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Lunch » Tags » Music » Reviews » Original Album Series:Bobby Darin/Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles/That's All/Things & Other ThingsThis Is Darin/ » User review

Another *Great* Release, But *Packaging* Could Be Better!

  • Feb 3, 2011
  • by
Rating:
+5
The BOBBY DARIN ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES is a great set for those who are new to Darin's music and didn't own the original albums, like myself. The set comes with Darin's first three albums (Bobby Darin, That's All, This Is Darin) and two other releases (Things & Other Things, Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles), all from the late 50s and early 60s, making five CDs in all.

His big hits are on here like "Splish, Splash," "Beyond The Sea," and my favorite "Mack The Knife," along with other standards with Darin's interpretation on them like Judy Garland's "The Gal (Man) That Got Away," the Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So," Sarah Vaughan's "Black Coffee," and of course the album featuring Darin's covers of Ray Charles's songs like "(Nighttime Is) The Right Time."

For the most part, the tracks are swinging with infectious beats and Bobby sounds like Elvis Presley on some of the earlier songs. And even though he's legendary as a Las Vegas lounge lizard showman, Darin is equally effective singing slow and soft ballads as he is with the rockin' and swingin' hits he would become famous for.

I highly recommend this set and it's a pretty good value since each CD comes to less than $7 a piece, as of this writing.

The remastering is fantastic--no credit listed as "digitally remastered" on outer box--but the sound is crisp, loud, and no panning from the left to right speaker on the vocals; Darin sounds front and center throughout.

Packaging could've been better. Just like others in the series (Original Album Series:Anyone Who Had A Heart/Make Way For Dionne Warwick/Presenting Dionne Warwick/The Valley Of The Dolls/The Windows Of The World, which I also recommend), BOBBY DARIN ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES comes housed in replica album covers, which is nice for the original art work, but the CDs don't come in a protective sleeves and the inside of each jacket isn't laminated. You have to be careful when putting the CDs in or taking it out, so that they won't get scratched.

The five CD mini-album covers come inside a outer cardboard box and the original liner notes are on the CD jacket, which can be really hard to read since the print is small. No current liner notes are offered and no booklet or other information on this recent release or on Darin himself. When it comes to re-issues like this and the aforementioned "Dionne Warwick Original Album Series," Rhino should have followed Hip-O-Select's design department (that does a stellar job on reissues), but maybe this was a cost cutting measure. Hip-O-Select provides original liner notes and updated liner notes, usually in an included booklet with artist bio and track chart information, as well as recreating the original album cover art, which is great for long time fans and lets new fans discover more about the artist and maybe seek out other offerings.

Of course some of those Hip-O-Select releases are limited edition and cost more, so this is all just nit-picking on my part. I didn't deduct a star because BOBBY DARIN ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES is still a good buy for what you're getting, so I believe that it deserves 5-stars despite the packaging. I highly recommend it to fans of Darin's or those who enjoy listening to music from a time when songs had lyrics and singers could actually sing.

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February 05, 2011
Great review! Hip-O always does a great job with their compilations. Need to check this out immediately.
February 08, 2011
Thanks for the comment, drifter51! Hip-O is the one to beat when it comes to reissues! Too bad Rhino didn't follow their example, but the CD set is still great!
 
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Alex Honda ()
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Import only five CD box set containing a quintet of original albums from the vocalist and entertainer: Bobby Darin, Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles, That's All, Things & Other Things and This Is Darin. Warner.
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Label: WARNER BROS UK
Artist: Bobby Darin
Release Date: March 9, 2010

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"Another *Great* Release, But *Packaging* Could Be Better!"
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