Rating: 
Summary: Versatility Is The Name Of The Game
Review: I've never written a report before. I kinda liked Bobby Darin, but was not too sure about his styles etc... I bought this on a gamble and it PAID OFF!!! the guy was brilliant, versatile and very very talented with many many styles to his performance.
I would have loved to have seen him "live"
The quality is not the best but it is not the worse either 6/10 I would give it which did not spoil my entertainment from a GREAT performer. BUY IT !!!
Rating:
Summary: The BEST!
Review: I've seen this VHS at least 7X since it arrived at my P.O. and I'm quite "impressed" by its musical content, as well as the tremedous amount of humor and bantering between Bobby and the band. It puts his "Invasion" VHS and the other documentary about him to shame---almost, that is! I, highly, recommend its viewing by those that haven't seen or heard him perform. I ONLY wish that I had a DVD player for I could see what other people have been saying for myself! Maybe next year for the DVD player!
Rating: 
Summary: Forgive the few bad reviews
Review: If you are not stuck in a time capsule mood, and don't mind an artist who wrote songs, sang everything from folk to rock to swing to protest songs, then take a ride with Bobby Darin. What a fascinating career but more importantly what an energetic singer. Don't buy it if you don't want to hear Bobby do songs other than his classics. He does them too, but they were almost 20 years old when this was recorded. He sang from the late 50s to the early 70s and clearly loved the music, all kinds. You get the last concert from a truly gifted artist. You should give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Legacy
Review: If you want to see what a true performer is, get this DVD. This concert performance was taped 8 months before Bobby's untimely death. He was extremely ill while taping this, but you would NEVER know it from his performance. He gave 150% to his audience, and refused to stop performing. He dances, sings and does impressions, tells stories, giggles with the audience and takes your breath away, especially considering the outcome. The DVD also has an unfinished documentary on his triumphant return in 1966 to the Cocoanut Grove, a discography, television clips from the Andy Williams and Flip Wilson shows, and film trailers from two of his movies. All in all, a consumate compilation, and a must own.
Rating: 
Summary: "Mack" is back all right!
Review: It's understandable that Darin fans would seize on anything they can to keep alive the memory of a performer who died young and long ago. But this DVD is hardly the unalloyed joy some claim. The two stars are for Darin's energy during this performance, undeniable and awesome given his physical fragility.
I was first exposed to Darin as a kid, during his Tim Hardin and then self-penned "protest" period (1966-69). He dropped the "-by" from his stage first name and the rug from his scalp, and seemed quite a revelation. The only indication that it wasn't an entirely honest transformation was his insistence on calling the harmonica a "blues harp," a term whose fleeting currency had already passed by then. It smacked of a desperation to seem "hip" to a younger audience (remember hipness?!).
But, in his last years,he went back to his ersatz-Sinatra, showman shtick. It may do him an injustice, but on the evidence of the "Mack Is Back" DVD, at heart Darin was always a Las Vegas ham. Yes, he could manage many genres of music, but he performed most of them with a glitzy lack of sensibility that reminds you of the Chinese water torture that was Sammy Davis Jnr.'s rendering of "Mr. Bojangles." And just like Davis (and others whose showbiz upbringing harked back to the fifties), Darin seemed more consumed with a need to demonstrate his showboating versatility -- look, ma, no hands! -- than with the music itself.
On "Mack Is Back," Darin's dance moves are exuberant but mostly toe-curling, as are the dirge-like codas he tacks onto many of the songs. His look is out of the Rat Pack Medallion Man handbook. He sings even his classic hits in the perfunctory, throwaway style of a performer who has been there too many times before. It's easy to understand why Tim Hardin was so upset at being ripped off by him.
Oh, and to those who claim Bobby Darin had the greatest voice of all time (see some of the reviews attached to his CD listings): You cannot be serious!
Rating:
Summary: Mack is back!
Review: Mack is back! Yet legends like Bobby Darin are always with us-on recordings, in films, on Questar's exclusive new program, and on the tip of our tongues. Even Kevin Spacey is talking. In an interview that aired in July, the two-time Oscar winner told Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes he is ready and willing to play Bobby Darin on the big screen. And why not? Darin's short life was filled with big achievements. Once regarded as the successor to Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin set his own unique stamp on the entertainment industry. Despite a failing heart, he released a string of successful movies, TV shows, and of course, songs. From his Grammy win in 1959 to his 1990 induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Darin stands among the true great American icons of music. His legacy continues with the DVD Bobby Darin: Mack is Back! Throughout the 70-minute recording, Bobby belts out his biggest hits. But the show doesn't end there because the DVD goes beyond the stage, with a behind-the-scenes story of Darin's life by way of home-movies and clips from his early films. With the resurgence of retro-lounge music, Bobby Darin is as popular now as ever before. And like Kevin Spacey, who publically expressed his admiration for the singer, I must say this Bobby Darin program proves Mackie is not only back in town, he's the talk of it as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Darin is back
Review: Overall I enjoyed the CD; however, it lacked many Standards from Bobby I truly enjoy. The only one's were Mack the Knife and Beyond the Sea. I can accept this because it was a 1973 TV Special and BD was trying to keep with the times. Any serious FAN should have this DVD. The sound quailty is not that great either but again its from a TV show and nothing you can do about it. How about a DVD with Bobby in Vegas? Like the Flamingo CD just released. That has terrific sound quality, I wonder if they taped it? Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: a timeless entertainer
Review: This is an uncut tape Darin made for NBC in '73, and he exudes so much energy throughout that it's hard to believe he was so ill at the time, and that 9 months later he would be gone from this earth.
It's also a strange tape in that it doesn't feel dated...outside of the oh-so-'70's haircuts on the band (Darin makes fun of his "fake" !), it has such freshness and vitality, that it somehow feels as though it could have been made yesterday. His breath control and phrasing are marvelous, in the up-tempo numbers as well as the ballads...the songs performed are: For Once in My Life/ Help Me Make it Through the Night/ Can't Take My Eyes off of You/ Bridge Over Troubled Water/ Beyond the Sea/ Higher and Higher/ Midnight Special/ If I Was a Carpenter/ Lonesome Whistle/ A Simple Song of Freedom/ You are My Sunshine/ Bo Diddley/ Splish Splash, and it ends with Mack the Knife, which is taken from the beginning of the show while he's still wearing his tie. A few ad-libs are not miked well and are nearly inaudible, but most of them are fine and very funny. He plays the guitar in a flamenco bit, the piano and the harmonica, and his back-up band is terrific, as well as the trio of singers called The Last Chapter.
This is a fast moving hour and 12 minutes...and a wonderful record of this multi-talented showman. If you're a Darin fan, don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Best Darin DVD
Review: This is the best Darin DVD available - Bobby died several months after this performance. This incredible DVD showcases better than any - and better than many of his CDs- the range of talent this man embodied. From "Beyond the Sea" to "Midnight Special," you get 200 percent of everything Bobby had to give. His energy in this performance is incredible, almost as if he knew it was his final. What's more, this performance had not been thoroughly rehearsed, Bobby had his oxygen sitting backstage to take hits from between songs, and if you watch closely, you'll see him working to get blood circulating through his hands. This is Bobby Darin at his cumulative best and shows what he could do with a song that no other vocalist can do.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome entertainer!!!
Review: Until I saw this DVD on public television, I had no idea that Bobby Darin was as talented as he is. I've been a fan for a long time, but never knew of his versatility. This program proved it. Bobby sang his heart out and moved like the best young dancers of today. He did impressions, played harmonica, guitar and piano; told jokes and bantered with his band and audience. He exudes total confidence and is a very nice piece of eye candy, to boot. Watching it, you'd have no idea that he was very sick and would succomb to his heart problem just nine months later. While I was a little disappointed in how little of his hits are showcased in this program, the versatility that he shows in performing others' material is fantastic! He puts his own spin on things and seems to be totally immersed in the music and enjoying himself. I especially enjoyed his "Bo Diddly" number. Although this show was done back in 1973, the vibrant color and sound are as if it were done yesterday. I really enjoyed it. What a shame that this was Bobby's last performance which was apparently never aired. But thankfully through the power of video and DVD, fans and future fans, alike, can enjoy this remarkable performer for years to come. I am only 38 years old, but I'd rather watch a show like this then sit through a lot of the "stuff" of today.
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