Cool Then, Cool Now

"DEAN MARTIN cool then, cool now" is a fun photo essay of how cool Dean Martin's life was during the best of times. This is a combo photo album and dual CD musical tribute ... let's hit on the book first.The Book...It's important to note that "cool then, cool now" is not a biography or expose; there are several books that fit that bill (try Shawn Levy's Rat Pack Confidential), but this Dean Martin Family Trust effort is essentially a photo album. With the exception of a forward from Kevin Spacey and brief intros at the beginning of each major section, the only words in the book are captions under the photos. That said, the writing that does appear is nicely done -- just enough to lend some context, humor and poignancy to the great pictures.Speaking of the pics, the quality of the photography and the book overall is excellent. The photos are beautiful -- looking and feeling like actual photographs -- you'll find yourself trying not to touch them when turning the pages!The book is laid out in life-sections following a one page introduction from Kevin Spacey. Spacey's forward is a well written tribute to Dean, the actor, performer... and of course the king of cool. Spacey does a nice job of showing how Dean -- a generation away -- made such a difference in Kevin's approach to acting and performing. It's a surprisingly personal and sentimental slice of Spacey and a great leadoff for the book.The Entertainer...The first section is briefly introduced by Robbie Williams, who also sings a remastered Please Don't Talk About Me duet with Dean on the CD. This section is a mix of studio shots of a completely "at ease" Martin while he's recording the classic songs we all remember, along with some great stage shots of Dean with the Rat Pack regulars. The stage shots are great but very familiar. My favorite material in this section are the studio shots. For some reason Dean's coolness resonates best with me when I see him genuinely relaxed and delivering "the smooth" during these recording sessions.The Family Man...Gail Martin Downey leads us into the typical family photo section with a loving daughter's perspective on growing up with "the charming guy everybody watched on Thursday nights". The photos cover candid and composed family shots with all the kids and wives. As I mentioned before, this is not a comprehensive collection -- none of the sad moments that befell Dean late in life and that's just fine. This book is all about the cool happy times and this section is just a big slice of the good life at the Martin family house.The Man About Town...With a funny intro by Shirley MacLaine this section of the book delivers exactly what you expect -- Dean out on the town with scores of stars from stage, screen and politics. Great shots of Dean carousing with the biggest stars ... and all the while you know he'd rather get home early so he could make his tee time in the morning! Which leads us to...The Sportsman...Given Dean's passion for golf this section is appropriately intro'd with a brief anecdote from Arnold Palmer. Only 5 pages of golf and a couple of Dodger's photos, this is the shortest section of the 60 page book.The Movie Star...A fun photo review of Martin's prime movie appearances from 1953 to 1970 with a poignant introduction from Jerry Lewis. These are great pics from a score of movies with my favorite being the classic photo of Dean, Frank, Sam and Peter around a pool table in "Oceans 11' -- gorgeous period shot ... everybody in their prime.Dual CD Remix Album...The back cover contains a dual CD remaster of 26 classic Dean Martin favorites, plus synthetic duets with Kevin Spacey ("Ain't That A Kick In The Head") and Robbie Williams ("Please Don't Talk About Me"). The 26 classic Dean Martin songs are nicely remastered but not really meaningfully different from their counterpart versions available on any number of Martin Albums. It's a nice compilation... complements the photos nicely, but nothing special and not worth rehashing here. If you're looking for something new or rare, you won't find it in this compilation.With regard to the duets... sigh. OK, I have a problem with synthetic duets in general (check out my "Duets with the Dead" post on the Vocalstandards site), but my weird moral issues aside both the Spacey and Williams duets are well produced, sound great and come off natural. They are both enjoyable tracks -- they're not worth buying this book/album to get, but nice additions if you've already plopped your money down. Which brings me to...The Conclusion...Though this is a combo photo album and dual CD compilation, "DEAN MARTIN cool then, cool now" is worth picking up only if you're into the photo essay side of the equation. The music is a nice addition but the high quality photo collection is where the real value lies. And that value is probably only worth it to avowed Dean Martin hyper-fans or collectors (where I reside to be sure). Hey, when you gotta have it, you gotta have it!

I purchased this item as a birthday gift for my dad. He loved this book! He was so excited to see photos that have not been released until now. He grew up with the Rat Pack generation and it was nothing but memories for him. I personaly liked how the book had the 70's style hard cover with the cut out pictures. It made the book that much more original. Great purchase and I have no regrets! Amazon was the only place I found the 2 disc set that came with the book. All major book stores only carried the disc set and it cost more!

Great CD. Great buy. LA is my home is a great song. I never had that song. Now I do. Thanks

Dean Martin was, and still is, one of the greatest entertainers to ever walk the face of the earth. This book shows candid photos from his family life, which paint a much different picture than the swinging nightlife he took part in. I haven't listened to the CD's yet, but I know that they will be fabulous.

Awesome - Everything by Dean is great

The book is a quality product, and it's great to see all the photos throughout his career. Avery memorable product.

Who does not love Dean Martin? His voice can always get to me, and who can not enjoy his humor. Handsome and Italian. Who could ask for anything more.

All Dean Martin Pallies will be thrilled when they receive their book and CDs. Very well put together and the CDs are such a nice surprise.

Ce recueil de photos pour les fans de Dean Martin (et les autres) est étonnant. L'ensemble paraît plutôt kitsch avec des photos de famille favorisant le voyeurisme mais qui sont des images de bonheur. Bonheur pour magazine mais bonheur-réel-tout de même. Puis des photos de studio, des photos de scène et de cinéma et une étonnante photo de Dean jouant au poker avec Tony Curtis et Milton Berle, Sammy Cahn observant la scène, photo digne d'un film noir, on se croirait dans Le Faucon Maltais...Mais la surprise vient des 2 CD. Certes, on a déjà vu Dean maltraité par des "triturages" de bande-son et ici on a un faux duo avec Kevin Spacey, un autre avec Robbie Williams (Chante avec les morts!) mais la remastérisation des autres titres est stupéfiante! Jamais on avait entendu ainsi la voix de Dean, subtile, détaillée, émouvante, jusqu'aux instruments, détaillés à la perfection (pour qui connait les versions vinyle ou CD qui cafouillent...). C'est sublime, c'est un bonheur renouvelé, un hommage à la voix de Dean, un sommet. Alors si c'est possible sur 28 titres, on se dit que toute l'œuvre de Dean doit être ainsi revisitée.Dean au sommet de son art et, techniquement, du grand art!Bravo à HIP-O records!

ENJOYED THE ALBUM AND THE CD'S OF DEAN MARTIN'S RENDITION OF THE SONGS HE POPULARIZED

Magnifique foto's sur la vie de Dean Martin,chanteur,acteur,et aussi sa vie privée.Deux cd's avec des splendites chansons, du grand Dino.