Though his career didn't suffer the collapse that many predicted with the
1956 dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewis (noteworthy film
appearances in "The Young Lions" and hit records like "Memories Are Made Of
This" and "Return To Me" provided ample solo credibility), Dean Martin's
last years with Capitol Records were beginning to show diminishing returns.
'58's "Volare" was his last top 40 track for the label, which was a
significant decline for an artist who had scored a top 20 song nearly every
year for the preceding decade, and who had landed a #1 hit just two years
previously.
When his "pally" Frank Sinatra left Capitol to form the new Reprise Records
in 1962, Martin was one of the first to follow, bringing both his talent and
his bankbook along. His first Reprise release, French Style, appeared in
April, followed closely by Dino Latino in October. Neither produced that
elusive hit single, though, and Martin was soon back in the studio.
His next releases, Country Style and Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again,
appeared in January and April of 1963, revealing Martin's affection for
country music and his skill at negotiating the "countrypolitan" sound that
was then in vogue. With his success in western films and his laid back
style, country & western material seemed to fit Martin as well or better
than the Italian songs he had so often scored with, but again, while Country
Style found a spot on the album charts, the hit singles didn't appear. It
was while recording Dream With Dean for a June, 1964, release that he
covered an old number from the Sinatra book, "Everybody Loves Somebody,"
with a low key arrangement featuring Barney Kessel's guitar. When Martin
took son Dino, Jr.'s fascination with the ascendent Beatles as a
challenge, he and producer Jimmy Bowen plucked that song from the album for
a beefed up arrangement and released a second album in the same month named
for the song the two shared in common. Amazingly, despite nearly
simultaneous release, both albums charted. More significantly, Dean Martin
was back in the pop singles charts with his first #1 record since 1956,
dislodging his son's heroes from the spot they'd held with "A Hard Day's
Night."
He returned to the charts promptly, with "The Door Is Still Open To My
Heart" climbing to #6 by September, the album of the same name appearing in
November. That was three album releases in 1964 alone, and seven in the two
years since Martin had joined Reprise. For a man who seemed to live in a
permanent slouch and never seemed serious about anything, that was an
incredible output. If Dean Martin was successful, he worked harder for that
success than his persona implied. Perhaps it was the experience of the
young Dino Crocetti from Steubenville, Ohio that made any show business
endeavor seem like something less than work to the adult Dean Martin.
Certainly his experiences as a millworker, gas jockey, bootlegger and
prizefighter carried more effort and/or risk for less reward than rolling
into the studio to croon out a best selling LP. That wasn't all he was up
to, of course. During that same two year period, he appeared in starring
roles in 6 of his 51 films and was in the process of joining his Rat Pack
pallies in taking virtual title to the Las Vegas strip.
Martin was back with another hit single before the end of the year with
"You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You," which helped the January '65
release of Dean Martin Hits Again reach #13 on the album charts. The album
produced another top 40 entry with "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On."
He followed in September with (Remember Me) I'm The One Who Loves You, a #12
album that produced another top 40 hit with the title track. There was one
more album for 1965, though, and it would climb higher yet, to #11, on the
back of another pair of hit singles, the title track, "Houston," and the top
ten hit, "I Will."
While Houston was climbing the charts, Dean Martin was busy conquering yet
another entertainment avenue. The Dean Martin Show premiered on NBC in the
fall of 1965 and promptly established itself as the TV season's biggest new
hit and Dean Martin as the '60s version of the King of All Media. He had
also started a new film series, featuring Dino as Matt Helm, secret agent
extraordinaire. His soundtrack album for the first Matt Helm movie, Dean
Martin Sings Songs From "The Silencers," was released in March and,
predictably, found a spot on the charts. In November, The Dean Martin TV
Show appeared in LP form, and settled into the #34 spot on the album charts
with 10 tracks featuring Martin with his TV bandleader, Les Brown and his
Band Of Reknown. In a mere 4 years at Reprise, Martin had produced 12 LPs,
with 9 making the charts, and 9 top 40 singles to match. Those partial to
his Capitol years might consider that it took him 8 years to reach similar
landmarks there, and there were no Beatles, Beach Boys or Rolling Stones to
contend with.
The occasion for this trip down memory lane is the appearance of each of
the albums I've mentioned in a new series of two-fers from Collector's
Choice Music. This is truly a landmark reissue venture. Because of a
combination of Martin's stature and savvy, he retained ownership of all of
his Reprise recordings, and this is the first US release of this material
on CD (some of it has appeared in Europe on an earlier greatest hits package
and in a typically astronomically priced Bear Family set). With each disc
holding two full albums, along with original cover art and liner notes, and
brief historical notes with release and chart data, they are both superb
values and invaluable documents of one of the great catalogs of American
popular music. Finally licensed for release by Martin's heirs, who have
held the rights since his death in 1995, these are the first six releases of
a planned 12, which will put 24 of his Reprise releases in long overdue
general circulation. The remastering is superb, the music ranges from
interesting to exceptional, and your prompt acquisition is highly encouraged.
Track Lists:
French Style/Dino Latino:
(French Style) C'est Si Bon * April In Paris *
Mimi * Darling Je Vous Aime * Beaucoup * La Vie En Rose * The Poor People Of
Paris * The River Seine * The Last Time I Saw Paris * Mam'selle * C'est
Magnifique * Gigi * I Love Paris (Dino Latino) (Alla En) El Rancho Grande
* Manana * Tangerine * South Of The Border * In A Little Spanish Town * What
A Diff'rence A Day Made * Magic Is The Moonlight * Always In My Heart *
Besame Mucho * La Paloma
Country Style/Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again:
(Country Style) I'm So Lonesome
I Could Cry * Face In A Crowd * Things * Room Full Of Roses * I Walk The
Line * All My Heart Cries For You * Any Time * Shutters And Boards * Blue,
Blue Day * Singing The Blues * Hey, Good Lookin' * Ain't Gonna Try No More
(Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again) I'm Gonna Change Everything * Candy Kisses *
Rockin' Alone (In An Old Rocking Chair) * Just A Little Lovin' * I Can't
Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) * My Sugar's Gone * Corrine Corrina
* Take Good Care Of Her * The Middle Of The Night Is My Cryin' Time * From
Lover To Loser * Bouquet Of Roses * Second Hand Rose (Second Hand Heart)
Dream With Dean/Everybody Loves Somebody:
(Dream With Dean) I'm Confessin'
(That I Love You) * Fools Rush In * I'll Buy That Dream * If You Were The
Only Girl * Blue Moon * Everybody Loves Somebody * I Don't Know Why (I Just
Do) * "Gimme" A Little Kiss Will "Ya" Huh? * Hands Across The Table * Smile
* My Melancholy Baby * Baby Won't You Please Come Home (Everybody Loves
Somebody) Everybody Loves Somebody * Your Other Love * Shutters And Boards
* Baby-O * A Little Voice * Things * My Heart Cries For You * Siesta Fiesta
* From Lover To Loser * Just Close Your Eyes * Corrine Corrina * Face In A
Crowd
The Door Is Still Open To My Heart/
(Remember Me) I'm The One Who Loves You:
(The Door Is Still Open To My Heart) The Door Is Still Open To My Heart *
We'll Sing In The Sunshine * I'm Gonna Change Everything * The Middle Of The
Night Is My Cryin' Time * Every Minute, Every Hour * Clinging Vine * In The
Misty Moonlight * Always Together * My Sugar's Gone * You're Nobody Till
Somebody Loves You * Take Me * So Long Baby ((Remember Me) I'm The One Who
Loves You) (Remember Me) I'm The One Who Loves You * King Of The Road *
Welcome To My World * My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You * Born To Lose * The
Birds And The Bees * Walk On By * Red Roses For A Blue Lady * Take These
Chains From My Heart * Here Comes My Baby * I Don't Think You Love Me
Anymore * Bumming Around
Dean Martin Hits Again/Houston:
(Dean Martin Hits Again) You're Nobody Till
Somebody Loves You * I'll Hold You In My Heart * Have A Heart * My Heart Is
An Open Book * You'll Always Be The One I Love * Send Me The Pillow You
Dream On * In The Chapel In The Moonlight * Send Me Some Lovin' * Wedding
Bells * I'll Be Seeing You (Houston) Houston * The First Thing Ev'ry
Morning * Hammer And Nails * Little Lovely One * Love, Love, Love * I Will *
Snap Your Fingers * Everybody But Me * Old Yellow Line * Detour * You're The
Reason I'm In Love
The Dean Martin TV Show/Dean Martin Sings Songs From "The Silencers":
(The
Dean Martin TV Show) If I Had You * What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry *
The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else) * S'posin' * It's The Talk Of The
Town * Baby Won't You Please Come Home * I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face *
Just Friends * The Things We Did Last Summer * Home (Dean Martin Sings Songs
From "The Silencers") The Glory Of Love * Empty Saddles In The Old Corral *
Lovey Kravezit * The Last Round-Up * Anniversary Song * Side By Side * South
Of The Border * Red Sails In The Sunset * Lord, You Made The Night Too Long
* If You Knew Susie * On The Sunny Side Of The Street * The Silencers
