Audio CD review:
Bobby Darin - Splish Splash

Bobby Darin - Splish Splash

Band: Bobby Darin Title: Splish Splash Rating: Release Date: 12 November, 1991 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Splish Splash 2: Mighty Mighty Man 3: Early In The Morning 4: Somebody To Love 5: Queen Of The Hop 6: She's Tanfastic 7: Moment Of Love 8: Dream Lover 9: I'll Be There 10: Beachcomber 11: Nature Boy 12: Smilau 13: You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby 14: Baby Face 15: Irresistible You 16: What'd I Say 17: Multiplication 18: Things 19: Lovin' You 20: If I Were A Carpenter 21: Simple Song Of Freedon

Customer Reviews Some Of The "Best Of" ... And Also A Few Obscurities This caused a bit of flap when Decca [Brunswick] tried to pull a fast one by having Bobby record it while under contract to Atco and release it as by The Ding Dongs to hide his real identity. This compilation of Bobby's "best" with the Atlantic label and its Atco subsidiary does indeed include some of his best work there, including Early In The Morning which he wrote in 1958. When the folks at Atco found out they immediately raised such a stink that the record was withdrawn, and then re-released by Atco themselves under the billing The Rinky-Dinks, and it climbed to # 8 R&B/# 24 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in August 1958 b/w Now We're One. Brunswick then turned the same song over to Buddy Holly whose version even included the same flipside, only the best he could do was a # 32 Hot 100. Other hard-to-find Darin hits in this set include Nature Boy [# 40 Hot 100 in 1961], Beachcomber [# 100 Ht 100 in 1960 and billed to Bobby Darin at the Piano], What'd I Say [# 24 Hot 100 in 1962] and, a real hard-to-find, If I Were A Carpenter [# 8 Hot 100 in 1966]. If there is one fault its the inclusion of uncharted obscurities in a so-called "best of" album such as Mighty Mighty Man, She's Tanfastic, Moment Of Love, and Similau (they weren't even the B-side of hits), all to the exclusion of bona-fide hits such as Christmas Auld Lang Syne [# 51 Hot 100 in 1960] and its flipside, Child Of God [# 95], I Found A New Baby [# 90 in 1962], and Milord [# 11 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 45 Hot 100 in 1964]. Minor hits as these may have been, they at least WERE hits and so significantly more representative of his "best" than the four mentioned above. Those remain among the toughest to find - at least on an affordable CD. Other than that quibble, this is a first rate collection of one of the most significant song stylists to emerge from the earliest days of R&R. . First hits volume has most of his hits Purely in terms of hits, this is the stronger volume, containing fifteen American hits, including six top ten hits, these being Splish splash, Queen of the hop, Dream lover, You must have been a beautiful baby, Things and If I were a carpenter. This collection and the companion Mack the knife contain forty of Bobby Darin's finest songs from his peak years. Among the lesser hits, I'll be there later became a much bigger hit for Gerry and the pacemakers, while Early in the morning was also a hit for Buddy Holly. Bobby's singles were sometimes covers of older songs. Here you can find his versions of Nature boy (Nat King Cole), What'd I say (Ray Charles) and Lovin' you (Lovin' spoonful). This volume, with a lot of up-tempo songs and a few ballads, is generally more of a rock'n'roll collection than Mack the knife, which contains a few up-tempo songs and a lot of ballads. Taken together, the two volumes present a comprehensive collection of Bobby's A-sides from 1958 to 1961, plus three later songs - the last three tracks here. Iconic The only song that was left off hear that should have been a bonus track is "More" which can be found on "Wild, Cool, and Swingin'. Despite a turbulent career, Bobby Darin proved time and time again that if anyone had the power to stand in a vocal class with Frank Sinatra, it was him. ". . You can see a complete list of all Bobby Darin discography, or go back to the Bobby Darin tabs