Bobby Darin sings "If I Were a Carpenter" in 1970

Here's something to hold us all over until the "If I Were a Carpenter/Inside Out" and "Shadow of Your Smile/In a Broadway Bag" re-issue CDs are out. The release date for these discs has been re-scheduled (it's now 07/17/2007, a week later than originally planned), so we've got a few extra days to wait! You can still pre-order them at DarinLand.com, and thus get your copy sent out to you the day they hit the street.

In the meantime, enjoy this clip of Bobby Darin singing "If I Were a Carpenter" in 1970...

Review your favorite Bobby Darin CD or DVD

The DarinLand.com website needs reviews of Bobby Darin CDs and DVDs. Go to DarinLand.com, page through the Darin CDs and DVDs, find your favorite, then click the "write a review" button at the bottom of the page. Let other fans know what you think! Once your review is approved, it'll appear on the site, with your credit, and it might also be selected as the Featured Review for that release. Thanks!

Bobby Darin sings "On Broadway" from the "18 Yellow Roses" LP

Check out Bobby Darin's driving, building, brilliant rendition of "On Broadway," from the "You're the Reason I'm Living/18 Yellow Roses and 11 Other Hits" 2-fer CD. Love the way the tune just gets more and more intense, till it finally busts out with them drums!

Hear it on the DarinLand MySpace page...

http://www.myspace.com/darinland

This is HA CHA CHA HOT!

Bobby Darin sings "Once Upon a Time"

In honor of the recent re-issue of the Shadow of Your Smile/In a Broadway Bag 2-on-1 CD, here is a video clip of Bobby Darin singing one of my favorite numbers from the In a Broadway Bag LP... the tender and beautiful "Once Upon a Time."

Bobby Darin lost albums: "It's You or No One"

When talking about the great Bobby Darin LPs, critics tend to cite titles such as "That's All" and "Love Swings." But there are so many Darin records that were somehow lost in the shuffle, records like his 1963 Atco release "It's You Or No One." It's not just a shame, but a downright tragedy that more fans don't know how amazing an album this is.

Like "Love Swings," "It's You or No One" is a concept piece, with bright, warm arrangements by Torrie Zito on Side One, exploring the "It's You" part of the title, and darker, melancholy arrangements by Bobby Scott on Side Two, falling gently into the "No One" part of the title.

The last song on Side One, "All or Nothing at All" (Johnny Mercer/Victor Schertzinger), does a magnificent job of setting up the lost love theme of Side Two. Darin's vocal sizzles with passion as he declares "Half a love just never appealed to me. If your heart never could yield to me, then I'd rather have nothin' at all." Coming on the heels of the joyous "I've Never Been in Love Before" (Frank Loesser), "All or Nothing At All" reveals what could be a hint of desperation, as Darin reaches out for the love he thought was there, and finds the commitment is only half-hearted.

When Side Two commences with "One Little Item" (Libby Holden), we find Darin "in a crowd, so noisy and loud" when his former love walks in. The strings here are astounding, trembling with the flutter in Darin's chest as he describes his reaction: "When she nears me, how she cheers me, her eyes so warm, so gay. But what can all this matter to me? Those eyes aren't looking my way." As the tune comes to a close, Darin lays his pain out for all to see: "She's everything I told you. I swear by stars above. There's only one little item... I'm not the guy she loves." Again, the use of strings is dramatic, magnificent and perfect. The woodwinds are also used to powerful effect.

Recorded in January of 1960, less than a week before Darin would work with Bobby Scott on the "Winners" LP, and a little over a year before he would work with Torrie Zito on "Love Swings," "It's You Or No One" was, in some ways, a warm-up for both of those collaborations. Both arrangers had the opportunity to take a set of songs, match them to a mood, and get a feel for the deeply personal way Darin approached a ballad.

Of course, to call this album simply a "warm-up" would be to deny the fact that it stands on its own, as one of the most evocative, emotionally honest, and utterly effective artistic statements on love and loss ever recorded. Darin's vocal is powerful beyond words, and his ability to draw the listener into the very heart of his story is brilliantly represented.

So, why was such a fantastic piece overlooked? Possibly it was because of Atlantic's odd releasing strategy. Like several other Darin records, this album was recorded and then left on the shelf until years later. As stated above, it came out in 1963, after "Love Swings," and after Darin had left Atlantic for Capitol. It seemed at the time that Atlantic was just clearing out the vaults and releasing whatever Darin material they still had lying around. This perception by the public and the press could have stamped "It's You" as a leftover, not worth checking out.

Again, this is a true tragedy, because "It's You or No One" is one of Bobby Darin's finest and most honest artistic and personal expressions. Any Bobby Darin fan that does not have this record is missing out on something astounding.

--Michael M