Producers: Ahmet Ertgun, Nesuhi Ertegun, Jerry Wexler.

Compilation producer: Gregg Geller.

Includes liner notes by Ken Emerson.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Personnel: Bobby Darin (vocals).

Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (12/19/1958-03/22/1961); New York, NY (12/19/1958-03/22/1961).

For someone with such straight show business aspirations, Bobby Darin sure covered a lot of musical ground in his short time on this earth. From teen-idol rock & roll to Sinatra-like swing to the singer-songwriter sensitivities of the '60s, Darin touched them all. What's more, unlike both his peers and elders, Darin mastered all these genres as he went along.

This second volume of THE BEST OF BOBBY DARIN opens with Darin's 1959 blockbuster "Mack the Knife." It's now forgotten that Darin's cheeky vocal derived directly from Louis Armstrong's lively, idiomatic interpretation of the Kurt Weill tune a few years previous. No matter, since the enormous success of "Mack the Knife" gave Darin the confidence to further explore the world of "adult" pop. He updated Charles Trenet's anthem "La Mer" in a finger-snapping translation called "Beyond the Sea," followed by "Clementine" and "Artificial Flowers," sort of faux "folk" ballads that Darin invested with a tremendous sense of fun and rock-hard swing. One highlight is Darin's appealing take on Neal Hefti's Basie original "Lil' Darlin," newly fitted with lyrics as "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me."

Genre:

• Vocals

Music Categories:

• Pop Vocal: Classic