Bobby Darin CD Profile: The Curtain Falls, Live at the Flamingo

Bobby Darin: The Curtain Falls, Live at the Flamingo [CD] (Collectors Choice CCM-171, April 10, 2001)
Recording Dates: November 9, 1963
Arrangers: Bob Florence*, Billy May**

1. *Intro/Hello Young Lovers (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II)
2. **Ace In The Hole (James Dempsey/George Mitchell)
3. You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You
4. Hits Medley: Splish Splash (Bobby Darin/Jean Murray)/Beyond The Sea (Charles Trenet/Jack Lawrence)/Artificial Flowers (Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick)/Clementine (Woody Harris)
5. My Funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart)
6. I Walk The Line (Parody) (John R. Cash)
7. 18 Yellow Roses (Bobby Darin)
8. Mack The Knife (Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein)
9. Comedy Routine
10. Work Song (Nat Adderley/Oscar Brown, Jr.)
11. Michael (Row The Boat Ashore) (Traditional)
12. Mary Don't You Weep (Traditional)
13. I'm On My Way Great God (Traditional)
14. The Curtain Falls (Sol Weinstein)

NOTE: This album was re-issued in 2005 as "Live From Las Vegas", on the Capitol label. Both CDs contain exactly the same 14 tracks.

Comments: Bobby Darin could electrify an audience like no other performer, and this November 1963 engagement at the Flamingo shows him at the height of his considerable powers. Darin comes charging out with a high-energy rendition of "Hello Young Lovers", follows it up with a sly and funny reading of "Ace in the Hole" (from his "Two of a Kind" collaboration with the legendary Johnny Mercer), then slides deftly into the more gentle and romantic "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You". Other highlights include the Darin-penned tune "18 Yellow Roses" (this live version is considered by many to be superior to the studio cut), an amazing performance of Nat Adderley and Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Work Song", and of course, the show-stopping title tune, "The Curtain Falls". Peppered throughout is Darin's easygoing stage banter and legendary sense of humor. This is not just a gem--it's a gem of blinding brilliance.