We have been doing country music for half of March and this week, we have been featuring country records from non-country artists. In this is an artist that I could not pass up. I paid $5 for this. On a side note, I got in contact with a fellow blogger on the last Dean Martin record I posted (which due to high prices and general unavailability of cheap Martin records was a long time ago). Therefore, I am finally returning the favor with a shout out to the I Love Dino Martin blog. If you are a fan of Martin, you should check this blog out.
Turner Classic Movies some time ago featured Dino as the Star of The Month and featured quite a few of his movies, including his first big dramatic break post Jerry Lewis, The Young Lions as well as all the Matt Helm movies, none of which I had seen before. There was some takeaway that I learned that I was supposed to relay in this post, but alas, it has faded with time and I can not remember the important factoid that would have blown your mind. Perhaps I should start writing this stuff down as I learn it.
There are artists who transcend genres and Dino is certainly one such singer. This record in particular, released by Reprise in 1963 with arrangements by Don Costa, tears thru 12 country standards including works by Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash. It is a good little record. I liked a lot of the songs but in general, this album is all Dino. If it was not for the title, you forget that this is supposedly a country record. He does not bend to these songs. Instead, these songs mold around him. That is the kind of talent Dino had.
I had half of this record down for sample consideration and was leaning towards one of the songs which have become staples of this blog such as “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” or “Walk The Line”. However, I settled on “Singing the Blues” because I felt this song in particular really fit into Dino’s swinging style.
Satisfactory record.