Aces Back to Back!

Disc 1
1	Could Be The Start of Something Big
2	Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
3	Song Sung Blue
4	Dream (Duet with Petula Clark)
5	Quarter To Nine
6	Alone Again Naturally
7	Beyond The Sea
8	I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
9	If I Were A Carpenter
10	Simple Song Of Freedom
11	Up A Lazy River
12	Jive
13	Rainin’
14	Long Time Movin’
15	Dream Lover
16	Blue Skies
17	Moon River
18	All The Way
19	Mack The Knife
20	The Curtain Falls
Disc 2
1	This Could Be the Start of Something Big DVD
2	Can't Take My Eyes Off of You DVD
3	Song Sung Blue DVD
4	All I Have to Do Is Dream DVD
5	A Quarter to Nine DVD
6	Alone Again Naturally DVD
7	Beyond the Sea DVD
8	Mack the Knife DVD
9	Documentary Footage DVD

Barnes & Noble

Grammy-winning producer Joel Dorn believes Bobby Darin to be one of the greatest singers and entertainers of the 20th century, and he's pressing his case with this extraordinary CD/DVD collection of previously unreleased or rare performances. With effortless immediacy, Darin trademarks everything from classic American pop ("Blue Skies," "All the Way," "Moon River") to theater pieces (his classic reading of "Mack the Knife") to folk (Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter," a hit single for Darin) to country (a gently swinging live take on Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"). The first seven cuts are live, culled from performances on Darin's weekly television variety show in 1972, including a lovely duet with Petula Clark on the Everly Brothers hit "All I Have to Do Is Dream"; a dramatic deconstruction of "Alone Again Naturally" that essentially recasts it as tragedy of Shakespearean complexity; and a swinging take on the classic "Beyond the Sea" (although Darin's clever ad-lib lyric reference to Tommy Sands may not compute with anyone under age 50). Never more timely than now, the message in Darin's self-penned pop-folk manifesto, "Simple Song of Freedom," begs to be heard anew, whereas a stripped-down demo version of another Darin original, "Dream Lover," is simply beautiful in its stark, tender yearning. The DVD includes terrific clips from the TV show and riveting behind-the-scenes footage from an unreleased documentary about Darin -- strictly must-see material. Yet another bonus, the liner book contains a previously unpublished essay about Darin penned by his friend and fellow giant, the great songwriter Doc Pomus (Drifters, B. B. King, Elvis, et al.). Compelling evidence this, and the judgment goes to Joel Dorn, big time. David McGee

All Music Guide

Aimed toward the hardcore rather than the average Bobby Darin fan, this unusual package features one music CD with 20 rare performances, and a separate bonus DVD with footage from early-'70s television and excerpts of an unissued early-'60s documentary Darin was making about his own life. Given the obvious effort that went into finding and repackaging this material, it's surprising that nowhere on the sleeve or in the 24-page booklet does it say when and where any of this was recorded (or filmed). More important, neither the music nor the visuals are among Darin's more notable endeavors, though they might hold some interest for major followers of the singer. Piecing together some clues as to the sources, it can be said that the first seven songs on the CD are the audio-only portion of the first seven songs shown on the DVD, all of them from Darin's early-'70s television variety series. As the sound quality on these is a little below those of typical studio performances, these are much better experienced via watching the accompanying DVD. A mild surprise here is a duet with Petula Clark on the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream," which stands out in this company if for nothing else than its relative unpredictability.

Filling out the CD are some odds and ends, including three folky tunes from a 1971 live album; a couple of inessential folk-rock-pop songs from rare late-'60s releases on Darin's own Direction label; a studio demo of "Dream Lover"; and a few standards with trad jazz backing that he did on a radio series for the American Dairy Association. While most of the DVD's given over to the songs from his early-'70s TV appearances (including a "Mack the Knife" that's partially accompanied by a montage of images from his own career), there are also a few minutes of footage from that early-'60s black-and-white unreleased documentary. In imperfect shape but perfectly watchable, it has brief excerpts of Darin rehearsing, recording, and informally playing guitar as he returns to nightclub performances after a three-year gap, as well as brief snatches of George Burns talking about Bobby. Richie Unterberger