Cloud 7 was Tony Bennett’s first full-length studio album. Having signed with Columbia Records in 1950, he had turned out a number of hit singles including Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Sing You Sinners, Cold, Cold Heart and Because of You, Cloud 7 was the album that he had wanted to make–a solid jazz long-playing album with a solid group of jazz musicians. Jazz critic  Thom Jurek said that  “The mood is nocturnal, elegant, amorous, hip.”  As a first album by a young singer (Bennett was not even 30 when he made Cloud 7), it’s a remarkable album that defined Bennett not only as a vastly popular singer, but a jazz artist with impeccable taste and a true vision of his own artistry.