Search - Sammy Davis Jr :: Lounge Legends

SAMMY SWINGS THE 70's!

Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 07/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mister Entertainment, Mister Bojangles, The Candy Man, call him what you wish, but Sammy Davis Jr. was the epitome of cool, the consummate performer, no matter what the material. While fellow Rat Packers Frank and Dino were slowing down, Sammy saw the 70's and hit the ground running, singing everything he could. You'd think the break-neck pace would produce less than favorable results, case in point, the unlikely hit with this CD's opener, THE CANDY MAN. They literally had to rope Sammy to the chair in the studio to do it; but it became one of his all time greatest anthems. This CD is jammed with some of Sammy's lesser known sides, all of which are great. They go from the funky (BARRETA'S THEME, JOHN SHAFT, and the superfunkadelic GET IT ON)
to the groovy (more TV themes LOVE IS ALL AROUND, WE'LL MAKE IT THIS TIME (from Kojak), YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (Hawaii Five-o) and a homespun-folk art version of Jose Feliciano's CHICO AND THE MAN that is wonderful). Others still border on inspirational and let us in deeper to Sammy's world, like the San Remo Festival winner, THIS IS MY LIFE (a big hit for Shirley Bassey) and the touching TAKE MY HAND. The standouts here are the inspired message in I'M OVER 25 to the youth of the day (and it could still be said today), The grand take on the LEGRAND (as in Michel) song SWEET GINGERBREAD MAN that swings perfectly under Sammy's command, the poignant and dignified reading of the Bricusse/Newley song TOMORROW, a song culled from Sammy's THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT album (the only time Sammy and the immortal Nelson Riddle paired up) and a fine reading of the standard GET HAPPY, and finally, the final track, I'LL BEGIN AGAIN, flawlessly interpreted here by one of the greatest performers of all time. This is far from the "greatest hits" package(s) you'll find out there, but for another side of Sammy or complete-ists, this is a must have. Great import."