Bobby Darin   Early Bobby Darin El Toro Records ETCD1018 1 - Silly Willy (B Darin/D Kirshner/GM Shaw) Decca - 2 - Help Me (C Coben) Decca - 3 - Rock Island Line (L. Donegan) Decca - 4 - Wear My Ring (B Darin/D Kirshner) Atco -5 - (I Found A) Million Dollar Baby (B Rose /M Dixon /H Warren ) Atco - 6 - The Greatest Builder C Coben/M Gabler) Decca - 7 - Don't Call My Name (B Darin/D Kirshner) Atco - 8 - Timber (B Darin/D Kirshner/GM Shaw) Decca - 9 - Pretty Betty (B Darin/D Kirshner) Atco -10- I Can't Go On (D Pomus / M Shuman) Atco -11 - Hear Them Bells (M Garson/B Kaye) Decca -12 - Talk To Me Something (B Darin/D Kirshner) Atco- 13 - Pretty Betty (take 5) (Bobby Darin/Don Kirshner) - Unreleased- 14 - Dealer In Dreams (B Darin/D Kirshner) Decca -15 - Don't Call My Name (take 3) (B Darin/D Kirshner) - Unrelased - 16 - Blue-Eyed Mermaid (B Short) Decca -17 - Just In Case You Change Your Mind (H Patterson / M Bell) Atco It's hard to imagine while listening to this compilation album that Bobby Darin, with hits like Beyond The Sea or Mack The Knife would later be able to challenge Frank Sinatra on his own ground, or recorded rock'n'roll (Splish Splash) and swingin' tunes (As Long As I'm Singing). None of this here. The majority of the songs included here are insipid pop songs with poor arrangements. The few songs you could save are "Rock Island Line" (but it's more for the song itself than Darin's rendition), "Timber" and "Blue Eye Mermaid" that owes a lot to Ghost Riders In The Sky. But I suppose Darin's fans would get this one as it offers an interesting view to an artist that would later mature. Fred "Virgil" Turgis