Customer Reviews

Live at the Sands Hotel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was privilaged to attend two of Deans shows in Vegas. This is truley a reproduction of one of those preformances. Dean was there to make you have a good time and not take anything too serious. I always had a battle with myself over Dean being funny with songs and how good the songs were, even as he made jokes with them. Dino was so good he fooled many people. Was he a singer, actor, dancer or comedian? Dean may not have even understood how much talent he had himself. This album is a good time.

I just finished listening to this CD. And, as with all Dino CDs it put a smile on my face. I did enjoy it but the sound is definitely not as good as "The Rat Pack: Live at The Sands" or the live medley segment from the double disc "The Capitol Years". The sound quality is somewhat muddled, not like the clear, crystalline sound of the Rat Pack disc. Had I heard this disc initially, I probably would have given it 4 stars, but hearing the Rat Pack CD first, this was almost a let down. The material is virtually the same, so for the extra money, you get much better sound, a more energetic Dean and a livelier show, not to mention Frank and Sammy. This CD is mainly for the real fan (which I am one) and for completists.

if you want to experience what it felt like to sit through Dean Martin's nightclub act, then sit back and enjoy this CD. He sings, clowns around, tells jokes, and makes eveybody feel glad they are there. A lot of his humor is off-color and by today's standards, the P.C. police would be all over him for some of the things he says. That's why it's great!

No one was more cool ever than Dean Martin, No ONE!
Live at the sands is absolutely GREAT and cool!
We were/are fortunate to be able to either have seen this artist at work or able to hear this CD.

Mr. Wonderful, thank you so much..

I have long searched for a decent live recording of Dean Martin's Vegas act from the 60's and this is it. When I purchased this CD for less than ten bucks, I was expecting it to be of poor recording quality and too short. Boy was I wrong. The packaging and CD label is done in artful color with nice portraits of Dean against a backdrop of the bar at the old Sands in Vegas. The liner notes give a decent overview of Dean's marvelous career right up until his untimely death on Christmas Day 1995.

The sound on the CD is suprisingly good. Dean's voice can be heard loud and clear, with the band and his pianist, Ken Lane, quieter, but audible in the background. In sound quality, it is akin to, but not quite as good as "The Summit in Concert" (another live nightclub recording of the Rat Pack).

This is Dean's complete nightclub act recorded on February 8, 1964 and captures the essence of the Rat Pack era. Several celebrities are in the crowd that Dean introduces at the end of the show (Keely Smith, Loren Greene among others). This CD also gives you far more of Dean's comedy monologue than any other Dean Martin CD out there.

I own 3 different CD's of Frank, Dean and Sammy performing together (2 from the Villa Venice shows in Chicago- "The Summit in Concert"; & "Rat Pack"; and one unauthorized, bootleg recording of a show done in Atlantic City). What is striking to me is how the act is almost exactly the same in every show-- same gags, same jokes done at the same points in the show, same tunes with the same changed comical lyrics. It's no wonder that Dino grew tired of this bit and backed out of the "Together Again Tour" in 1989. Despite this, Dean's solo performance of this act is funnier than when Frank & Sammy are on the scene. Dean's easygoing comic delivery and great timing make the same tired jokes seem funny again. This is definetly worth the purchase. Don't let the nominal retail price scare you away-- this is a CD you'll love as much (or more than) as the ... "Summit in Concert" CD put out by Tina Sinatra's "Artanis" label.

Apparently the directors of the HBO hit series "The Sopranos" also appreciate this recording because it is featured in the final episode of the 2002 season. Tony Soprano, separated from his wife and on the verge of divorce, moves out of the house and sleeps on his yacht docked just off the shore of an annoying attorney's backyard...all through the night he sits on his boat drowning his sorrows while blasting Dino's lounge act from the boat's speakers...much to the chagrin of the sleepless attorney and his wife! It's a riot!

Jump on this, Dino fans...we've waited long enough...

This amazing live album gives us Dean Martin at his most entertaining best; no one worked a crowd like Dino, and this has to be the most entertaining album I have ever listened to in my life. The date is February 8, 1964, and the setting is the immortal Sands Hotel in Las Vegas; truly, to borrow a phrase from what is probably Dino's most well-known song, memories are made of this. Those looking for the world's greatest crooner's delivery of impeccably romantic love songs should look elsewhere, though, as this performance lives up to its subtitle: An Evening of Music, Laughter and Hard Liquor. Dean is in full character as the fun-loving, alcohol-consuming entertainer he portrayed so well, and there is probably more comedy than singing over the course of this 58+ minute performance. I believe only On a Slow Boat to China is sung without some kind of interruption or comedic break, and most of the songs feature Dino's own reshaping of the lyrics. Drink to Me Only and Bourbon From Heaven leave no doubt from the start that this show is about entertainment more than singing. After quasi-serious renditions of Memories Are Made of This and That's Amore, Dino launches into a monologue of almost seven minutes. The man is absolutely hilarious; he had me laughing heartily nonstop and the live audience rolling in the aisles. A few Bing Crosby jokes and stories about his family are big highlights here; my favorite joke has to be Dino's reference to his 74-year old mother-in-law, a remarkable woman who does not even need glasses at her age - she drinks straight from the bottle.

A lot of give-and-take with the band appears in Dino's cover of Bing's June in January, then after a terrific delivery of the song You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Dean goes back to pure comedy. More Laughs With Dean features another six and half minute monologue, in which Dean tells the audience he drinks because he is insecure and can't really believe he is Dean Martin and getting to do all these wonderful things he does, a statement that I think bears a lot of hidden truth. From there, we get a most extraordinary medley of "throw-away" comedy songs, as Dean gives his own unique, sometimes non-PC twist to some old, familiar songs. The "Pretty Songs" medley that follows is less than serious in and of itself, as is the medley of Dean's classic Volare and On An Evening in Roma. This is followed by almost ten minutes of hilarious dialogue, after which Dean wraps up the show with his closing theme of Mr. Wonderful.

As I said, if you want Dean's romantic ballads, you'll need to go to his studio recordings; there are only a limited number of moments in which Dean truly unleashes his uniquely powerful voice over the course of this performance. The sound quality, while good, is also far from perfect. There is just no fullness to the sound of the music or Dean's voice, but given the nature of this performance this is not the type of problem it would have been had Dino been crooning romantic ballads for an hour without taking a break (or a drink). This is vintage Dean Martin the entertainer, and he elicits more laughter from his audience than most successful comedians can even dream of. Rarely have I laughed so much and enjoyed a performance so completely as I did this historic recording of Dean Martin Live From the Sands.

Though it will always sound best being blasted from Tony Soprano's yacht just off of Whitecaps, this live set is a classic.

Dean Martin's live shows were, of course, fantastic. A great mix of humor and serious moments, they were always tied together by Dino's great voice and his joy in performing. Live at the Sands captures this.

This is the kind of CD that could actually be the focus of an evening. Gather some friends around, turn off the TV, lower the lights a bit, and pop open a bottle of Chianti. Hey, it's amore.

This amazing live album gives us Dean Martin at his most entertaining best; no one worked a crowd like Dino, and this has to be the most entertaining album I have ever listened to in my life. The date is February 8, 1964, and the setting is the immortal Sands Hotel in Las Vegas; truly, to borrow a phrase from what is probably Dino's most well-known song, memories are made of this. Those looking for the world's greatest crooner's delivery of impeccably romantic love songs should look elsewhere, though, as this performance lives up to its subtitle: An Evening of Music, Laughter and Hard Liquor. Dean is in full character as the fun-loving, alcohol-consuming entertainer he portrayed so well, and there is probably more comedy than singing over the course of this 58+ minute performance. I believe only On a Slow Boat to China is sung without some kind of interruption or comedic break, and most of the songs feature Dino's own reshaping of the lyrics. Drink to Me Only and Bourbon From Heaven leave no doubt from the start that this show is about entertainment more than singing. After quasi-serious renditions of Memories Are Made of This and That's Amore, Dino launches into a monologue of almost seven minutes. The man is absolutely hilarious; he had me laughing heartily nonstop and the live audience rolling in the aisles. A few Bing Crosby jokes and stories about his family are big highlights here; my favorite joke has to be Dino's reference to his 74-year old mother-in-law, a remarkable woman who does not even need glasses at her age - she drinks straight from the bottle.

A lot of give-and-take with the band appears in Dino's cover of Bing's June in January, then after a terrific delivery of the song You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Dean goes back to pure comedy. More Laughs With Dean features another six and half minute monologue, in which Dean tells the audience he drinks because he is insecure and can't really believe he is Dean Martin and getting to do all these wonderful things he does, a statement that I think bears a lot of hidden truth. From there, we get a most extraordinary medley of "throw-away" comedy songs, as Dean gives his own unique, sometimes non-PC twist to some old, familiar songs. The "Pretty Songs" medley that follows is less than serious in and of itself, as is the medley of Dean's classic Volare and On An Evening in Roma. This is followed by almost ten minutes of hilarious dialogue, after which Dean wraps up the show with his closing theme of Mr. Wonderful.

As I said, if you want Dean's romantic ballads, you'll need to go to his studio recordings; there are only a limited number of moments in which Dean truly unleashes his uniquely powerful voice over the course of this performance. The sound quality, while good, is also far from perfect. There is just no fullness to the sound of the music or Dean's voice, but given the nature of this performance this is not the type of problem it would have been had Dino been crooning romantic ballads for an hour without taking a break (or a drink). This is vintage Dean Martin the entertainer, and he elicits more laughter from his audience than most successful comedians can even dream of. Rarely have I laughed so much and enjoyed a performance so completely as I did this historic recording of Dean Martin Live From the Sands.

First remind yourself that you've purchased a live CD from 1964, so the sound quality isn't perfect but it should always have a *little* hiss when it's live, right?

Anyway....this is a fine example of Dean Martin playing his crowd while crooning some of his signatures. Here is my caveat: If you don't want to hear Dean deliver some of the same exact jokes (and even song arrangements) as he does on "The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands" Cd, then don't buy this CD.

But overall, I am happy I have it as any Rat Pack music is good music, and I figure it's OK for some of it to be repeated. He was probably drunk and forgot he told the same jokes :)

Wow! I had this cd and left it in my Jeep when I traded it in and didn't realize that mistake until it was too late. Fortunately Amazon still offered this hidden gem! I listen to this CD frequently and it never gets old! Though I am too young to have been able to see Dino in person, I feel like I am in the audience when I play this CD!!!! Great buy for a great price!!!