Bobby Darin

Aimed toward the hardcore rather than the average Bobby Darin fan, this unusual package features one music CD with 20 rare performances, and a separate bonus DVD with footage from early-'70s television and excerpts of an unissued early-'60s documentary Darin was making about his own life. Given the obvious effort that went into finding and repackaging this material, it's surprising that nowhere on the sleeve or in the 24-page booklet does it say when and where any of this was recorded (or filmed). More important, neither the music nor the visuals are among Darin's more notable endeavors, though they might hold some interest for major followers of the singer. Piecing together some clues as to the sources, it can be said that the first seven songs on the CD are the audio-only portion of the first seven songs shown on the DVD, all of them from Darin's early-'70s television variety series. As the sound quality on these is a little below those of typical studio performances, these are much better experienced via watching the accompanying DVD. A mild surprise here is a duet with Petula Clark on the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream," which stands out in this company if for nothing else than its relative unpredictability.

Filling out the CD are some odds and ends, including three folky tunes from a 1971 live album; a couple of inessential folk-rock-pop songs from rare late-'60s releases on Darin's own Direction label; a studio demo of "Dream Lover"; and a few standards with trad jazz backing that he did on a radio series for the American Dairy Association. While most of the DVD's given over to the songs from his early-'70s TV appearances (including a "Mack the Knife" that's partially accompanied by a montage of images from his own career), there are also a few minutes of footage from that early-'60s black-and-white unreleased documentary. In imperfect shape but perfectly watchable, it has brief excerpts of Darin rehearsing, recording, and informally playing guitar as he returns to nightclub performances after a three-year gap, as well as brief snatches of George Burns talking about Bobby. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide