The Line Forms On The Right Babe

Bobby Darin: Beyond The Sea (Live In Los Angeles 3/11/73)
from A&E Biography: A (Musical) Anthology (Capitol 1998)

Bobby Darin: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (Live In Los Angeles 3/11/73)
from A&E Biography: A (Musical) Anthology (Capitol 1998)

Bobby Darin: The Curtain Falls
from The Curtain Falls: Live at the Flamingo (Collecters Choice Music 2000)


If ever there was a person who defined the image of a Vegas style showman it would have to be Bobby Darin. His live shows always included a playful interaction between himself, his band members and the audience and because he crossed so many musical genres his performances would always cover the spectrum of his career. Although capturing the raw energy of being there at a show is sometimes a difficult thing for a live album to reproduce, Bobby's live performances are often the exception to the rule. A meticulous performer, he was always able to jump in and out of the different aspects of his career, whether it was singing folk ballads, improvising comedic acts or just belting out the classics that he was known for, his shows were always performances in the finest sense of the word.

The first track is a live rendition of one of his most famous songs and comes from his last concert performance before his death. As a testament to his performance prowess, Bobby takes a three minute song and extends it to over eight minutes with playful banter, renditions of old classics, timely commentary on Burt Reynolds near nude Cosmo pictorial and even penis humor and never once does the song drag. In the actual video of the song you can even see him do him his best James Brown performance and get down on the good foot. Done in front of a live television audience the atmosphere is still just as energetic as his performance in front of a Vegas show crowd.

The second track is from that same concert performance and is his rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic. It's amazing to hear the energetic output from a man whose heart defect would take his life just nine months later. Despite the cheesiness that the wah-wah guitar adds to the song, Bobby and the backing chorus infuses the song with a lot of the elan that Jackie brought to the song. By the time the first chorus comes in, Bobby has full control of the song and never lets it stop, his voice riding along with the backing singers and the horn section to a soulful ending.

The third track is from his 1963 concert performance at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and was meant as a sort of swan song for his retirement from concert performances because of health concerns and so he could concentrate on a Hollywood career. The album itself is full of wonderful Bobby moments including a nine minute comedic act where he masterfully impersonates everyone from W.C. Fileds to Cary Grant to Dean Martin, but it's the last track that takes the cake. An appropos song, much in the same way that My Way is associated with Frank Sinatra, it's a shame that this song and in particular this live rendition isn't as widely known as his other songs. Bobby's performance, from his eager anticipation to get the song started to the abrupt ending is done so well that it's only appropriate I end this post with it.