Bobby Darin - The Hit Singles Collection
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Free Music Notes for The Hit Singles Collection
Free Music Review: I Remember; I Was There
Hit: 5 Stars
Bobby Darin started out as a songwriter with mixed results. He played several instruments in fact. Somebody heard his singing as he pitched his songs and suggested he record the songs himself. Good idea. He did get a contract to record. At the time, songs devoted to dancing were popular and the resulting "Splish Splash" and "Queen of the Hop" sold a million records each. The much better "Dream Lover" in early 1959 was also a big hit, but Bobby aspired to appeal to a greater audience and released "Mack the Knife", a more Sinatra-esque song which became the Record of the Year and sold TWO million records. During this period, he also succeeded with Hoagy Carmichael's "Up a Lazy River" from another era, his own jazzy take on the traditional (My Darlin') "Clementine" and "Beyond the Sea". Darin, born Robert Cossotto, seemed to be a lounge singer's lounge singer. Then he did "Multiplication". a bouncy song more attuned to the teen market. His "Things" ruled the summer of 1962. Not only did he have hits in 1963 with the country-flavored "You're the Reason I'm Living" and the Latin-beat of "18 Yellow Roses"; he also was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Captain Newman, M.D." (He had more than one role in his career where he played a "disturbed" person). Darin later become more socially active during the protest years reflected, I believe, in his gentle 1966 hit, "If I Were A Carpenter", yet another departure from his known works. He later claimed to have been deeply affected by the death of Robert Kennedy in 1968 and went into seclusion for a long time, emerging without his hairpiece and wearing hippie-like glasses to perform. Before he returned to his old swaggering persona, he recorded a really good tune which is not in this selection called "Me and Mister Hohner" (his harmonica) and is worth a mention. After calling in his congratulations to Dick Clark on the 20th anniversary of "American Bandstand", Bobby Darin died during open heart surgery. He was only 37. In 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1999 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in both cases appropriately so. I recommend this good compilation of singles which is how most young people bought their music at about a buck a piece during those years.Free Music Review: Almost all of Bobby Darin's Top 40 hits on one CD
Hit: 5 Stars
"The Hit Singles Collection" comes to us courtesy of Rhino, which means you know you are going to get not only 20 choice tracks which include (almost) all of Bobby Darin's Top 40 hits but also solid liner notes from Bill Dahl. The chief attractions are the Top 10 hits, which would be "Splish Splash" (#3), "Queen Of The Hop" (#9), "Dream Lover" (#2), "Mack the Knife" (#1), "Beyond the Sea" (#6), "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" (#5), "Things" (#3), "You're The Reason I'm Living" (#3), "18 Yellow Roses" (#10), and "If I Were a Carpenter" (#8). As you can see, that is half the album right there. Overall the songs reflect the wide range of Darin's career, where he did everything from popular standards to rock 'n' roll with a bit of folk-rocker and Vegas hip cat in between. Darin is often dismissed as a junior grade Frank Sinatra, but you have to give him credit for refusing to be limited to a particular type of music. This was a man who sang songs written by both Kurt Weill and John Sebastian, and who covered Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones in his nightclub act. Is this a complete hits collection? Well, there are a pair of Top 40 hits missing ("If a Man Answers" and "Nature Boy") and Darin easily had another dozen songs that made the Billboard charts that could have been picked over. But these would be minor quibbles over all and you will be hard pressed to find a better single CD collection of Darin songs than "The Hit Singles Collection." Darin died relatively young (in 1973 during open-heart surgery) and his election to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 recognized that whatever his limitations his body of work is rather significant in terms of both the overall quality and the diversity. For those looking for something more ambitions Rhino also has a four-CD box set, "As Long As I'm Singing: The Bobby Darin Collection," which is more comprehensive in terms of not only hits but also B-sides and other obscure recordings. But I am happy with this one for now.
Free Music Review: fine single CD retrospective---even if there are some mono recordings here !!!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Hit Singles Collection is a series of CDs honoring certain artists; and Bobby Darin sure deserves to be one of them! The sound quality is very good and the artwork is very nicely done.
The CD starts with a very early hit for Bobby entitled "Splish Splash;" Bobby never sounded better and he delivers this fun tune with a lot of energy. His excellent diction bolsters his performance; and the brass and percussion enhance the melody. "Queen Of The Hop" is a bouncy little number that features Bobby doing another early rock and roll number that rocks well for its time. Bobby never misses a beat and I predict that you'll like "Queen Of The Hop" very much!
"Dream Lover" showcases Bobby's vocals with some great backup vocalists; and listen for his famous "Mack The Knife." "Mack The Knife" is probably my favorite Bobby Darin tune. "Mack The Knife" features Bobby in perfect form and the musical orchestration has a big band flavor that works well. "Beyond The Sea" is another masterpiece when Bobby sings this; and this also has a lush musical orchestration to accompany Bobby as he sings.
"Clementine" has a great rhythm and the melody is catchy; and "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" sparkles with great percussion, drums, keyboards and guitar while Bobby does this up right! "You're The Reason I'm Living" is a country ballad from Bobby's later years in show business; but he holds his own very well and "You're The Reason I'm Living" is an excellent number.
"If I Were A Carpenter" is another beautiful love song that features Bobby's work from the later part of his career. Bobby sings this with great sensitivity and this impresses me greatly.
Overall, Bobby Darin DID reinvent himself many times, just as Amazon correctly notes. Much of his broad range is available here on this single CD; and it contains most of his greatest hits at the same time, too. This is a must-have for Bobby's fans; and even a casual fan would do well to consider this album.
Free Music Review: An Absolutely Fantastic Collection Of Bobby's Best.
Hit: 5 Stars
Aside from Frank Sinatra, I cannot think of an artist whose music is as beautiful as that of Bobby Darin. Not expected to live past age 16, Bobby managed to squeeze an extra 21 years and become a legend before hit 25, just like he planned.
This 20 song collection of Bobby's biggest hits doesn't even begin to cover Bobby's wide musical landscape, which ranged from rock to pop to showtunes. But if you wnet a solid primer for beginning Bobby fans, then this disc is simply awesome. Every major hit from Bobby is included here. From the frnetic energy of "Splish Splash" to the tender longing of "Dream Lover" to the timeless appeal of "Mack The Knife" and "Beyond The Sea" to the folksy contemplation of "If I Were A Carpenter", every hit single Bobby scored is here, and in excllent sound quality and packaging.
This is an affordable and easy to find collection of Bobby's biggest hits.
Free Music Review: Just the essentials
Hit: 5 Stars
This collection contains twenty of Bobby Darin's finest songs from his peak years, ranging from his rock'n'roll music to his Sinatra-styled ballads.
Dream lover, You must have been a beautiful baby, Things, If I were a carpenter, Mack the knife and Beyond the sea were top ten hits in Britain and America. This set also includes the British top ten hits Lazy river, Clementine and Multiplication and the American top ten hits, Splish splash and Queen of the hop. Apart from those major hits, there are other great songs here such as Early in the morning, Plain Jane, Artificial flowers and 18 yellow roses.
More comprehensive collections are available but as an introduction to Bobby's music, this is brilliant, containing all the essentials on a single CD.