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two years pass...
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.
"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. "Clementine" is perhaps the most vulgar example, one giant tasteless fat joke that ends with a funeral. And what about "Artificial Flowers"? Total traditional pop sentimental ballad territory, and I think pretty much any of the Rat Pack types would have delivered it straight, but Darin just mocks it up all flashy. He can be very misanthropic, to say the least - easy to tie this all in with his life history, the knowledge that he'd probably die young, etc. Not that it matters much.
But "Artificial Flowers" does also bring up another point...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. 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.
Who did those strings on "I'll Be There"? Jack Nitsche or summat?
He often did interesting things with standards. Not "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" (urgh), 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. I also like his "What A Difference A Day Made", uncharacteristically laidback.
I've not heard much of his folk-rock period, which seems the main thing discussed here. Should I invest in that box?
― Daniel_Rf, Saturday, 21 April 2007 18:39 (seventeen years ago) link
four months pass...
"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.
― Rev. Hoodoo, Friday, 28 September 2007 16:16 (sixteen years ago) link
six months pass...
two years pass...
nine years pass...