Jump to content

Oh! Look at Me Now (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oh! Look at Me Now
Studio album LP by
ReleasedOctober 1962
Recorded1962
GenrePop
Length31:38
LabelCapitol
ProducerTom Morgan
Bobby Darin chronology
Things and Other Things
(1962)
Oh! Look at Me Now
(1962)
You're the Reason I'm Living
(1963)

Oh! Look at Me Now is a studio album by the American singer Bobby Darin, released in October 1962 by Capitol, his first for the label.[1] The album features a collection of old standards arranged with an upbeat, contemporary sound.[1]

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated November 17, 1962, and remained on the chart for 6 weeks, peaking at number 100.[2]

The album was released on compact disc by EMI on December 11, 2001, paired with Darin's 1964 album From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie.[3] Eight of the 12 songs were released as part of the 1995 CD Spotlight on Bobby Darin.[4] Oh! Look at Me Now was included in a box set entitled Four Classic Albums Plus Box Set, which contains 3 of his studio albums, 1 compilation, and was released on July 1, 2016.[5]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
New Record Mirror[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Disc[9]

In his Allmusic review, critic JT Griffith wrote "The classic Billy May arrangements make the album one of Darin's most swinging albums and a surefire favorite with fans who have discovered him from the Swingers soundtrack."[6]

Billboard believed "The fine Billy May arrangements, employing mainly strings on the softies and swinging brass on the upbeaters, is most reminiscent of Sinatra and the selection of standard tunes"[10]

Cashbox in its Popular Picks of the Week Reviews stated that "Billy May has come up with some first-rate backings for the distinctive Darin sound"[11]

New Record Mirror noted "Magnificent maestro Billy May takes credit for the romping arrangements and just how he manages to maintain such a high standards"[7]

Hunter Nigel of Disc mentions that the album "features a fairish bunch of standards"[9]

Variety noted "He has a strong swinging vocal beat on the uptempo numbers and a pleasing mellow sound on the softer ballad items"[12]

In The Show I'll Never Forget, Sean Manning describes the album as "a wonderful Sinatra-school album.[13]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "All by Myself" (Irving Berlin) – 3:05
  2. "My Buddy" (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn) – 2:34
  3. "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder" (Al Jolson, Dave Dreyer, Billy Rose) – 2:40
  4. "Roses of Picardy" (Frederic Weatherly, Haydn Wood) – 2:11
  5. "You'll Never Know" (Harry Warren, Mack Gordon) – 2:55
  6. "Blue Skies" (Berlin) – 2:32
  7. "Always" (Berlin) – 2:21
  8. "You Made Me Love You" (James V. Monaco, Joseph McCarthy) – 2:51
  9. "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherwin) – 3:02
  10. "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James) – 2:18
  11. "Oh! Look at Me Now" (Joe Bushkin, John DeVries) – 2:43
  12. "The Party's Over" (Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green) – 2:26

Charts

[edit]

Album

[edit]
Chart (1962) Peak
position
U.S. Top LPs (Billboard)[2] 100

Personnel

[edit]
  • Bobby Darin – vocals
  • Billy May – arranger, conductor
  • Tom Morgan – producer

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b DiOrio, Al (2004). Bobby Darin : the incredible story of an amazing life. Philadelphia: Running Press. p. 114. ISBN 0-7624-1816-8.
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 198. ISBN 0898201179. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Oh Look at Me Now/Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Spotlight on Bobby Darin [Great Gentlemen of Song]". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Four Classic Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b Griffith, JT. "Oh! Look at Me Now > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Watson, Jimmy (9 February 1963). "ALBUM REVIEWS by Jimmy Watson: 'Some Swinin' Discs, and from ELVIS . . " (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 100. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 394. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b Hunter, Nigel (29 December 1962). "Disc Date Reviews LPs with Nigel Hunter :Nat King Cole-old style and new - VIC IS A REAL CLASSY SINGER" (PDF). Disc. No. 249. p. 10. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ^ "Pop Spotlight: Oh! Look at Me Now". Billboard. Vol. 74, no. 41. October 13, 1962. p. 34.
  11. ^ "Cashbox Album Popular Picks of the Week Reviews: Oh! Look at Me Now". Cash Box. Vol. 24, no. 3. October 13, 1962. p. 30.
  12. ^ "Variety Record Reviews: Charles Vol. II, Mathis Rapture, Darin's Look, Swagmen Top LPs". Variety. Vol. 228, no. 8. October 17, 1962. p. 38.
  13. ^ Manning, Sean (2009). The Show I'll Never Forget: 50 Writers Relive Their Most Memorable Concertgoing Experience. Grand Central Publishing. p. 265. ISBN 9-7807-8673-4443.