Written by Dae Bennett
Photos by Reuben Cox

Danny Bennett, Phil Ramone, Dae Bennett, Tony

What can I say about this project except it was an amazing experience.  The record was recorded at three studios, Bennett Studios in NJ, Capitol Studios in LA, and Abbey Road studio 2 in London (my three favorites!).  All the duets were performed live in the studio, no overdubs, no headphones either for the most part.  Once the takes were selected and edited we used our fiber optic connection to the Bpac theater to record a sixty-piece orchestra playing the brilliant arrangements by Jorge Calindrelli.  The record was then mixed in it’s entirety in our South Studio on the SSL.

Any time I get to work with Tony (my dad) it’s always a great experience and I love to watch everyone in the room (including myself) get schooled by his high level of talent and professionalism.  It was a particular thrill for me to get to record him singing his signature songs as, in the past, we’ve always worked together on his current projects. So this was very gratifying to me both professionally and personally.

Tony, Bono, Elvis Costello

Combine this with the fact that I got to do another project with my favorite producer Phil Ramone, perhaps the best there is or has ever been.  Whatever crossroads we would find ourselves on this project, for Phil, it was “been there, done that”.  Man, does that come in handy on a project like this!

As for all the great artists on this record, some pictured here during the recordings, it was so much fun to work with both those I knew as well as others I had never met or worked with before.

Dae Bennett, Paul McCartney

 It was especially gratifying that they all came out to honor my dad (Tony) for his 80th birthday in this way and to see them all gravitate to him with the same love and respect that I have for him.

Here's a photo gallery with a few more pictures.