Sammy & Friends

Sammy Davis Jr. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 18, 2000)
• Original Release Date: January 18, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B00000JZAW
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,492 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ain't That a Kick in the Head

2. Birth of the Blues

3. Eee-O Eleven

4. The Ballad of Johnny Cool

5. Me and My Shadow

6. Salt and Pepper

7. Sam's Song

8. Don't Be a Do-Badder (Finale)

9. Bang Bang

10. Too Close for Comfort

11. What Kind of Fool Am I? [Live]

12. Ain't That a Kick in the Head

13. I Want to Be Wanted

14. Too Darn Hot

15. Straighten up and Fly Right

16. Bee-Bom

17. The Goin's Great

18. Begin the Beguine

19. I Should Care

20. Birth of the Blues [Live]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Designed in part to tap into year-2000 hipsters' Rat Pack loyalties, Sammy & Friends indeed plays like a well-informed collector's mix tape. Swinging through 20 tracks unencumbered by the likes of "The Candy Man" and "I've Gotta Be Me," the CD captures a number of kickin' solo performances as well as collaborations with Frank, Dean, Bing, and others. (By the way, how about a full reissue of the 1965 LP Davis cut with Louis Prima sidekick Sam Butera and his Witnesses?) Note that "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" is included in full versions by both Sammy and Dino--and that it and "Eee-O Eleven" are among the few really good things to emerge from the Pack's undernourished cult flick Ocean's 11. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some rare cuts on this CD unavailable elsewhere, May 16, 2000

By 

Mack_T_Knife "dbmcsd" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sammy & Friends (Audio CD)

EEE-O Eleven will not be found on any other album. There are some excellent selections on this album from Sammy's best years as a rat-packer. This album does not contain any of the schlock he recorded in the 70's...it's all 60's stuff from when he was at the top of his game and before he got to be something of a parody. This is all before his "love child" phase. Here he's a true swinger. Under Frank's critical eye, Sam seemed to stick to material that would meet his approval. This was probably a good thing considering some of his recordings after Frank began ignoring him when he got into the drug scene. Several tunes like "Bang Bang" "Eee-O-Eleven" "Salt-n-pepper" are directly from Rat Pack movies. I haven't been able to find them anywhere else. If you dig Sammy already, buy this CD. If you don't, buy this CD and be converted.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow-ee-, ee-o eleven!, January 23, 2000

By 

Katherine Kovins (Dix Hills, Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sammy & Friends (Audio CD)

This is the best Sammy album yet! I am a lifelong Davis/Sinatra fan, my only regret is that I never saw Sammy live, as I did Frank several times. Last summer, after seeing "Ocean's 11" again, I longed for a recording of "Ee-o Eleven." I searched everywhere, hoping to find a soundtrack of the movie, which I think was never recorded. I gave up, but much later in searching for "Me and My Shadow" (which I had had on the original 45!)amazon came up with this new album which you could pre-order. Of course I did, and couldn't wait until it was released. This is the best of Sammy along with the two gem duets with Frank and Dean. If you're a Sammy fan, order this now! Now I'm only waiting for the release of "Porgy and Bess" on DVD.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Hey Frank,"......"Yes, Sam?", January 21, 2000

By 

Charles Dobbs (Louisville, Ky) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sammy & Friends (Audio CD)

Delicious! Thank you, Rhino! Well, we sure waited for this one. I'd always considered Reprise's "I Gotta Be Me" and "The Wham of Sam" to be the Davis Jr. Bible, but I just got revelations in the mail. I love every minute of this gem. Like the review above, I was aching for the hard-to-find cuts from the movies, and "Bang, Bang, Bang" sounds incredibly crisp and makes you wanna tap across the living room floor. "Eee-O Eleven" is legend for us Rat Pack officianados (Now, If I could only get my hands on "Style" from Robin and the Seven Hoods!) "Straighten Up and Fly Right" would make ole Nat smile. "Johnny Cool" was well worth the wait--and worth its weight--in nonchalant cavalier smoothness. And this is the clearest version of "Me and My Shadow" with the Leader, pure brotherhood--the epitome of their loving friendship. I could go on and on. Love it. A must for Pallies everywhere.