BOBBY DARIN — The Hit Singles Collection (review)

BOBBY DARIN — The Hit Singles Collection album cover

Boxset / Compilation · 2002 · Vocal Jazz

4.5/5 · 2011-07-30
Matt

Versatility was Bobby Darin's greatest asset and no matter what style or genre of music he choose to sing it was always immaculate with his interruptations and he could rock, pop, swing, croon or even do folk as good or if not better than any of them out there. He had it tough as he was born with a heart problem that would bring his time on stage to an end prematurely and he actually left us at the age of 37. Born during the depression in the Bronx ( Walden Robert Cassette) to a mainly Italian background during his childhood Bobby did not realise that his mother was actually his grandmother till much later in life and that his actual mother was not his older sister who had actually given birth to Bobby at the young age of 17 which only gave him more determination to succeed and that is precisely what he did with one of the most eclectic string of hits throughout his time in the spotlight that commenced with the Rock and Rollin', "Splish Splash" recorded in 1958 at Atco. Previous there were a few other attempts that had gone nowhere with Decca with his first actual song he recorded being "Rock Island Line" but none of this Decca material is on this compilation for the reason that none of them went anywhere let alone being hits. Atco ( Atlantic offshot) was the label where Bobby's career hit the heights but before his death he would record with another 4 labels including Atlantic, Capital and Motown which are all covered excepting the Motown material in this compilation from Rhino, giving you one great overview of Bobby Darin's entire career. They are all here except for a couple of songs that could have been included being "Nature Boy" and "If a Man Answers" which also climbed into the top 40 as well as a myriad of other singles that still charted but not that high. Still we have the big ones which are all instantly familar even if you have never even heard of Bobby Darin because for the simple reason they are classics that are still being played today and used in all manner of film and television for Soundtracks and all with that beautiful swing that Bobby's voice and technique delivered no matter what style of music he choose to record.

The fans were lining up around the block just after the first five singles that Bobby released with "Splish Splash" being his first hit reaching number 3 on the charts with its unforgettable intro of bubbling drain water and good old rock and roll is the drive with great vocal delivery form Bobby and terrific blasting sax from Jesse Powell included. During this session he also recorded two other tracks one being the flip "Judy Don't Be Moody" ( not included) but the other tune which is number three on the list for this comp is the great "Queen Of The Bop" which shot to nine on the charts with its rolling rock swing that was augumented with more blasting sax from Jesse Powell. Straight after this session Bobby had snuck back to Decca records as he knew that this would be his last shot a Atco and if this one had not sold he was out the door ,so he had arranged a session with Decca and cut four tracks with one being "Early In The Morning" under the name The Ding Dongs but the folks at Atlantic were not tone death and recognised who it was and they threatened legal action and the tapes were handed over by Decca. All these three song were not released till after Bobby Darin's contract had expired at Atco but they were all cut in the time the contract ran at Atco giving them the rights to "Early In The Morning". which off course was a hit and reached 24 in the Pop charts. Next up is the rockin' "Plain Jane" which got to 38 but the next song on the compilation must be considered one of his best which Bobby wrote himself being "Dream Lover" and that went to number two but another little addition that should be added is that a young Neil Sedaka was present on piano for the session. The number one song for Bobby Darin was "Mack The Knife" and still today it is the best swinging version for me and straight after we have Bobby singing "Beyond The Sea" another absolute classic from his Jazz reepertoire. The hits just keep coming in this comp and "Clementine" is another but special mention must go to Bobby's upbeat version of "Artifical Flowers" and you would not think the lyrics pertain to the death of a nine year old orphan girl that we are all swinging too. "Lazy River" is given the Jazz treatment or perhaps a quick visit back to his rockin' days with "Multiplication" and there are many more I could still mention but the last will be Bobby's version of "If I Were a Carpenter" as he had moved on from the Jazz and busy turning him self into a folkie back in 1966 with a beautiful Country style that only Bobby Darin could muster.

Eight years was all the time covers in this compilation of hits and the variety is amazing but one thing no matter what style Bobby Darin sang it was all done beautifully. Absolute legendary vocalist with great delivery and drive when required and it was no wonder he was so popular. Even Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic forgave him as he knew that Bobby was desperate for a break and was only hedging his bets by going back to Decca for that session back in 1958. The compilation is released via Rhino and once again they have done a great job with the track selection as most of their compilations contain. Bobby's Motown material was all done in the early seventies and never actually yielded a hit for him before his death.