A must have

Bobby Darin was the greatest entertainer that ever lived ... he just tried so hard to do and be everything in an instant, knowing his life would be a short one. This compilation is a good one for anyone, especially Darin fans. His versions of "More," "Once in a Lifetime," and others far outshine that of any other performer because Bobby put himself 200 percent into everything he did. Die-hard fans may have several of these on separate CDs but this is a great compilation that will leave you hurting for more. Sadly, we were robbed of him too too soon.

Excellent

The title says it all 'Legendary'. This is who Bobby Darin was, a true legend.



Great music!

The Good Life

I'll be perfectly blunt at the beginning. Bobby Darin while certainly an extremely talented singer has always been, in this music lovers heart, delegated to 'second tier' status when looking at his back catalogue and his place amongst popular singers. Again, Mr. Darin was more then a capable singer, a fine actor and has always been regarded as a jack of all trades in the entertaimnent industry but he's never achieved the greatness of a Sinatra, Ella, Tony Bennett or even Mel Torme. Don't misunderstand me though...a more enjoyable collection of his past work I've yet to encounter. Here's why...



While not intending to damn Mr. Darin with faint praise the collection here, released in time for his biopic starring Kevin Spacey ( yes, it took me a while to work thru that one too! ) is not only generous with 20 choice selections but also has the very good sense to show Bobby in his true element which, of course, was performing live in nightclubs all over. The song selection here is, for my money, probably the best that the casual fan of this singer is ever going to own. Mostly classics they are performed with a genuine enthusiasm and sung with Bobby's typical devil-may-care attitude. Not that thats a bad thing! His renditions of " More ", " Once In A Lifetime " a song owned by Sammy Davis Jr. and a jazzy version of the Broadway classic musical ' My Fair Lady ' performing " On The Street Where You Live " are all done admirably and giving each standard the respect they deserve. They even included a version of " Goodbye, Charlie " from the film of the same name which starred Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds. A nice version that! Again, theres nothing here that has me reaching for the skip button on my stereo and I've listened to the disc a number of times and enjoy it with each successive listen. But...



Heres my conundrum. While everything is polished to a tee and likable in listening to an artist who seems to be giving it his all theres a small problem of connecting with your core listener. Mr. Darin is a wonderful singer but theres really nothing here that makes me sit up and take real notice. The songs are all fine but theres no true emotional connection between Mr. Darin and these wonderful tracks. I like what I'm hearing but they fail to register with me purely on a heartfelt level where I can think of no other singer who hasn't done these songs just as well...in some cases perhaps even better then Bobby Darin himself! Granted, " Mack the Knife " is his signature tune but for me Louis Armstrongs rendition is just as good and I enjoy it more. The same with " The Good Life " which is nice here but Tony Bennett simply owns this tune and forever will! " I Got Rhythm " the Gershwin song is very nice but I must over a dozen versions here and Ella's and even Fred Astairs renditions blow this one away. See my problem? I like it all but I'm still waiting for any track on this fine cd to make me sit up, take notice and think " well, no one can top that! " But it hasn't happened yet.



Bottom line...a wonderful disc and a worthy addition to my music library but one that, sadly, hasn't changed my mind about Bobby Darin and his place among popular singers of his generation. Nevertheless, its worth owning and I'm glad I have it around. The live tracks are a gem and wondering what it must have been like to see him perform has crossed my mind more then once! Bobby may never by Frank but you can't argue with this guys way around a song.



Adendum: You want irony? How's this...as of this posting the compact disc that ties in to Kevin Spacey's biopic about Mr. Darin, " Beyond The Sea " is actually selling much better then this just released compilation. So, in other words, Mr. Spacey singing the songs of Bobby Darin is simply more popular then Bobby Darin singing the songs of, umm, well...Bobby Darin! How is it that possible! Sometimes life is just far complicated for me to understand.