Customer Reviews

Rat Pack Collection : Gold (Frank Sinatra)/The Best Of (Dean Martin)/That Old Black Magic (Sammy Davis Jr.)

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

 

 

Once you get over the blatantly pedestrian packaging and the spelling errors in the liner notes (this is quite possibly the most obvious bootleg ever), this is quit simply the best Rat Pack collection you could hope to have. Recorded in 1962 at the famous Cal Neva Lodge in Chicago, this is Frank, Dino & Sammy at their finest - uncensored, singin' and swingin'.

Dean starts the show off with a few numbers, including classics like "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" and "Volare", before Frank comes out swingin' with "Goody Goody". One thing that amazed me was how good Frank soundsa at this gig. His voice is perfect - clear, precise on the money. Listen to the first lines of "Please Be Kind". Magnificent. Sammy's set is fun and entertaining, and he doesn't seem to mind the heckling by his buddies.

After Sammy's set comes a medley (duel would be more appropriate a term) with Frank and Dean, trading barbs between songs and having a blast. Sam and Dean have a hilarious time on "Sam's Song". You will laugh through this entirely un-PC rendition of this classic.

The cd includes 5 bonus recordings from Frank from a different date (made clear by the overall atmosphere of the crowd). These are some of the best Frank recordings you could ever hope to hear. The versions of "All The Way" and "Bewitched" are especially lovely.

The sound quality is good and overall I seriously suggest picking up this recording. It's worth it.

"And here he is, the star of our show, direct from the bar: Dean Martin..." the MC spouts this familiar greeting to welcome the listener to another fabulous live album of the Rat Pack.

No punches are pulled as each Rat Pack member (Dean, Frank, and Sammy) emerges in turn and sings some wonderfully arranged dance band tunes (notably "Chicago", "Please Be Kind", and "Out of This World"). The orchestra is near flawless as they plow through ballads and up swing tunes that will force your foot to tap.

The sound quality and re-mastering (if any) is not the greatest on this album. But what this album lacks in studio-produced quality is made up with onstage live hijinks between those knuckleheads of Vegas.

As an added bonus, the last five tracks, featuring Frank, seem to be other tunes that were recorded at another time (some live, some studio).

All and all, a Rat Pack fan should not hesitate to own this collection, and others should seriously consider purchasing this charming and hummable live performance album.

only recording better than this is the boy's (frank, dino, and sammy) playing sam giancana's place in chicago - the villa venice !

enjoy !

The review given by greggt@stones.com was for another Rat Pack CD. Amazon had confused that CD with this "Collection". This set of three has nothing to do at all with the live performance at the Villa Venice.