Oh! Look at Me Now (album)

Last updated
Oh! Look at Me Now
BobbyDarinOhLookAtMeNow.jpg
Studio album LPby
ReleasedOctober 1962
Recorded1962
Genre Pop
Length31:38
Label Capitol
Producer Tom 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]

Contents

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
New Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Disc Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [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

  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

Album

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

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 DiOrio, Al (2004). Bobby Darin : the incredible story of an amazing life. Philadelphia: Running Press. p. 114. ISBN   0-7624-1816-8.
  2. 1 2 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. 1 2 Griffith, JT. "Oh! Look at Me Now > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  7. 1 2 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. 1 2 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.