Venice Blue
1965 studio album LP by Bobby Darin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Venice Blue is a studio album by American singer Bobby Darin, released in May 1965 by Capitol Records.[2] This was his final LP for the label.[3] The album was arranged and conducted by Richard Wess.[2] The album featured a number of arrangements by Ernie Freeman, including two Darin compositions.[2]
| Venice Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album LP by | ||||
| Released | May 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1964–1965 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 29:20 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Steve Douglas | |||
| Bobby Darin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Venice Blue | ||||
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The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated July 10, 1965, and remained on the chart for four weeks, peaking at number 132.[4]
The single from the album, "Venice Blue" bubbled under" Billboard's Hot 100, for its sole week that began in the issue dated April 23, 1965, and peaked at number 130.[5] and number 94 on the Cashbox singles chart and stayed on the chart for three weeks.[6]
Venice Blue was released in the United Kingdom as I Wanna Be Around with a slightly altered cover using the same photo. A compilation CD was released by Capitol's parent company EMI in 1999 including You're the Reason I'm Living and I Wanna Be Around.[7] It was released as one of two albums on one CD also by EMI in 2002, along with Darin's 1964 album, From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie.[8]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| Record Mirror | [11] |
In his AllMusic review, critic JT Griffith wrote "Venice Blue is not a dramatic departure for Bobby Darin, but a solid collection nonetheless. Really of interest to fans looking to complete their collection. Well-arranged and well-sung, but not the most accessible album for the neo-swing set."[9]
Billboard notes "Darin sings and swings his heart out and proves there are future standards being written"[12]
Cashbox said the album "includes a hand-picked batch of goodies from the recent vintage crop of pop hits, handled in the traditional Darin style."[13]
Record World notes "Redoubtable Bobby gives his easy once-over-lightly to this set of tunes."[14]
In its review of the album from November 1965 as I Wanna Be Around, Record Mirror noted that "His own "You Just Don't Know" is, surprisingly, a stand-out track."[11]
Track listing
- "Venice Blue" (Bobby Darin, Charles Aznavour, Gene Lees) – 2:36
- "I Wanna Be Around" (Johnny Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstadt) – 2:12
- "Somewhere" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) – 2:34
- "The Good Life" (Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon) – 2:25
- "Dear Heart" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini) – 3:14
- "Softly, As I Leave You" (Giorgio Calabrese, Hal Shaper, Tony De Vita) – 2:57
- "You Just Don't Know" (Darin) – 2:25
- "There Ain't No Sweet Gal Worth the Salt of My Tears" (Fred Fisher) – 3:03
- "Who Can I Turn To?" (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) – 2:39
- "A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow, Bobby Scott) – 2:36
- "In a World Without You" (Rudy Clark, Darin) – 3:11
Charts
Personnel
- Bobby Darin – vocals
- Richard Wess – arrangements
- Ernie Freeman – arrangements
- René Hall, Carol Kaye, Tommy Tedesco – guitar
- Chuck Berghofer, Joe Mondragon – bass guitar
- Earl Palmer – drums
- Emil Richards – tympani, maracas, vibes
- Ray Johnson – piano
- Bill Pitman, Tony Terran – trumpet
- Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Lou Blackburn, Lew McCreary, Dick Nash, Ken Shroyer, Dave Wells – trombone
- Bill Green, Paul Horn, Plas Johnson – saxophone