Search - Bobby Darin :: Aces Back to Back (Audio CD & DVD)

Great Package - Some Material Never Before Released

Mack_T_Knife | USA | 10/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some of this material is on the "Mack Is Back" DVD, but a great deal of it is new, previously unreleased material.



The first 8 songs from the DVD are television performances from the early 70's. Songs 2 (Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You) and 7 are repeats from the "Mack Is Back" DVD. However, songs 1, 3-6, and 8-11 are all new never before released performances. All of these performances are good color video quality.



Also included on the DVD is some additional black and white footage that was to be used for an unfinished documentary on Bobby's 1966 "comeback" (i.e. his return to nightclub performing). Some of this footage is also on the "Mack Is Back" DVD, but there is also some previously unreleased (so called "lost") documentary footage as well.



Songs 1-7 on the CD are the just the audio from the performances on the "Aces Back to Back" and the "Mack Is Back" DVD's.



Songs 8 & 9 on the CD appear to be the same live performances as heard on the now out-of-print Motown release "Bobby Darin Live at the Desert Inn."



Songs 10 & 11 appear to be alternate takes that I have not heard elsewhere.



Songs 12 & 14 are also on "Bobby Darin Songs From Big Sur" and were originally released on Bobby's own "Direction" label.



I believe songs 15-18 are the "lost milk tapes" (previously unreleased). They are more intimate recordings (done as radio spots promoting the dairy industry) where Bobby is accompanied by a small ensemble of about 3 or 4 pieces. Very nice.



Songs 19 and 20 are alternate takes of both songs-- I believe from the 1963 Flamingo Hotel performances in Las Vegas (these are different takes than what is on "Bobby Darin: The Curtain Falls Live at the Flamingo").



All in all a great package and value for the money. Sound and picture quality are excellent. Hopefully, with the help of the official Bobby Darin archivist, Jimmy Scalia, (who is co-producer of this package http://www.jimmyscalia.com ) more Darin material will be released soon.



Kevin Spacey's Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea" (Lion's Gate Films) is scheduled to be released in early December 2004, and is sure to generate a Darin renaissance.



Darin was one of the most exciting, versatile performers of the 20th century, but his tragic death at the tender age of 37 due to heart failure whisked him away from us at the height of his abilities. It is efforts like this CD/DVD package that keep his memory alive and secure his place in history. Future generations are sure to love his unique energy, panache, and soul. Hope there is more of this to come! (Love to see them release his 1970's television shows on DVD as well!)



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I'M NUMB!

Larry C | New Jersey United States | 10/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was in a store and I heard this CD playing in the backround. I tried to ignore it but I couldn't resist the magnetic attraction to what I was hearing. At first I thought it was Sinatra but then I said (don't get mad) hey this guy is too exciting to be Sinatra. I said to the clerk who is that. She must have been about 23 years old and with a blushing excitement said "It's Bobby Darin.....isn't he great"! I had to buy it. When I got to the register I noticed that it included a DVD also. Now folks.....I remember Bobby Darin from all those Kinescope type of Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan shows doing Dream Lover and Splish Splash and the like. You know the kind....poor sound and black & white distorted image. Well I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see and hear. Take my word for it.....if you are able to get this CD/DVD you will have in your possesion one of if not the greatest entertainers "EVER"! I'M NUMB! I want him back right now....right here....today! And since that's not possible this is the next best thing. YOU POSITIVELY WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW GREAT THIS IS.....IT'S THAT GOOD! GET IT!"

Put it right back on the money

bob lundy | San Mateo CA | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I'm way late on writing this review. I've been loving this CD/DVD combo for over a year and should have been talking-it-up a while ago. Aces and The Mack is Back(DVD only)are essentials for anyone's Bobby Darin collection. Between the two there is a lot of repeat material but it's all so good you would not want to be without any of it.



Aces' CD's songs are so perfectly picked it creates an absolutely mindboggling range of musical genres. Many of these versions are so good they're not only the definitive Darin version but could be argued that they're definitive version of the song, themselves. I can't tell you how many times I've switched off Diamond's Song Sung Blue or O'Sullivan's Alone Again Naturally. Darin's Alone Again Naturally I HAVE to hear at least once a day. Somedays I'll listen to it four times. Who knew? The opening three tunes(one medley)will raise the hair on the back of your neck and I don't think anyone, not Dylan, not Guthrie, could pack the kind of punch Bobby gets with Song of Freedom. If there's a better version of Quarter to Nine, I ain't heard it



Curiously, the visuals for Quarter to Nine aren't quite as exciting. I would suggest you get into the CD before the DVD. I think maybe the grind of getting these songs so perfectly charged up sometimes might have left Darin drained by performance time and it sometimes showed. The Mack is Back is much better over all for visuals, but for song selection, this might be the best record of all time.



What the DVD does have is a fabulous documentary section letting us see Bobby behind the scenes and we find we like him even more than we thought. This separates him from his movie persona.



Not enough could be said about his band(s)or the arrangements. Just a very big WOW !



I listen to everything. Debussy to The Sex Pistols, Ernest Tubb to King Crimson. If you like hearing it all then there is no better record out there than Aces Back to Back.



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