This Is All I Ask (album)

{{Infobox album

| name = This Is All I Ask

| type = studio

| artist = Tony Bennett

| cover = This_Is_All_I_Ask.jpg

| alt =

| released = July 23, 1963

| recorded = April 22–26, 1963

| venue =

| studio = CBS 30th Street (New York City)

| genre = Vocal jazz

| length = 32:48

| label = Columbia
CL 2056
CS 8856

| producer = Ernie Altschuler

| prev_title = I Wanna Be Around...

| prev_year = 1963

| next_title = The Many Moods of Tony

| next_year = 1964

}}

This Is All I Ask is a Studio album by American Singer Tony Bennett, released on July 23, 1963, by Columbia Records.{{Cite web |title=This Is All I Ask {{!}} The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography |url=https://discography.bloggingtonybennett.com/?album=this-is-all-i-ask |access-date=2025-04-05 |language=en-US}} it was produced by Ernie Altschuler.

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated August 24, 1963, and remained on the album chart for 30 weeks, peaking at number 24.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstopp00whit/page/74/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996 |date=1996 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=978-0-8982-0117-8 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wis. |pages=74}} it also debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated August 17, 1963, and remained on the chart for in a total of 30 weeks, peaking at number 14.{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Frank W |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxalbumchar0000hoff/page/28/mode/2up |title=The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974 |date=1988 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-2005-6 |location=Metuchen, N.J. |pages=28}}

Three singles from the album, "This Is All I Ask", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue dated July 20, 1963, peaking at number 70 during its seven-weeks stay.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/52/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002 |date=2002 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0898201551 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisc. |pages=52}} and number 55 on the Cashbox singles chart during its eight-weeks stay.{{Cite book |last=Downey |first=Pat |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxpopsingle00down/page/24/mode/2up |title=Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993 |date=1994 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |isbn=1-56308-316-7 |location=Englewood, Colo. |pages=24-25}} "True Blue Lou", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue dated July 27, 1963, peaking at number 99 during its two-weeks stay. "The Moment of Truth", spent its sole week on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in the issue dated December 14, 1963, peaking at number 104.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnsbub0000whit/page/16/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's Bubbling under the hot 100, 1959-1981 |publisher=Record Research |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-8982-0047-8 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wis |pages=16}}

On November 8, 2011, Sony Music Distribution included the CD in a box set entitled The Complete Collection.{{cite web |title=The Complete Collection - Tony Bennett |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-collection-mw0002217006 |access-date=8 October 2024 |work=allmusic.com |publisher=}}

Reception

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web |last=Ruhlmann |first=William |title=Tony Bennett - This Is All I Ask: Ratings & Reviews |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-all-i-ask-mw0000841878 |access-date=April 4, 2025 |website=AllMusic}}

| rev2 = Record Mirror

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine |date=21 March 1964 |title=Tony Bennett: This Is All I Ask |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/64/Record-Mirror-1964-03-21-S-OCR.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401225030/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/64/Record-Mirror-1964-03-21-S-OCR.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2022 |access-date=6 August 2022 |magazine=Record Mirror |page=12 |issue=158}}

| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus Press |page=148 |isbn=9781846098567 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0000unse_v3u2/page/148/mode/2up |accessdate=30 November 2024}}

}}

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the album "showed Bennett turned to old standbys like Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, pulling another song from their show Little Me, in this case "On The Other Side Of The Tracks", and included a drum track, "Tricks," with Chico Hamilton".

Billboard praised "Bennett for his best come on 'True Blue Lou' , 'On The Other Side of the Tracks' , 'Sandy's Smile', and 'Young and Foolish'.'{{cite magazine |date=August 10, 1963 |title=Pop Spotlight: This Is All I Ask |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAsEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&vq=bennett%20this%20is%20All%20I%20Ask%202056&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false |magazine=Billboard |page=10 |volume=75 |issue=32 |editor=}}

Variety notes "Bennett's vocal mood gets added musical highlights through maestro Ralph Burns' definitive downbeat."{{Cite magazine |date=July 31, 1963 |title=Variety Album Reviews Sherman's Nut, Bennett's Ask, Fontaine's Crazy, Ive's Easy, Cole's Summer Top New LP: This Is All I Ask |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1963-07-31_231_10/page/92/mode/2up |magazine=Variety |pages=92 |volume=231 |issue=10}}

Record Mirror described the album as "an outstanding album"

Track listing

  1. "Keep Smiling at Trouble" (Buddy G. DeSylvia, Al Jolson, Lewis E. Gensler) – 2:08
  2. "Autumn in Rome" (Sammy Cahn, Paul Weston, Alessandro Cicognini) – 2:19
  3. "True Blue Lou" (Richard A. Whiting, Leo Robin, Sam Coslow) – 2:46
  4. "The Way That I Feel" – 2:58
  5. "This Is All I Ask" (Gordon Jenkins) – 3:17
  6. "The Moment of Truth" (Tex Satterwhite, Frank Scott) – 2:14
  7. "Got Her Off My Hands" – 2:04
  8. "Sandy's Smile" – 3:13
  9. "Long About Now" – 2:45
  10. "Young and Foolish" – 3:26
  11. "Tricks" – 1:52
  12. "On the Other Side of the Tracks" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) – 3:46

Recorded April 22, 1963 (#1–2, 10, 12), April 24, 1963 (#3, 6–7), April 26, 1963 (#4–5, 8–9, 11).

Personnel

References