Customer Reviews

Very Best of Bobby Darin 1966-1969

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

 

 

If you listen to oldies radio stations, they never play Bobby's work from this period, and that's a shame because it's so good. Most stars only imitate themselves, but Bobby had such talent he was able to interpret each genre of music authentically, and with talent and originality. His "Rainin'" always makes me cry. His renditions of the Tim Hardin songs are thoughtful, soft, and caressing, especially "Misty Roses," and although Tim Hardin's own versions of his songs were very good, Bobby's voice is so beautiful! The lyrical quality of "Amy" is so lovely. His political songs are great, too.

I meant to add that the recording of "Distractions" is worth the price of the CD alone. For years it has been unavailable on CD--I had to find a copy of it on a 45 RPM. "Long Line Rider" was also a minor hit in the turbulent late sixties--holds up well today.

Bobby Darin had a lot of phases in his professional career. His early rock 'n' roll efforts gave way to some great pop and big band interpretations during the later Atlantic/Atco years. He was gonna be bigger than Sinatra, he said. The Capitol years were a mixed bag, some pop, but the beginnings of what you hear in this CD from his late career, folk/protest, Direction-label phase. What you hear on this CD is vastly different from the oldies radio material most people are familiar with. He's thoughtful, does great intepretations, has some fun, and proves he was as versatile and as memorable a singer as you could want. There have been critics of this recording who say different masters should have been used, the stereo is wrong, etc., but I think it's one of the best. Definitely belongs in a complete Darin library.

These Bobby Darin songs from the late 60's were an amazing discovery for me when I first bought the "If I Were A Carpenter" album. Now I have them on CD and they still sound as original and fresh today. They are completely different from Darin's earlier pop music. Some other artists have recorded some of the pieces on this album, but none is as moving as the Darin originals. I especially love the orchestrations, which really complement the songs.

Music nobody wanted to hear when it came out because it didn't fit the Splish Splash or Mack persona, even though nobody expected the Beatles to be singing 'yeah,yeah, yeah' on Sgt. Pepper. As good as the covers are (and they are excellent), the originals are gems. Long Time Movin' is a 'will' written four years before his death, clever, catchy, a little romantic, and apt. Distractions is wonderful and fun; so is Jive.

Give it a listen.

Bobby Darin has a wonderful voice, and a great singing style. This CD has some of his best songs. I loved this CD.