Search - Dean Martin :: Live From Las Vegas

King of Cool Classic Concert

Lawrence E. LaRocco | Berwyn, Illinois | 07/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Relaxed, funny, but ALWAYS the consumate pro, "Dean Martin Live from Las Vegas" is a previously unreleased gem from the Capitol vaults. It is classic Dino, great standards seamlessly blended with irreverent humor. This CD is part of the Las Vegas centennial celebration and features live preformances from Bobby Darin, Frank, and others. I don't agree with the other reviewers who criticized the mono soundtrack. This is an essential purchase for all serious Dino afficionados. Dean is in fine form, and the sound quality is excellent. Buy it, enjoy it, and realize that you are listening to one of the finest vocalists of all time."

Classic Dino... but a little disappointed

Brad Hoffman | 04/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, Dino was one of the best live performers ever bar none! But why oh why, couldn't he come up with some new one liners in the six years or so that his act was captured on tape? If you've heard his Sands concert from February 9th, 1964, or around there.. (the dates vary since the concert is in the public domain and has been issued for years under a variety of different titles), then you've heard this show already. The songs are a bit different, the phrasing is different, but the act is essentially the same. Included are the same old stories about traveling to London to star in "Road To Hong Kong"(a joke he'd been using since 1962!), going to Hawaii,and getting *Lai-d*... get it!?, as well as his politically incorrect humor ex: "I'm unlucky... if they ever cut a woman in half... I'll get the part that eats!"

Then there's the sound quality.. now I love Dino, and I'm grateful for any recordings that are out there... This concert is listenable, and enjoyable.. but when I bought it, I was expecting the same sound quality that was delivered in the two Rat Pack shows, Villa Venice 1962, and At the Sands 1963. Both those shows were professionally recorded by Frank Sinatra's Record label Reprise.. and used several microphones to capture IN STEREO, the ambiance of the room, the audience, as well as the performers on stage. I was expecting the same from this recording... perhaps a Dean Martin performance, recorded for an album but never released. But it appears this is just a reel to reel tape that someone left running on stage on April 4th, 1967. The recording is in mono, though the fidelity is quite good... but it lacks the energy that a stereo recording might have had, if the audience had been included in it.

The packaging is slick.. although why do record labels insist on creating those gatefold paper sleeves for CD's? They scuff easily and don't protect the disc from dust and debris like the jewell cases do.. knock it off guys!

All in all, this concert is for big Dino fans only... I would reccomend starting out with the Rat Pack Live at the Sands.. and work your way to this."

Very familiar territory that could've sounded better

Mark C. Gionfriddo | 06/12/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Capitol has released a new CD series collection of live concerts featuring storied Vegas entertainers like Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and others. (I've also reviewed the Sinatra offering.) An evening with Frank was always a major dramatic and musical event, and you could be sure he would pull out all the stops. Somewhat of a polar opposite, Martin's live shows were "feel good" affairs- something enjoyable but never too serious. Dean would prefer you have a drink and laugh along with him, and he would intersperse the merriment with some light musical numbers. (This is not to belittle Dino. He would certainly be the first to admit that he had no intentions of being serious on stage. And those who would want to hear Dean sing seriously can always listen to his studio efforts.)



A number of Rat Pack solo and group concerts have turned up on CD and DVD in the last few years. This particular Martin show is from April 4, 1967 at the Sands, and if you've heard a Dino show before, you will have no difficulties anticipating the punchlines before Dino slings them. The expected songs, medleys and stories are all in their usual spots. And for those who haven't heard it, be warned... some of it won't be completely politically correct.



Capitol's CD brings us some "previously unreleased live hits"... well, let's not label Dean as completely predictable, right? We get his most recognizable theme song, "Everybody Loves Somebody" (written by pianist Ken Lane), but ever the wiseguy, he must change a lyric in the bridge for a quick joke. The most serious 2:30 in the show occurs with the simple but lovely composition "Welcome To My World". Here Martin does it straight up in a very pretty arrangement, and if the recording were in stereo it probably would have been the standout track on the disc. (More on this below.) Dino breezes through "If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie)", but he does give us something to get excited about when he sings "Baby Face". Martin was always fabulous when he sang Dixieland fare, even when performed in swing style. (Capitol, if you are reading this, won't you PLEASE reissue Dino's Dixieland studio recordings?)



I'm not bothered by the fact that I'm familiar with much of the content of this disc already. I expected that. The caveat I have with this disc is that it's in mono. Nowhere on the packaging (or insert) are we told that this is a mono recording. It is unfair not to reveal this fact to those of us who consider such things before we purchase. Stereo would certainly have made this a much more memorable affair. Although the show sounds okay, there is no doubt this disc could have sounded much better.



Amidst all the rather flashy graphics is an essay from the always enlightening Bill Zehme as well as a handful of B & W pictures and memorabilia. The slightly disappointing mono mix makes this CD really geared more toward the hard core Dino fan or someone who must complete their Las Vegas Centennial Collection."