Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Cheek To Cheek (Brazilian Deluxe Edition) (2014)

Lady Gaga lives to rile, but her decision to drop everything to make a straightforward album of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook with Tony Bennett is even more baffling than the time she covered herself with vomit at South by Southwest. Having first partnered up on a cover of “The Lady Is a Tramp” for Bennett’s 2011 “Duets II” album, “Cheek to Cheek” offers more of the odd couple’s takes on relics such as “Anything Goes” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” What’s most disappointing about the album is how tame it sounds as Gaga, 28, reverts to her undistinguished cabaret days, while Bennett, 88, simply coasts in easy-listening mode. Rather than highlight each other’s wildly distinguishing features, they merely settle on a quiet night at the local jazz club, where the background music is far more exciting than the people singing over it. — Aidin Vaziri