Bobby Darin - Mack Is Back
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Movie Reviews of Bobby Darin - Mack Is Back
Movie Review: Bought It For 1 Song That Wasn't There!
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, I love Bobby Darin and this DVD is great BUT it's lists "Simple Song of Freedom" as track #11 but it isn't there!! All you get is the chorus singing "Freedom" over and over, then it goes into the next song. I bought this dvd specifically for a live version of this song. VERY DISAPPOINTED. Some mention of this omission should be in the description. But, overall, it is worth having.Movie Review: Darin is back
Summary: 3 Stars
Overall I enjoyed the CD; however, it lacked many Standards from Bobby I truly enjoy. The only one's were Mack the Knife and Beyond the Sea. I can accept this because it was a 1973 TV Special and BD was trying to keep with the times. Any serious FAN should have this DVD. The sound quailty is not that great either but again its from a TV show and nothing you can do about it. How about a DVD with Bobby in Vegas? Like the Flamingo CD just released. That has terrific sound quality, I wonder if they taped it?Enjoy!
Movie Review: Bobby Darin -Mack is Back
Summary: 3 Stars
I have watched all of the Bobby Darin dvd's that I ordered over and over. I had forgotten what a great entertainer he was. He was one of the best. I have looked at the dvd over and over, and listen to the music while I am working around the house.
Shirley Hildreth
Movie Review: "Mack" is back all right!
Summary: 2 Stars
It's understandable that Darin fans would seize on anything they can to keep alive the memory of a performer who died young and long ago. But this DVD is hardly the unalloyed joy some claim. The two stars are for Darin's energy during this performance, undeniable and awesome given his physical fragility.
I was first exposed to Darin as a kid, during his Tim Hardin and then self-penned "protest" period (1966-69). He dropped the "-by" from his stage first name and the rug from his scalp, and seemed quite a revelation. The only indication that it wasn't an entirely honest transformation was his insistence on calling the harmonica a "blues harp," a term whose fleeting currency had already passed by then. It smacked of a desperation to seem "hip" to a younger audience (remember hipness?!).
But, in his last years,he went back to his ersatz-Sinatra, showman shtick. It may do him an injustice, but on the evidence of the "Mack Is Back" DVD, at heart Darin was always a Las Vegas ham. Yes, he could manage many genres of music, but he performed most of them with a glitzy lack of sensibility that reminds you of the Chinese water torture that was Sammy Davis Jnr.'s rendering of "Mr. Bojangles." And just like Davis (and others whose showbiz upbringing harked back to the fifties), Darin seemed more consumed with a need to demonstrate his showboating versatility -- look, ma, no hands! -- than with the music itself.
On "Mack Is Back," Darin's dance moves are exuberant but mostly toe-curling, as are the dirge-like codas he tacks onto many of the songs. His look is out of the Rat Pack Medallion Man handbook. He sings even his classic hits in the perfunctory, throwaway style of a performer who has been there too many times before. It's easy to understand why Tim Hardin was so upset at being ripped off by him.
Oh, and to those who claim Bobby Darin had the greatest voice of all time (see some of the reviews attached to his CD listings): You cannot be serious!
Movie Review: Fish Out Of Water
Summary: 2 Stars
Bobby was a tremendous talent and his career took off like a rocket from the beginning. Deservedly so, for his style & swagger supported his great vocal abilities. He was clearly on his way to becoming the next Sinatra, someone he admired greatly. Except for his health problems, Bobby's road to success seemed well-paved. Until...the British invasion. Suddenly, Bobby, Fabian & Frankie became icons of the past. Bobby's music took a back seat to the Beatles & Stones. Flash forward to the late sixties. The great impact that Bobby Kennedy's assasination had on him caused Bobby to take off for Baja. When he finally re-emerged from the Airstream, he tried to re-invent himself. He succeeded to a certain extent with "IF I WERE A CARPENTER" and some of his other folksy pop music. So let me get to the point about this DVD...it had such great potential. Unfortunately, Bobby didn't rise up to his previous level of showmanship. It almost seems as if he was out of step with the times. It's a shame that this DVD is one of his final appearances on film before his tragic death. During this television special, Bobby tried so hard to be 70's hip and funny. Regrettably, he seemed so unnatural in the process. Bobby should have followed his earlier instincts - less glitz and less silliness. More soulful rock and a more straightforward rendition of his oldies. I love ya Bobby, and it pains me to have to write this review. But, your comedy schtick (and bad Burt Reynolds jokes) during BEYOND THE SEA pushed me over the edge. And, the tux just didn't work. Bobby should have stuck with the sweater and button-down look. After watching this DVD, I decided that Bobby's great style and vocal talents would best be enjoyed on CD. So, I turned this DVD over to the Wherehouse in a five for one exchange.