Bobby Darin - Mack Is Back (1973) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an uncut tape Darin made for NBC in '73, and he exudes so much energy throughout that it's hard to believe he was so ill at the time, and that 9 months later he would be gone from this earth.
It's also a strange tape in that it doesn't feel dated...outside of the oh-so-'70's haircuts on the band (Darin makes fun of his "fake" !), it has such freshness and vitality, that it somehow feels as though it could have been made yesterday.
His breath control and phrasing are marvelous, in the up-tempo numbers as well as the ballads...the songs performed are: For Once in My Life/ Help Me Make it Through the Night/ Can't Take My Eyes off of You/ Bridge Over Troubled Water/ Beyond the Sea/ Higher and Higher/ Midnight Special/ If I Was a Carpenter/ Lonesome Whistle/ A Simple Song of Freedom/ You are My Sunshine/ Bo Diddley/ Splish Splash, and it ends with Mack the Knife, which is taken from the beginning of the show while he's still wearing his tie.
A few ad-libs are not miked well and are nearly inaudible, but most of them are fine and very funny. He plays the guitar in a flamenco bit, the piano and the harmonica, and his back-up band is terrific, as well as the trio of singers called The Last Chapter.
This is a fast moving hour and 12 minutes...and a wonderful record of this multi-talented showman. If you're a Darin fan, don't miss it.

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Now for the first time, viewers get an up close and personal look at Darin'slast television performance that was never aired! Presented in its originalunedited format, audiences can experience the show from the front row, as ifthey were there. And although recorded in 1973, the vibrant colorcamera-work, lighting and audio production of NBC studios appear as currentas Mr. Darin's timeless appeal.The DVD also features family photographs andnever-before-released home movies of Bobby with his wife Sandra Dee and theirson Dodd. Seldom-seen TV footage of The Andy Williams and Flip Wilson Showsand rare Hollywood trailers of his early feature films Come September andPressure Point are included as well as commentary about Darin'sOscar-nominated role in Captain Newman, M.D.by the film's star GregoryPeck. Plus, the interactive discography makes the DVD an invaluable source onthe Darin era.

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