Collector's Choice/Hepcat
1998
At His Best !!!!
About This Album
Dean Martin's Reprise Records recordings, the masters of which were owned by the artist, remained out of print during the last years of his life. After his death, his estate made an agreement with Capitol Records, which controls his catalog from the late '40s to the early '60s, to reissue the material. Capitol, in turn, has licensed this set to mail-order firm Collectors' Choice Music. All of which means that, for the first time domestically on CD, his Reprise hits are available here. The compilers have taken a straightforward approach, simply including, in order, the 20 Martin recordings that made the pop charts from 1964 to 1969, starting with the number one gold hit "Everybody Loves Somebody." (It's worth noting that Martin scored hits on other charts that are not included.) It's an appropriate selection, since "Everybody Loves Somebody" set a pattern -- very different from Martin's Capitol recordings -- that he followed thereafter for his singles. Indeed, the sequencing of the album emphasizes just how similar they were. But it was in this period that Martin finally (and surprisingly) found a commercial groove after a long but inconsistent recording career. After five sound-alike follow-ups to "Everybody Loves Somebody" (same quickstep snare drum pattern, same style of female backup vocals, similar string charts), Martin and Bowen finally varied the formula with the Bill Justis arrangement of Lee Hazlewood's "Houston," a Roger Miller-like country-pop tune. Then they went right back to the old sound for "I Will" (and back into the Top Ten), but later they tried other styles, such as the bluesy party track "(Open Up the Door) Let the Good Times In." When the string of chart successes ran out, Martin did very little subsequent recording -- so the re-release of these hits, long overdue, is more than welcome. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,9 and 13)

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