As Long as I'm Singing: The Bobby Darin Collection [Box] (CD - 1995)

Personnel includes: Bobby Darin (vocals, harmonica, piano, keyboards); Johnny Mercer, Darlene Love (vocals); Fred Neil, James Burton, Glen Campbell, Roger McGuinn, Milt Norman (guitar); Harmonica Fats (harmonica); Nino Tempo, Steve Douglas (saxophone); Neil Sedaka (piano, keyboards); Bobby Scott (piano); Earl Palmer (drums).

Producers include: Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun, Charles Koppelman, Don Rubin.

Compilation producers: Jeff Bleiel, Nik Venet, James Austin.

Engineers include: Tom Dowd, Nik Venet (disc 4, track 26).

Recorded betweeen January 24, 1958 and 1972. Includes liner notes by Dodd Darin, Michael Oricchio, Darcy Sullivan, Nik Venet, Ahmet Ertegun, Dick Clark, Tom Dowd, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Sandra Dee, Dion, Steve Blauner, Roger McGuinn, Brian Setzer, Jerry Wexler, Billy Vera, Jimmie Haskell and Joel Dorn.

All tracks on disc 1 are mono except tracks 8, 16 and 26. All tracks on disc 2 are stereo except tracks 1-4, 9-10, 16-17 and 21. All tracks on disc 3 are stereo except track 15.

AS LONG AS I'M SINGING: THE BOBBY DARIN COLLECTION includes 11 previously unreleased tracks.

For hardcore Bobby Darin fans, the four-disc AS LONG AS I'M SINGING box set provides the ultimate career summary. For some artists with discographies of the same length, such a box might be overkill, but Darin was such an eclectic, mercurial singer/songwriter that it truly takes four discs to accurately document all of his stylistic shifts. The first disc concentrates on his pop/rock & roll period, which began in the 1950s and found him turning out such frothy, up-tempo hits as "Splish Splash" and "Dream Lover." Disc Two covers his transition into Sinatra-style swing material, a mode that was deeply unfashionable by the '60s, but was nevertheless embraced and successfully perpetuated by Darin with the likes of "Beyond the Sea" and "Mack the Knife." By the time the fourth disc rolls around, we're presented with Darin the folk-rock artist, delivering both effective interpretations of songs by kindred spirit Tim Hardin and credible self-penned introspective tunes in a similar vein. AS LONG AS I'M SINGING does a stellar job of navigating the disparate phases of Darin's work, focusing on the energy and creativity that made the man a star. minimize