Customer Reviews

Boys Night Out

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really enjoy this album, and I love the fact that it has a lot of songs on it that you rarely hear on the other Rat Pack albums. It's also nice to have quite a few songs sung by Sammy Davis, Jr. on it. I just wish the insert had some more useful information on it, such as when and where the songs were recorded.

This CD gives us a great collection of classic pop standards performed by three of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. Their performances on this CD are remarkably well polished; and every moment of this CD proves it.

The CD track set opens with the peppy "Here Goes" performed by Frank Sinatra. The arrangement moves at a great tempo and the horns are well used for "Here Goes." Frank's breezy and flashy delivery sparkles like gold and his voice is in excellent form, too. Sammy Davis also performs one of his signature songs entitled "Yes I Can." "Yes I Can" is semi-autobiographical; Sammy sings of how he believes that he can "go all the way" in his career as a professional entertainer. The piano, horns and drums help the melody move along with drama and flair; and Sammy plays with the tempo of his vocals to accomplish some great vocal gymnastics.

"We Open In Venice" is a playful tune about Frank, Dean and Sammy embarking on a tour of Italy; they harmonize well and their verbal interjections create a sense that they improvised this number although they probably practiced "We Open In Venice" until they got it just right. Another playful tune is Frank Sinatra's rendition of "Ol' MacDonald." Frank changes most of the nursery rhyme lyrics to make it a song about how he loves his woman; and this approach works very well. Love those chimes on "Ol' MacDonald," too!

Sammy Davis, Jr. comes back to sing a more traditional ballad with "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame" from South Pacific. Sammy sings this to perfection and the musical arrangement uses the horns and percussion well. Sammy, being Sammy, just can't resist playing with some of the lyrics and the tempo--and this boosts the quality of "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame."

Other gems on this CD include "Guys And Dolls" sung by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra; they deliver this number with panache and masculine sensitivity. "Something's Gotta Give" features Sammy Davis, Jr. outdoing even himself as he delivers this without a superfluous note. His masculine warmth and energy render "Something's Gotta Give" an infectiously catchy number. Great! Frank performs "Just One Of Those Things" with passion, sensitivity and a worship of a love affair that stuns me with its high quality control.

The CD ends with a reprise of "Guys And Dolls" sung by Frank and Dean once again. Although many years have passed since this recording was made, the lyrics about men doing things to impress their women remain completely true to this day. Awesome!

The liner notes feature photos of Sammy, Frank and Dean with a blue hue to them; and there are a few quotes each provided about themselves and their work together. It's very sweet; but I would have liked an essay to be included in the liner notes. However, this is a minor disappointment.

Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin will remain three of the greatest entertainers that ever lived; and I doubt we'll ever see another group quite like them. They sang their hearts out, all the while making it seem so easy although we know it really wasn't. I highly recommend this CD for their fans; and fans of "The Rat Pack" will love this CD forever!

Enjoy!

This complimation has all the essence of a live recording. These three continues to entertain decades after their prime. All three are highlighted by solos of some of their best work. You will enjoy the duets and trios. "We open in Venice" will bring a smile to your face. I don't know how the re-mix people can take a forty year old recording and make it sound like it was made today. You can hear ALL the instruments in each song, even the drum brushes come through very clear. Good work Capitol! It's a gas...

My daughter bought me this CD for Christmas.

I listen to it in the car, on the Bose and in the headphones.

It brings back meories of being a kid and listening to my grandparents talk about heading to Reno and seeing Frank, Sammy or Dean. Or a trip to Vegas.

This is a good album with some great cuts on it. I could leave Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Yes I Can" somewhere else, but aside from not caring for that song (which is more personal preference on my part), this is one of the most listened to CD's I have in my collection.

What a fabulous collection! Despite the fact that three of the songs are in mono, the rest of the 16 tracks are utterly fantastic! My grandfather is an avid Sinatra fanatic, and would throughly enjoy this CD. My favourite songs are 'Yes I Can,' 'You Can't Have 'Em All,' 'The Boys' Night Out,' 'Baby-O,' and 'Once In a Lifetime.'

Believe-it-or-not, about a year back, when I first heard the song 'The Boys' Night Out' I was, first of all, suprised that this 1962 number had gone unreleased for 33 years, and then I thought just how much the lyrics applied to what the Rat Pack were all about: having a night on the town, and pickin' up on dames. And what'da know... low and behold, they release a CD in 2004 with the perfect title.

If you like rarities, plus fun swingin' times, I strongly urge you guys and gals of this generational period, or even just big band lovers, to please go out and buy this CD. I swear to you, you won't be disappointed!

I have to disagree with the reviewers who said this CD isn't worth the money because they weren't familiar with the songs on it. That is the very reason why I love it. Many of the songs on this album are extremely hard to find, such as Sinatra's "Boy's Night Out", Martin's "You Can't Love 'Em All" and "Grazie, Prego, Scuzi", and the songs from the Reprise Theater "We Open In Venice" and "Guys and Dolls". Because of this, this CD is a great choice for a huge fan of the Rat Pack, or any of the individual artists, who seems to have all of their other CDs. If you are a brand new fan of Sinatra's or Martin's, you probably are better off getting one of their greatest hits collections first. But if you are a fan looking for some of their more rare performances, I would definitely recommend this (it is worth a lot more than $1.99, as one reviewer suggested!)

I definitely disagree with the reviewers who have said this album isn't worth much because it's full of unknown songs. These unknowns are just as good as the well-knowns, in my opinion.
There is a fairly good mix of songs from Frank, Dino, and Sammy, although like "Eee-O-11" and "Christmas with the Rat Pack", I wish there were more songs where all 3 of them were singing together. And it's nice to see Sammy has more songs than on other Rat Pack albums - 6 solos and a trio song, compared to 4 solos and 2 duets on "Eee-O-11" and only 3 solos on "Christmas".
19 songs from Frank, Dino, and Sammy on one album...whether known or unknown, you get a lot of great music.

This is the cd to have if you love oldies. It is a must have if you are a rat pack fan. They did a great job on the remix.

This CD has titles that are not available anywhere else - a perfect addition to any collection.

... as Dean Martin sings in track 5.
But I do like 'em all. I don't mind, as other reviewers did, the mix of popular standards, show tunes, and songs I was unfamiliar with.
What I wish the CD contained was the recording date and location info for all the tracks. Were any tracks recorded live or were they all recorded in the studio? Who arranged and orchestrated all these tracks?
To me, all this missing info would help me determine whether this CD is a compilation truly worthy of representing the Rat Pack era.