Customer Reviews

Live From Las Vegas

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BOBBY DARIN continues to astound and amaze a new generation of Rat Pack wannabee swingers, and this great CD will once again raise the question of the collective musical consciousness..."Why hasn't DARIN been on our radar all these years???"

Sinatra...Dino...Sammy...Tony...all great...but none possessed the collective talents of the late Bobby Darin..buy this CD and become enlightened..then buy more!!!

macknife@comcast.net

Released to honor the 100th anniversary of the settling of Las Vegas, this Centennial celebration CD features Bobby Darin's "last" recorded live performance--November, 1963, at the Flamingo Hotel--an historic recording that sat in the Capitol Music vault for more than thirty years. Darin had previously announced that this would be "the closing night club performance for me for quite a while." Only twenty-seven and suffering from heart problems, he was already using oxygen between sets, his high-energy live performances so draining that retirement in favor of less strenuous aspects of his career was his only option. Here he gives his all in one "final" live performance, possibly the best performance of his career.

A mature performer, despite his age, Darin does everything from hot rock and roll to swing, moody ballads, folk, and a bluesy spiritual. Sounding Sinatra-like on the ballads at the beginning of the show--"Ace in the Hole," which he does "dirty," and "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You"--he works the room, progressing into comedy with a "Medley of 'Ballads,'" including "Splish Splash," and "Beyond the Sea," before reverting once again to a real ballad, "My Funny Valentine," the purest and prettiest song on the CD. As soon as the audience is feeling sentimental, however, he hits them with his version of "I Walk the Line," which begins, "I keep my pants up with a piece of twine."

"Mack the Knife," his 1959 Record of the Year, may (or may not) show his failing health. Though he gradually increases the song's tempo and passion, much of the intensity at the climax comes from the band, which becomes noticeably louder, though Darin's voice does not. A ten-minute comedy routine follows, in which he plays a drunk talking with a bartender, giving impressions of Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, among others. The audience participates in the folk songs, "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" and "Mary Don't You Weep," and then Darin sings the touching "I'm on My Way, Great God," a bluesy (and sadly ironic) spiritual which he composed.

On the final track, "The Curtain Falls," a song written as a farewell to performing, Darin sings "If I had this to do again, and the evening were new again, I would spend it with you again, but now the curtain falls." I'm sure there was not a dry eye in the house. (Two and a half years later, Darin was feeling well enough to return to Las Vegas and concerts there.) n Mary Whipple

Bobby Darin had stated that this performance (at the time his marriage to Sandra Dee was on the rocks, he had no time for his young son Dodd, not to mention recording both movies and music) would be his farewell to the nightclub stage. With this mindset, Darin gave the performance of a lifetime (and in his prime no less).

As noted on the insert CD booklet, Capitol sent a remote crew to record this engagement at the Flamingo in November of 1963 for posterity, but the tape sat in a vault for over thirty years. Now, finally it is our treat to enjoy.

This CD is also available as "The Curtain Falls Live" so see which is on offer at the best price if you want to buy.
This is a brilliant CD,put it on the stereo,turn the volume up,shut your eyes,this will be the closest you will ever get to a real live Darin show,even better than a DVD.
Great music and great stereo sound for a live recording,as opposed to a studio recording.
Apparently this was Darin's last club appearance for some some time and may have even been his last,however he did continue to appear on his TV show almost up to his early and untimely end.Thoroughly recommended.

This is Darin at his best! Live! If you enjoy his music, his rapport with audience, don't miss this one.

This is another in the series celebrating the 100th anniversary of Las Vegas and it is one of the best. Recorded in November 1963 three months after Darin's collapse at a Freedomland show in New York, he is under doctor's orders to take off from live performances, so this is an early swan song for him. The act from opening to final curtain is captured beautifully ('in three track stereo' Darin adds)for a proposed album that wasn't released until this series. Ace in the Hole shines, Darin does a great set of impersonations and some folk, Sammy Davis is in the house and gets a rousing cheer, and he closes with The Curtain Falls. A great way to spend the evening - wish I'd been there!

I enjoyed this CD very much. The quality was excellent. I recommend it for all Bobby Darin fans!

Another 1st rate performance, with all the great hits, tell me anything better than his rendition of "Artificial Flowers" Same old story though, NO VHS video or DVD available. What a tragedy.

It doesn't matter that this wasn't Bobby Darin's last night club appearance. He plays it as though it were, even alluding to the illness that would prevent him from making follow-up appearances. The result is a Darin show that, in addition to the energy, swing, and versatility, is distinguished by an unusual degree of thoughtfulness and sensitivity. I had never even bothered to listen to the lyrics of "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" until Darin's poignant interpretation of the song on this recording. "My Funny Valentine" is further testimony that, for a Las Vegas headliner, Bobby brought singular musical intelligence to the Sin City Strip. My previous exposure to Darin's recordings--from "Splish Splash" to "Mack"--had led me to think of him as a talented, dynamic entertainer and flashy showman, but this is the recording that led me to respect him as a many-faceted, genuine artist. How it could have been held back for almost four decades is a fathomless mystery.

As a fan of Bobby Darin, it was a treat to hear him perform in the old Las Vegas. The way entertainment should be in any venue. Because of the 100th Anniversary of Las Vegas, the album will become part of my collection celebrating this momentous event. Don't miss this one of a kind CD.