Jobie Reviews Music 166: Dean Martin: The Capitol Recordings, Vol. 11 (1960-1961) (album)

(requested by ActuallyApollo).

Dean Martin: The Capitol Recordings, Vol. 11 (1960-1961) is a 2013 jazz album by Dean Martin. It is 27 tracks long, spanning 1 hour and 12 minutes of music. The album is the eleventh volume out of eleven volumes that pay tribute to the late artist’s work by compiling most of his work across several different albums. This volume, in particular, contains a large amount of Dean Martin’s most important work, alongside previously unreleased alternative takes of his more popular tracks.

Perhaps the best word to describe the 27 tracks compiled on the album is “consistent”. Dean Martin’s musicianship is off the charts on each of the 27 tracks compiled here, each track being a highly enjoyable listen. Even the alternate takes (which you would expect to be a lot worse than the final takes) are joyful to listen to, sounding almost as good as the final versions!

This is true even of his lesser known works that are featured on this album, “Let Me Know”, in particular, being one of his more underrated songs that are contained on the album. At no point during the 72 minute album did I feel like a track was worse than all the others, which is because of Dean Martin’s aforementioned consitency to sculpt highly enjoyable jazz tunes.

The lyrical content contained within each track (mostly love ballads), though very genre-typical, comes off as creative and well thought out. Dean Martin’s incredible vocals add depth to the jazz melodies featured on the album, reigning triumphant over the various instruments deployed within the album’s excellent instrumentation.

My favorite tracks from this album are “Someday”, “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone”, “Just In Time”, “The Story Of Life (All This Is Mine)”, “Hear My Heart”, and “Bella Bella Bambina”.

Overall, Dean Martin: The Capitol Recordings, Vol. 11 (1960-1961) is a great compilation of the late singer’s greatest works, ranging from hits such as “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head”, to unreleased alternate takes of songs like “Bella Bella Bambina”. Dean Martin’s incredible constituency makes each of the 27 tracks on this album (including the aforementioned alternate takes) a joy to listen to, the overall musicianship displayed on each track being quite excellent.

Overall rating:

9.5/10

LINK TO ALBUM:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3LGVxGRKwi4WfDnhMaBygF