Search - Bobby Darin :: Mack The Knife - The Best Of Bobby Darin Volume Two

Beyond the Sea...

Candace Scott | Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA | 09/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a tragedy that Bobby Darin died so young at 37. He is under-appreciated today and dwarfed by the huge shadow cast by Frank Sinatra. Though Darin didn't have the poignant and unmatched ability of Sinatra to phrase a lyric, his uptempo songs are nearly as good as the Chairman of the Board. He is cool, hip, has fine range and has an innate jazzy feel that infuses all of his swingier songs. The musical arrangements and musicianship displayed here is also exemplary. The orchestra that backs up Darrin is fantastic.My personal favorite is "Beyond the Sea," one of the great swing pseudo-ballads of the 50's, recently resurrected as the backdrop of a TV commercial. Darrin proves he was the natural successor to Sinatra with his masterful vocal here. "Guys and Dolls" and "Down with Love" are nearly as good and showcases Darrin's talent. The best ballad is probably "Was There a Call for Me?" which reproduces the boozy hangover feeling of being dumped about as well as any song. Darrin's later work was never as hip and contemporary-sounding as the music on this disc. This is an exceptional collection with many catchy, memorable tunes, and proves beyond a doubt that Darrin was an amazing talent."

The Epitome Of Cool

Candace Scott | 03/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bobby Darin was such a multi-talented performer, that he is the ONLY one that Sammy Davis,Jr.(also multi-talented) didn't want to be on the same bill with-for fear of Bobby upstaging him. This was all in respect, not anger or jealousy. The man was THAT good, no GREAT. This collection is especially a must-have to go with Splish Splash: Best of Bobby Darin Vol.1, another terrific collection. Bobby Darin was the epitome of cool and it shows, especially in this collection. I own it on both cassette and cd and have no problems with the audio whatsoever. What a thrill it must have been to see him perform LIVE or even just to be at the studio whenever he was recording. The man knew his stuff, knew how every instrument & musical note was supposed to sound, & on many occasions was known to conduct the orchestra himself. Anyone working on an album with him gave him the utmost respect for his musical knowledge. It was a shame he died so young, otherwise I'm sure Bobby would still be making some contributions to music. At one time I read somewhere that Hollywood keeps talking about making a movie of Bobby's life, possibly based on the bio Dream Lovers written by Bobby's & Sandra Dee's son, Dodd Darin. I only hope they are careful in the search to cast the actors to portray both Bobby & Sandra. Anyway, this particular Best Of cd is very highly recommended."

The PERFECT Darin collection

G. Phelps | Seattle, WA | 03/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK. I finally found the PERFECT Darin collection! The range of genres, the hits, the misses--this has it all! A great companion to this all-studio collection is the 3-CD box set "Rock & Roll Legends," in which Darin has his own disc, featuring LIVE versions of "Splish Splash," "Plain Jane," "Dream Lover," and "Mack The Knife" (the ONLY song to overlap with "Best Of Bobby Darin Vol. 2"). Though "Best Of Bobby" gives you ALL the goodies, "Rock & Roll Legends" lets you hear how Darin laid on the spangle in his stage show; it's a heart-stealing, mood-changing ten-tracker that sits nicely beside the "Best.""