Struggling against straightness
Robert sent me a copy of Bobby Darin Sings Ray Charles. Since I posted on Brother Ray earlier this week, the kismet screamed out me: “Post It!” So here it is.
I knew almost nothing about Bobby Darin until Kevin Spacey’s recent publicity caravan came careening through town to support his movie bio, Beyond The Sea. You take one look at the guy — and Spacey, for that matter — and think, No way, that poor fella is going to embarrass himself trying to do this material. Turns out that Bobby can handle the material just fine, but unfortunately his band struggles to swing as hard as he does. Mostly they are just… about… there, but sometimes just about not. On the plus side, Darin manages to keep his backup singers from sounding too much like the Andrews Sisters, which is often the Achilles heel of the not-so-soul-band trying to be a convincing soul-band.
Some of the tracks don’t work out; “Leave My Woman Alone” strays mighty close to being a rave-up from a “hip 60s musical comedy.” But the good performances work just fine, and that’s enough!
[Soundtrack]
Bobby Darin – Drown In My Own Tears.mp3
Bobby Darin – That’s Enough.mp3
