TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1963)

ON THE RECORD Your Monthly ON RECORD Gu/de POPULAR ••••Oh! Look at Me Now, Bobby Darin; arr. and cond. by Billy May (Capitol) — This is Bobby's first album for Capitol, and it's unquestionably the best singing, in my humble opinion, I've heard Bobby come up with. The level is extremely high, professional and consistent. The tunes are all vintage standards done in a fresh mode. The decoration supplied by Billy May is a bubbly and swing-y background for Bobby to lean against, when the material calls for quiet pulsing. But it gets warm, too, as in "The Party's Over" and several other slow tracks. The most impressive tracks are the ones which build up to great shouting last choruses like "In Berkeley Square" and "I'm Beginning to See the Light." Bobby, ever so diligently, holds back the "Sunday punch" until it absolutely builds to it. (This is in direct opposition to early Atco Records where he felt compelled to start strong.) His reverse in presenting his message is just another sign of his growing capabilities and sense of the dramatic. It shall indeed be interesting to see what effect this attitude has on his night-club performing. (If the public could only get over wanting a home run every time a performer gets up to bat, they might find themselves enjoying the more rewarding experience of watching a performer build an act to fever pitch "over the haul.") I'm sure it will mean some important new changes. Present here are classic tunes like "Blue Skies," "Always," and others. Aside from a more mature Darin, the album is a pleasurable way to spend your time. I'd look into it. 12 ••••The Golden Hits of the Everly Brothers (Warner Bros.) — I make no bones about liking these lads. The fact of the matter is, they are among my favorites of the younger set of performers. Always consistent and always exhilarating, ihey possess the confidence of seasoned performers. Their rhythmical sense is uncanny. This album is a compilation of the hits, "That's Old Fashioned," "How Can I Meet Her" and "Cathy's Clown," to name a few. The magic of the Everlys permeates every groove of the album. "Lucille" is the capper! This album, I'm sure, will not be lying around the record shop long, so pick up on it. The young past-masters in action. ••••Rapture, Johnny Mathis; arr. and cond. by Don Costa (Columbia) — There is no questioning Mr. Mathis' message here. His strongly personal style does not hinder his reading of the lyrics. He is, also, so tasteful in his choice of material. No doubt he could stick with the more simple market-type material, but instead he chooses the beautiful, the difficult vehicles, the songs with thoughts worth hearing about. With the aid of Don Costa's magnificent arrangements, everything attempted here is realized. The descending chromatic tones on the front of "Stars Fell on Alabama" certainly simulated the falling stars, and the way in which the orchestral colors were used in general did nothing but heighten the already moving experience of Johnny singing his heart out. (May we have more like this from Columbia. This is real professionalism.) I can easily recommend this album. It's bewitching. Tunes herein are: "Rapture," Kurt Weill's "Here I'll Stay," the very rarefied "Lament," standards like "Stella by Starlight," "Love Nest,". 'T Was Telling Her About You" and "Lost in Loveliness." All smooth and warm, rich and rare. Please buy it. •••One Is a Lonely Number, Adam Wade; arr. and cond. by Marty Manning (Epic) — Aside from the unintentional fact that his vibrato — or the rate at which he pushes air through his vocal mechanism — is, relatively speaking, close to Johnny Mathis' production of sound, Adam is quite his own man. This album is highly professional. The tunes are nearly all firstrate and the arrangements by Marty Manning are all unobtrusive and comfortably laid out, so as to enhance the subtleties of Adam's musical expression. The strong tunes on the album are "One Is a Lonely Number," which Adam reads so poignantly, "Someone Mentioned Your Name," "Eight Million Stories," the lovely theme of TV's "Naked City" show, "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life," "I'll Never Be Free," with its blues quality, and "The Key to Love." I look for this lad to continue his climb up the ladder to the golden circle. With vehicles like this album, he doesn't look like he can miss. •••Bobby Vee's Golden Greats (Liberty) — Well, there is not too much to say about this, other than that you've probably heard most of these big ones. If you want them all in one album, here's your chance. Instead of liner notes, this particular package has a questionnaire that Mr. Vee has so kindly filled out — biography, likes, dislikes, etc. For those who will not buy it, here are some facts about young Bobby: 19 years old, born in North Dakota; five feet, ten inches tall; one hundred and fifty pounds on the scale. He likes girls and, as it would figure, his weakness is pretty ones. His current activity is the study of acting. This album has such hits on it as: "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Sharing You," "Walkin' With My Angel," and others. Check this one.