Bobby Darin - Aces Back to Back (Audio CD & DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Aces Back to Back (Audio CD & DVD)
Free Music Review: Great Package - Some Material Never Before Released
Hit: 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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Free Music Review: Aces back to back here--a terrific CD, plus a charming collection of live video cuts.
Hit: 5 Stars
Anyone who loves Bobby Darin will treasure every moment of this two disc set--one DVD of video cuts, including some never before released black and white film, and one CD of twenty songs, including most of his biggest hits. The DVD reminds the viewer of just how young Bobby Darin was when he died. It is obvious that several of these video cuts--including "Song Sung Blue" and "All I Have to Do is Dream," done with Petula Clark--are from TV performances. Though most of the cuts look like Vegas, with lots of finger-popping, toe-tapping, and stage movement, the TV cuts are static--as Darin does not wander from close-up camera range.
The black and white footage, which was done three years later, after Darin's return from a self-imposed three-year absence from performing, includes two delightful stories told about Darin by George Burns, who first introduced him to Las Vegas, and also features Darin traveling en route to shows, with some casual shots of Sandra Dee and their young son. The sound quality of the music suffers a bit here, and Darin is often drowned by the orchestra as he rehearses, but the intimate charm of these cuts cannot be overestimated, and viewers will be thrilled to see Darin "live."
The CD contains many of his most famous songs, along with a few lesser known--"A Quarter to Nine," "Jive," "Rainin'," and "Long Time Movin'." The mixing is highly professional, Darin sounds like a more mature performer, and his arrangements are imaginative, with a wide range of instruments from bongos to flute. Many arrangements are virtually identical to those now associated with Frank Sinatra on the same songs (including the finger-popping), though Darin's raw honesty and real emotion shine in ways one does not usually associate with Sinatra. Darin's "Alone Again, Naturally," is powerfully moving in ways I hadn't remembered.
Though some Darin fans may be a little disappointed by the lack of detail in the liner notes regarding when and where these recordings and video cuts were made, every Darin fan will rejoice in the one-two punch of this CD and DVD. Pure delight, a great tribute album. n Mary Whipple
Free Music Review: Put it right back on the money
Hit: 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.
Free Music Review: Brilliance Back To Back.
Hit: 5 Stars
Bobby Darin was music's most underrated performer. With the exception of Frank Sinatra, no one could dig into the soul of a song like him. He could take any song, either a swinger or a ballad, and make it his own, no matter who else recorded it. His versatility as a general performer was equally impressive, as he was an accomplsiehd musician, songwriter, dancer, actor, coemdian and impressionist. Almost all of these attributes are evident on this two disc set, one cd and one dvd.
The cd includes various performances from tv specials Bobby Darin did in the 1960s' and 21970s' with a few rarities thrown in. A good portion of them are covers of major hits of the day, among them a swingin' take on "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue," and a beautiful duet with Petula Clark on "All I Have To Do Is Dream" that puts The Everly Brothers to shame. He also sings such showtunes as "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big" and a fantastic "A Quarter To Nine".
Treacks 7-15, with a few exceptions, are available on other collections, but the last few tracks are rare and worth having. "Moon River" is great, and his cover of "All The Way," while not as good as Frank's, is lovely. "Mack The Knife" is excellent as always, and the closing "The Curtain Falls" is singularly moving.
The dvd is intriguing, containing footage from a 1967 Darin documentary narrated by George Burns that was never created. Here, we get a very personal view of Darin's life, as well as some excellent live footage.
The liner ntoes are incredibly well written by Joel Dorn, and the sound quality is fantastic. A must have for all music fans.
Free Music Review: Long Time Movin'
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a teriffic Bobby Darin collection, which grabs a series of selections from "The Bobby Darin Show," his NBC TV romp, a couple tracks from "Songs from Big Sur," and some various either unreleased ("Dream Lover,") or short-print/rare tracks (the "Milk Tapes"). Overall, it's a coherant and well-balanced collection that should thrill even the casual listener, from the opening duo of "This Could Be The Start of Something Big"/"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" to the 'stoned-since-half-past-ten' sounds of the Big Sur tracks "Jive" and "Long Time Movin'." The classics get a great wakeup, especially the version of "Mack the Knife" presented here, with tight band versus Darin's strong voice everybody is the winner!
The true gem in this set, however, is the DVD. You should be paying outright $15 for the footage contained within - very warm looking footage from "The Bobby Darin Show," which mirrors some of the tracks on the audio CD. For those of us who were not fortunate enough to have seen this show, the musical highlights presented here make us only drool more for an official DVD release of the entire series! Darin is literally on fire, "giving it to the band," and "doing it to it!" Some of the "lost" footage is fascinating, and even the end credits have a little surprise for those of us pateint enough to watch it all the way through!
Aces back to back, indeed! Highly recommended!