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James Darren
From LyricWiki
Darren is perhaps best-known as the actor who played Moondoggie in the original Gidget, and more recently the character of Vic Fontaine in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Concurrently with his acting career, he spent the '70s doing nightclubs in Vegas, Reno, and Tahoe and fairs around the country as a popular crooner.
On this appealing collection featuring classic songs from various eras and shimmering, jazzy big-band arrangements by Patrick Williams, Darren follows in the footsteps of his idols Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Not surprisingly, he recorded the 14 tracks at the Capitol studios where Ol' Blue Eyes did some of his most famous work. Darren has an easy, Bennett-like voice -- instantly likeable, rich, and emotionally resonant. So, with solid vocals and one of the best arrangers in the business, the only wild card would be choice of material -- and it's spectacular. He opens with a perky take on Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things," then digs into the catalogs of Leslie Bricusse (the playful "My Kind of Girl"), Oscar Levant ("Blame It on My Youth"), and, of course, joyful songs that Bennett popularized like "Because of You" and "Good Life." On the opposite side emotionally, he tackles "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with a slight Brazilian-flavored arrangement. Darren also has a great time turning pop classics like "More Today Than Yesterday" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" into jazzy songs that sound like they were written a generation before they were.
The set closes with a charming jazz trio take on "Dream a Little Dream of Me," which won't make you forget Mama Cass but is nevertheless engaging. Darren hardly crafts a crooning style of his own, preferring to go after the warm familiarity of his idols. Still, in its own way, Because of You is pretty irresistible. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
Contents |
Best Of James Darren (1994)
- Gidget
- Angel Face
- I Ain't Sharin' Sharon
- Because They're Young
- Goodbye Cruel World
- Her Royal Majesty
- Conscience
- Gotta Have Love
- Mary's Little Lamb
- The Life Of The Party
- Hail To The Conquering Hero
- Pin A Medal On Joey
- They Should Have Given You The Oscar
- Put On A Happy Face
- Just Think Of Tonight
- Punch And Judy
- All
- You Take My Heart Away
Teenage Tears (1996)
- Goodbye Cruel World
- Her Royal Majesty
- Gidget
- Gidget Goes Hawaiian
- Gegetta (Gidget Goes To Rome)
- Wild About That Girl
- Because They're Young
- Conscience
- Hail To The Conquering Hero
- They Should Have Given You The Oscar
- Just Think Of Tonight
- Pin A Medal On Joey
- Mary's Little Lamb
- Diamond Head
- Too Young To Go Steady
- Mighty Pretty Territory
- You
- Come On My Love
- I Don't Want To Lose Ya
- Backstage
- Gotta Have Love
- Teenage Tears
- The Life Of The Party
- Punch And Judy
- Angel Face
- Hear What I Wanna Hear
- Valerie
- If I Could Only Tell You
- You Are My Dream
- Deam Big
- Put On A Happy Face
- I Ain't Sharin' Sharon
The This Ones From The Heart (1999)
- The Best Is Yet To Come
- Come Fly With Me
- That Old Black Magic
- All The Way
- It's Only A Paper Moon
- I've Got The World On A String
- You'd Better Love Me
- Sophisticated Lady
- Just In Time
- I've Got You Under My Skin
- The Way You Look Tonight
- Here's To The Losers
- You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You
- Dancing In The Dark
- Night And Day
- I'll Be Seeing You
- Satin Doll
Because Of You (2001)
- Just One Of Those Things
- My Kind Of Girl
- Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
- A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
- More Today Than Yesterday
- Blame It On My Youth
- Because Of You
- Good Life
- I'm A Fool To Want You
- The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
- Our Day Will Come
- I Can't Give You Anything But Love
- My Old Flame
Look this artist up at:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Darren}} Wikipedia] • Amazon • Last.fm • FoxyTunes Planet • Discogs
[[1] Official James Darren website]
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