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ACES BACK TO BACK!
(HYENA)
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This 20-song-CD-plus-DVD package isn’t all aces, unless Vegas versions of early Dylan and Neil Diamond tunes are your idea of a winning hand. But pop singer Darin, who died in 1973 at age 37 after heart surgery, gets a fairer shake here than in Kevin Spacey’s self-obsessed whimsical Darin bio-pic, Beyond the Sea. Live tracks and studio rarities share space on the audio disc, including concert takes of Darin’s signature "Mack the Knife" and his post-political awakening, "Simple Song of Freedom." What’s obvious, even when he’s pumping withered chestnuts like "Moon River" dry, is that Darin had "it" — a mix of charisma and energy powering a big, clear voice with enough flexibility to make every turn of his phrasing smooth as cream. Some of that translates to the DVD. He’s in great form in the stylish performances from his 1972-’73 NBC television variety show, which include a rave-up "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" and a reprise of his romantic fantasy "Beyond the Sea." But the "lost" documentary footage that catches him doing three songs in the years before he got a grip on his musical persona is predictably awkward.
