This One's From the Heart

James Darren | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 24, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B00000JZ0Z
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,792 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Traditional & Vocal Pop
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Vocal Jazz
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Pop Rock

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: DARREN,JAMES
Title: THIS ONE'S FROM THE HEART
Street Release Date: 08/24/1999
Domestic
Genre: OLDIES

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vic Fontaine, take a bow!, August 29, 1999

By 

Douglas A. Greenberg (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This One's From the Heart (Audio CD)

Some of us remember James Darren as a briefly popular teen idol singer who recorded on Columbia Pictures' Colpix label during the early sixties. His hit records included pleasant but certainly unremarkable pop tracks such as "Goodbye, Cruel World," "Conscience," Her Royal Majesty," and of course, the unforgettable (hehe) "Gidget." Darren's performances were the tame, studio-polished type, but he actually had a fine voice and aquitted himself as a capable vocalist.

Now, literally DECADES later, Darren has re-emerged as an accomplished singer of sixties-era lounge pop standards, thanks to his resurrection as the holodeck character Vic Fontaine on the late, great scifi TV show, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Whereas the campy-retro-guru portrayal of the Fontaine figure on the show itself bordered at times on the absurd, there was never any question that Darren's musical performances were marvelous. The songs included in the Vic Fontaine sequences (and now on this CD) are always in danger of emerging as maudlin, plastic, and caricaturedly Sinatra-esque, but Darren manages to craft his singing so that his delivery and style are convincingly fresh and pleasant. I particularly like his renditions of "Paper Moon" and "The Way You Look Tonight," but his performances (and the accompanying musical arrangements) are delightful throughout. This cd is a must for Star Trek fans, but will be enjoyed by anyone who can appreciate the work of a fine pop vocalist.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where has he been???, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: This One's From the Heart (Audio CD)

I know that for the past 40 plus years, James Darren has been acting in feature films, TV series and is also one of TV's busiest directors. After listening to "This One's From The Heart," the question I have is... where has he been hiding his singing voice??? I knew James Darren could sing -- and well at that -- but I never expected this... His voice encompasses so many wonderful qualities of some of the greats -- the warmth and phrasing of Frank Sinatra, the charm and styling of Tony Bennett, the soul and sensitivity of Mel Torme... And considering all of the above, he has his very own style and distinctive sound. He sounds like he speaks, he sounds like the James Darren you've seen many times in films... His rendition of "Sophisticated Lady" is absolutely outstanding; "The Way You Look Tonight" is warm and beautiful; "Satin Doll" is so smooth, no one has ever done it quite like this; and "Old Black Magic" is a killer -- I could go on and on... Whatever made this recording come together, whether it be timing, planning or fate, it's what good music needs. With most of the great one's gone, it's time for new great one's, and James Darren is well on his way!!!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vic's going-away present to the Deep Space Nine folks, January 6, 2000

By 

R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This One's From the Heart (Audio CD)

Just about everything Darren sang as Vic Fontaine on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" is here, especially "All the Way", which was a favorite of the late Jadzia Dax. Darren's voice is mixed a bit brassy here, rather than the mellow tone we heard on the series. He really belts it out instead of crooning--maybe that's because the backup is big band instead of the small ensemble used on the Holodeck. If Trek fans can live with those two differences (which I can), this album is a good investment. But the thing that should draw everybody else to this effort is that (as far as I know) Darren has never before devoted so much studio time to standards. I said it before in a review of another Darren album, and I'll say it again here. If Bobby Darin was the Sinatra of my Boomer generation, James Darren was (and apparently still is) our Tony Bennett.