Search - Dean Martin :: Dino (Golden Years)

4 CD's ....I GIVE EACH ONE 5 STARS!

Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 09/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"But amazon doens't have a "20-star" rating, so you do the math if you so desire, but the answer will still be the same. THIS SET IS GREAT!!! This is BY FAR THE BEST and most comprehensive collection of Dean Martin's Reprise recordings on any market today. The set comes in an attractive, hardbound folder, complete with informative liner notes loaded with information and comments on each song, as well as great photos of everyone's favorite Italian crooner. Dean's Reprise works, for whatever reason (various sources blame 'copyrighting reasons' for the lack of such material available, while others blame his estate) have been out of reach for years here in America. Charly Records presents four wonderful discs full of Dean's most beloved recordings. This was a period when Dean was really coming into his own, despite the onslaught of the British invasion and rock 'n roll in general. It was Martin's recording of "Everybody Loves Somebody" that dethroned The Beatles on the charts in '64 when seemingly no one else could. This earned him the nickname "Beatle-buster Martin", but we loved him anyway. His wildly popular TV show provided him another avenue into our hearts, and most of these songs on this collection will bring you back to those great nights in front of the TV. Dean's fondness for country and western songs became evident around this era; fine examples of this are in Dean's versions of (mostly covers of popular C&W songs by C&W artists, but Dean's stamp on them becomes indelible at once) "Face In A Crowd", "Anytime" (a hit for Eddie Fisher years earlier when it crossed over to the pop charts) and the greatly underappreciated ballad (and later rockabilly) writer Baker Knight's "Nobody's Baby Again". Most of Dean's Reprise "signature" songs are also here :"I Will", "Somewhere There's A Someone" (also by Baker Knight), the aforementioned "Everybody Loves Somebody" and "Houston", to name a few. Hits of the day were not unkind to Dino either. He covers the Jesse Belvin great "Guess Who" like it was his own, and hits Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times" unlike anyone else to date. Aided mostly by Dean's usual arranger/conductor Ernie Freeman (the man of choice during this era; Dean had also worked with such prestigious arrangers as Don Costa, Nelson Riddle and Neil Hefti as well, but it was Freeman who abetted Dino in acheiving "that hit sound" in the early 60's)these sides are sure to be a welcome addition to the long suffering Dean Martin fan anywhere. My personal favorites are that Freeman sound on "Roomful Of Roses", and the heartbreak of the oft-overlooked country gem "Shutters & Boards". 20 STARS on this set!"