Bobby Darin CD Profile: Winners

Bobby Darin: Winners (Atco 33-167, June 1964)
CD Release: Collectors' Choice CCM-403, 4/6/2004
Recording Dates: Feb. 1-2, 1960, Los Angeles, CA
Producers: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun
Arrangements: Bobby Scott
Musicians: Bobby Scott (cond, p)
FEB 1-Larry Bunker (vib); Howard Roberts (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Ronnie Zito (d); Jack Costanzo (cga).

FEB 2-Larry Bunker (vib); Howard Roberts (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Ronnie Zito (d); Carlos Vidal (cga).

SPECIAL NOTE: Above credits do not apply to "Milord" or "Golden Earrings," which were recorded at different sessions, as detailed below.

MILORD-June 20, 1960, NYC. Other info unknown.

GOLDEN EARRINGS-March 25, 1961, Los Angeles, CA. Fred Norman (arr, cond); Manny Klein, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock (tp); Marshall Cram (tb); Plas Johnson (sax); Israel Baker, Al Beller, Jacques Gasselin, Dan Lube, Erno Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Misha Russell, Marshall Sosson (vln); Armand Kaproff, Edgar Lustgarten (cello); Richard Behrke (p); Irving Ashby, Barney Kessel (g); Keith Mitchell (aka Red Mitchell) (b); Larry Bunker, Ronnie Zito (d).

Original LP Sequence:

Side 1:
Milord (Marguerite Monnot/Georges Moustaki) (June 20, 1960)
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) (February 2)
Anything Goes (Cole Porter) (February 1)
Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell) (February 2)
Golden Earrings (Ray Evans/Jay Livingston/Victor Young) (March 25, 1961)
When Day Is Done (Buddy DeSylva/Robert Katscher) (February 2)

Side 2:
I've Found A New Baby (Jack Palmer/Spencer Williams) (February 2)
What A Difference A Day Made (Stanley Adams/María Mendez Grever) (February 2)
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry (Walter Donaldson/Abe Lyman) (February 2)
Hard Hearted Hannah (Milton Ager/Charles Bates/Bob Bigelow/Jack Yellen) (February 1)
Easy Living (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin) (February 2)
They All Laughed (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) (February 1)

NOTE: Bobby's friend and mentor, comedian George Burns, provides the laughter for the track, "They All Laughed."

Comments: With smoky, intimate arrangements by Bobby Scott and backed by Scott's 6-piece combo, Darin turns out the jazziest album of his career. This record is truly a milestone, not to mention a wonderful listen. Bobby is so cool, so smooth, so laid back, and yet so ultimately thrilling with his delivery. One of his best.

Bobby Darin CD Profile: The 25th Day of December

Bobby Darin: The 25th Day of December (Atco 33-125, October 24, 1960)
CD Release: Atlantic 91772, 10/25/1991
Recording Dates: August 19-21, 1960 in Los Angeles, CA.
Producer: Ahmet Ertegun
Engineer: Bill Putnam
Arrangements: Bobby Scott
Musicians: Bobby Scott (cond), other details unknown.

Original LP Sequence:

Side 1:
O Come All Ye Faithful (August 19)
Poor Little Jesus (August 20)
Child of God (August 21)
Baby Born Today (August 20)
Holy Holy Holy (August 19)
Ave Maria (August 19)

Side 2:
Go Tell It on the Mountain (August 21)
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (August 20)
Jehovah Hallelujah (August 21)
Mary Where Is Your Baby (August 21)
Silent Night, Holy Night (August 20)
Dona Nobis Pacem (August 19)
Amen (August 21)

Bonus Tracks added to CD: The single track "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" (Manny Kurtz [aka Mann Curtis]/Frank Military), recorded with Bobby Scott's Orchestra on August 18 in Los Angeles, was added to the CD re-issue of this LP.

Comments: Bobby Darin was famous for delivering the unexpected, and with this release he did it again: a Christmas themed offering that is soulful, reverant, and rousing all at once. On "Baby Born Today" and "Jehovah Hallelujah", he kicks it out with a joyous shout that is equal to Brother Ray's. Alternately, his "Ave Maria" is so tender, gentle and stunningly beautiful that it is bound to silence any detractor who ever claimed Darin's voice was less than exquisite.

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