Track Listing

1. Who's Got The Action (with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)
2. Ain't That A Kick In The Head (with Kevin Spacey)
3. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (with Chris Botti)
4. Baby O (with Paris Bennett)
5. Who Was That Lady (with Orchestra)
6. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (with Robbie Williams)
7. I Can't Believe That You're In Love (with Joss Stone)
8. Just In Time (with Dave Koz)
9. Baby It's Cold Outside (with Martina McBride)
10. King Of The Road (with Kevin Spacey)
11. You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You (with Shelby Lynne, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)
12. Arrivederci Roma (with Tiziano Ferro)
13. Everybody Loves Somebody (with Charles Aznavour)
14. Lullaby (Dean Martin acoustic)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52208 in Music
• Released on: 2007-08-14
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
To honor Dean Martin's broad appeal and countless contributions to modern entertainment via his legendary music, stage, film and television career, many of the world's top artists have recorded new collaborative tracks with him on Dean Martin: Forever Cool. Forever Cool's 14 tracks pair Martin's original vocals with new arrangements and an all-star group of collaborators in a salute to the unparalleled talent and charisma of the man known around the world as "Dino". A special CD/DVD edition of Forever Cool is also available & contains a 25 minute "making of" & interview documentary footage.

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Amazon.com
Whether you see Dean Martin as an iconic, velvet-voiced crooner or a repugnant symbol of Vegas excess, Forever Cool is a fascinating--if flawed--experiment in keeping the celebrated performer contemporary. A reworking of his vocal tracks as duets with internationally known collaborators (from British singer Joss Stone to Italian chart-topper Tiziano Ferro), the album additionally features new arrangements as well as one previously unreleased track (an a cappella version of "Brahms' Lullaby"), all seamlessly mixed with droll studio banter ("Last time I was this hot I had a kid") that gives the recording a palpable immediacy. In keeping the new instrumental backing tasteful and smart, producers Rob Christie, Phil Ramone, Patrick Williams, and Bobby Colomby spotlight Martin's considerable vocal skills and rescue him from his unctuous, drunk, and schmaltzy self-caricaturizing, even as some of the spoken prattle threatens to lift the martini glass to that trait. While trumpeter Chris Botti and saxophonist Dave Koz prove sparkling choices as collaborators, the selection of vocal guests sometimes seem head-scratchingly strange. Stone, who appears on "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me," is far too husky a singer to pair with Martin's smooth mega-baritone (and one can't help but think she could be his great-granddaughter), while Paris Bennett, the American Idol finalist, comes off as lightweight as Tinkerbell. Perhaps not surprisingly, actor/singer Kevin Spacey, with his hipster Bobby Darin chops, comes closest to matching Martin's joie de vivre, while Martina McBride's elastic, adaptive soprano makes her the most believable female counterpart, even as she is forced to truncate her usual phrasing. All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable invitation to a fantasy cocktail party where Dino is always, and ever, the star. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

Wonderful tribute album, I like to think Dean would approve...
I tend to be a little leery of duets that pair current singers with deceased ones. There's so much potential for the pairings to fall incredibly flat. Happily, Forever Cool is a duets album done right. The disc pairs vocal performances of Dean Martin in his prime with artists such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Kevin Spacey, Chris Botti, Robbie Williams, and Joss Stone, to name a few. Kevin Spacey is featured on two tracks, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" and "King of the Road." He's comfortable singing swing music and it shows -- his surprising vocal chops and talent for vocal mimicry (first displayed in his performance as Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea) is so good that there are moments where I had difficulty distinguishing his voice from Martin's. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy swings with Dino on two tracks -- "Who's Got the Action?" and "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" -- the latter featuring Shelby Lynne. Lynne & Martin's duet is one of the highlights of the album -- she does a really fabulous job of entering into the spirit of the project, so much so that it's easy to imagine her actually performing with Martin -- her playful give and take with his vocal is expertly balanced. On "Baby, It's Cold Outside" Martina McBride's famous "big" voice is held in check and she delivers a wonderful, playful vocal as remarkable for its restraint as much as its crystalline purity. Robbie Buchanan's duet on "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" is also outstanding -- Buchanan's vocal complements Dino well.

There are a few slight missteps. I love Joss Stone's unique voice, but her vocal on "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me" is one of the weaker cuts on the album. Her voice sounds strained and "breathy" at times, as if she's forcing herself to sing in an uncomfortable register. Nonetheless, it stands far above the gross misstep that is the Paris Bennett track, "Baby-O." Please. Honestly it's a embarrassing to hear Martin's sublime voice mixed with Bennett's squeaky vocal. Renee Olstead would've been a much better duet partner for this track in my opinion.

The instrumental duets are among the best tracks on the album and some of my favorites. My favorite track is, not surprisingly, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" with trumpeter Chris Botti (this track will also be featured on Botti's upcoming Italia album, set to release September 25th). Botti is a master at accompanying vocalists (as evidenced on his own duets album, To Love Again). He's an expert at complementing a vocal, and the fact that duet with Martin sounds so real, so convincing, is a testament to his skill as a performer. It's a great track, very classy. Dave Koz's saxaphone duet on "Just In Time" is likewise wonderful ear candy...I'm not really familiar with his music, but his performance here has piqued my interest.

Kudos to the performers and the production team for delivering such a classy, well done, polished tribute CD. Can I just throw out one idea? There needs to be a Sinatra version of Forever Cool. Let's face it -- the Duets albums he recorded in the early '90s did not feature him at the peak of his vocal abilities, and some of the arrangements are a tad dated. Forever Cool combines snappy, swinging, timeless arrangments and worthy duet partners (for the most part) with Dean Martin in his best vocal form. If a Sinatra project was executed with the same production values, I'd be a very happy woman. (FYI: Target sells Forever Cool with a bonus track -- a duet with The 5 Browns on "Everybody Loves Somebody.")

mostly excellent numbers--even if they are from a record label wanting to "cash-in" !!!
Forever Cool is a Dean Martin CD that mixes his singing with the vocals of some of today's popular artists in an attempt to create a dynamic collection of duets. Despite the fact that almost all of these duets are very well done, I just can't help thinking that this album was released at least in part to "cash-in" on Dean Martin's legacy. That's NOT cool; and I was disappointed by this. However, in case you are considering buying this CD; the quality of the sound is very good; the artwork is tastefully done; and almost all of the duets work very well.

The CD starts off with Dean Martin's vocals mixed with the singing of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as we hear "Who's Got The Action." They complement each other's vocals rather well; and that jazzy, 1960s Vegas style arrangement enhances this number even further. An even better duet is that between Dean Martin and Kevin Spacey as they sing "Ain't That A Kick In The Head." "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" was always one of my very favorite Dean Martin tunes and Kevin Spacey's voice lends itself extremely well for this duet. "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" features the legendary trumpeter Chris Botti; this track works particularly well. Botti's trumpet playing enhances "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" and I think Dean would be proud of this number.

"Who Was That Lady" has a fantastic musical arrangement that fits in perfectly with Dean as he sings this to perfection--and beyond! Dean's voice was so wonderful; it was like listening to silk and "Who Was That Lady" shows this very well. In addition, "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" is done with Robbie Williams. Robbie Williams doesn't sound best suited to do a duet with Dean; but it doesn't sound all that bad either. It's a track that would rank in my book as a "high average." On the other hand, one number that sounds absolutely wonderful is "I Can't Believe That You're In Love;" this is a duet with Dean Martin's and Joss Stone's vocals mixed together. Although Amazon says Joss Stone didn't fit in with Dean Martin's vocals all that well, I would disagree. She sounds just great when she sings "with" Dean Martin; and "I Can't Believe That You're In Love" is a major highlight of this CD.

"Baby It's Cold Outside" with Martina McBride is rather pleasing to the ear; and there's also a fine duet between Dean Martin and Kevin Spacey again on "King Of The Road." This is followed by "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" with Shelby Lynne and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. This, unfortunately, is another track that is really just a high average at best. Shelby's voice is actually quite good and I like the way Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sings; but when Shelby's singing is overlapped with Dean's vocals the sound just isn't quite as good as I would have wanted.

"Everybody Loves Somebody" with Charles Aznavour is pretty good; Dean and Charles sings this one up right and the CD ends with Dean doing an previously unreleased number, his a cappella version of "Brahms' Lullaby."

Overall, Forever Cool by Dean Martin features mostly excellent duets with one or two missteps along the way. It's essentially a good album that Dean's fans will most likely enjoy and it may well introduce Dean Martin to a younger group of people who hadn't heard much about him before now. In addition, if you like this CD you may also want to consider getting the CD/DVD version of this product. It's just a shame, though, that this album comes with a good sized side-dish of "let's cash in on Dean."

Ain't That A Kick In The Head - Do It again Dean!
Dean Martin's vocals on "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" along with Kevin Spacey says it all. This is a wonderful album. It's fun, upbeat and dynamic. It's great a great project come to life. Yes, and it is COOL!