Dino: The Essential Dean Martin

After a recent trip to Italy for the third time, I returned home wanting to rediscover all the Italian music that played in my household when I was a young girl in the 1950's and early 1960's. I happily recall my mom singing "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime," "Let Me Go Lover," and so many other 50's era songs, while dad sang "Chitarra Romana," "Piccolo Fiore" and other tunes.

OMG!!! I am understanding more & more why my mom was so in love with Dean Martin! The VOICE!!! The easy swagger! The kindness & gentleness! The sex appeal!

The remastered vocals on this CD are incredible! The smoothe, soothing, effortless voice of Dean Martin defies description! I have a hard time deciding which collection I like more...the Capitol years or the Enterprise collection. The two eras are quite different, with the former sounding more swing-ish and Big Band like and the latter having more chorused vocals with full orchestration...I love them both actually!

The vocals on this CD are flawless! I LOVE "Ain't That A Kick In The Head," 'cause the rendition is so cool. "Sway" is by far the BEST vocals I have ever heard among the numerous versions of this song. "In The Chapel In The Moonlight" and "In The Misty Moonlight" are perfection and I can hear how Elvis was influenced by this incredible man.

Oh...the VOICE! Every note is sung to perfection, the inflection in Dean Martin's voice is flawless and the tonal quality of this man's impeccable voice sends shivers up & down my spine!

What memories these songs bring back...whether it was helping mom bake or cook in the kitchen while Dean Martin crooned on the hi-fi. Or whether it was being held by dad atop the toes of his size 9 1/2 shoes dancing to "You Belong To Me," the memories are unforgettable!

Dean Martin's "Italian Love Songs," especially "Come Back To Sorrento" will always bring tears to my eyes for many reasons. But this CD is precious and not to be missed by any fan of Dean Martin's or anyone wanting to discover this incredible man!

Toni Lee Fiore
(John's Wife)

I got this for my husband and he LOVES it, He play's it all the time, it has 30 songs and is very enjoyable, if you like Dean, This is a must have.

I have no luck when buying this CD album. The first one I ordered from Amazon skipped on the last five tracks. Amazon replaced it, only this one dosen't even load in my JVC Rack System's CD cassette player. I tried switching the cassette trays and even switched the cassettes. No luck, it played in my computer though... where I found new skips.

I ran into this problem before with a Stones; Hot Rocks 1954-1971 CD. Unfortunately, it was a xmass present and I didn't play it for a long while, before I realized that it wouldn't load into my CD player. It was too late to take it back. That was my mistake for waiting so long. Now I check all CDs and DVDs as soon as they come. I've decided not to try another. Too bad, it was a good album.

What can I say about this album - about the vocal styling, song selection, and whatnot. I mean, it's Dean Martin. Really, what could I say?

What I do have to say is that from the very first note I was immediately transported back to 1979, my Grandparents kitchen in the Bronx. The smell of sauce hanging in the air and gentle warble of Dean's voice wafting out through the radio.

Some days I wish I could go back to that tiny kitchen. Tonight, listening to this album, I did.

Five Stars

Thirty songs, most of them pop hits, and a price well below what might be expected, along with an interesting booklet and well-mastered tracks is what you get here. If you like Dean, but don't have these songs already, what are you waiting for?