inner-sleeve is generic white. Spine is easy-to-read with very mild-wear. Little shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge; minor wear to corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and a few divots. Red 2-eye label. (Top-left corner is cut.)
Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! is a 1970 album by American classic pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett. Done under pressure from his record company for more marketable material, it featured attempts at the Beatles and other current songs and a psychedelic art cover. Both critics and Bennett himself have viewed the album as a career-low. Clive Davis, head of Columbia Records, saw Bennett's album sales steadily decreasing, and decided the cure was for the singer to record more contemporary material. Davis later wrote, "Musically, Tony was looking over his shoulder. His repertory was dated, and the public wasn't buying it." Similar pressure had been applied on singers such as Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, and Mel Torme to record contemporary rock songs. Some artists of the time such as Horne and Peggy Lee welcomed the chance to try their hand at rock music, but Bennett did not. Bennett later said that, "I started planning the record by listening to as many current hits as I could stand. I mean some of the songs made me physically nauseous." Clive Davis reported that Bennett literally vomited before the first recording session for the album. While many of the songwriters used on the album, such as Lennon and McCartney and Burt Bacharach and Hal David, are highly regarded in their own right, Bennett had no genuine feeling for their style. The album cover for Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! also tried to capitalize on current trends and was done in the psychedelic art style of Peter Max. The bell-bottom pants and psychedelic necktie have been noted as contributing to the overall garish appearance.