Album: Tony Bennett & Bill Evans, The Complete..., (Fantasy)

Like Pet Sounds or Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations, this collection of the two albums recorded in 1975 and 1976 by vocalist Bennett and pianist Evans, together with a disc of alternate takes, is a masterpiece of music that no household should be without. As the excellent sleevenotes point out, it's an art as close to Lieder as it is to vocal jazz, with Bennett never showboating and Evans taking the lead as much as he accompanies. Often obscure songs that in other hands might seem corny are treated with total devotion.