Bobby Darin C/D

My favorites by him are "Rainin'" (I can't believe it was relegated to a b-side), which is an absolutely killer tune. Also glorious is "The Girl Who Stood Beside Me", which was a failed single, IIRC. Has a Simon & Garfunkel-in-upbeat mode, and what sounds like bagpipes wailing away in the background for the entire song.

Bobby Darin is super classic. Jaw-droppingly talented. This DVD is simply amazing. A man who was dying from a bad heart kicking it like James Brown, it's fucking unreal.

If that film gets made at least it'll finish Spacey's stardom (tho he's doing an excellent job of that without it).

Dr Doolittle and Born Walden Robert Cassoto and Committment and Rare Darin on cd for the first time!

"His early Rock & Roll stuff isn't bad! He was signed to Atlantic, so the session players are all top notch. He hams it up a lot (so did a lot of early rockers!), but there's bite there, not at all comparable to Pat Boone or what have you. I like the giant hackishness of the lyrics too, it's sort of awe inspiring how many references to dances and other songs they pack into each line. Not too keen on his rockabilly effort, "Early In The Morning", tho."

A few years back, I found a copy of TWIST WITH BOBBY DARIN at an outdoor flea market (which was a quickie comp of his "rockin'" sides), and fuck me if he doesn't sound like an East Coast Frankie Ford. The man sounds ready to fuck shit up! "Early In The Morning" I think is a great song, but the impact of "Splish Splash" (not on this album) has been dulled from just hearing it too damn much.

""Mack The Knife" is awesome (tho I've never heard the Louie Armstrong version that it's based on), upbeat gangsta glee is so much scarier than the stark moralism of the original piece (which is great too, don't get me wrong.) It sort of sets the precedent for a few of his singles where he gets inordinately enthusiastic about death and disaster."

It gets really confusing when he starts giving shoutouts ("...look out, Miss Lotte Len-ya! And ole Lucy Brown!"). Was that there in the original versions? Ella Fitzgerald sorta parodies it on her own hit version, mentioning Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin...

"I think there's something poignant in a guy who just happened to excel at the wrong medium for the time. Which is to say, Darin's calling was Vocal Jazz, at a time when that stuff just wasn't hip anymore."

Darin was born at an odd time (1936)...too old to be a baby boomer, but too young to be part of the Rat Pack. Only someone that age could realistically aspire to be both.

"I can understand why he'd constantly want to reinvent himself, because it must've been pretty shitty to take up all the baggage that went with the Vegas shtick, just because he happened to have the same aesthetics. Not that I'm doubting that he had a blast with that role, too."

I think he CHOSE to go the Vegas route, it wasn't imposed upon him like the Motown acts.

"He often did interesting things with standards. Not "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" (urgh),"

Yeah, his version was obnoxious, but that's what makes it so great. 'Specially that acapella intro - "well you know, well you know, well you know, well you know, you know you musta been a beautiful baby..."

"but his "Nature Boy" is great, because he has the good sense to include enough whistles & bells to turn the thing into more of a spectacle and a showcase for that gorgeous melody. Most versions I've heard go all stripped down, which is unfortunate 'cause I really think the lyrics are crap. Nature Boy sounds like a bore."

Not a fan of "Nature Boy" at all, and the crap lyrics are a major reason why.

"I've not heard much of his folk-rock period, which seems the main thing discussed here. Should I invest in that box?"

His folk-rock era was surprisingly convincing, and if he didn't have that Vegas image in front of him, he could have made a career in the singer-songwriter field just like Dion did.

Where did i get that "junkie" accusation in the first post? Can't remember now, musta read it somewhere. Not true, I think. Anyway, great that "Commitment" and "Born Walden Robert Cassoto" are being released, of course it would have been far too much to expect them to be on the same fucking CD, where they obv. belong. Stupid fucking record companies. Ha ha, you're all going out of business.

Props to Daniel RF for repping "Artificial Flowers" - the song itself is pretty cheesy stuff but Darin's performance is instantly memorable for being so weird and sadistic. "Throw away those artificial flowers... those DUMB DUMB FLOWERS!" Classic.

What are the best Darin albums to look for in the Swing/Lounge/Vegas style? I picked up a dollar LP copy of That's All, which is great except that the record skips.

finally got Commitment. wish i'd seen sean's recommendation earlier! this is great stuff.

YES! Album is completely amazing. Born Walden Robert Cassotto is easily just as good.

Gotta get that one now.

I think my buddy J3ff tracked down the bass player from those records once.
I don't even own actual copies of them, WTF. Got a cdr around here somewhere.
Commitment+mushrooms worked out really well iirc.

sounds intense tbh.
if i see another copy of commitment, i'll grab it for ya.

Nice! Thanks, pal.

No.1, sixty years ago this week... that's how you do key changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEllHMWkXEU

(I presume he's been cancelled, or something)

I think my buddy J3ff tracked down the bass player from those records once.

XP That Kevin Spacey-autuered biopic hoodoo must be strong then...