Somehow I missed this one, maybe because it never received any publicity, but apparently late last year a bunch of people thought it would be a really novel idea to sing and banter along with a dead celebrity, namely Dean Martin, on some of his old classics. The result was an album of "duets" done a la a series of "Duets" albums with Frank Sinatra and other singers after his death. Now you can see why "Forever Cool" didn't receive much publicity. Singers and stars like Martina McBride, Joss Stone, Chris Botti, Kevin Spacey, and Shelby Lynne contributed to the project.Now don't get me wrong. When Natalie Cole redid her famous dad's "Unforgettable" with him post-mortem it was indeed unforgettable. They shared the same blood, after all. But I sampled "Forever Cool" on Amazon and Finetune and the only suitable match for Dean's voice is Kevin Spacey's, still fresh from emulating Bobby Darin in "Beyond the Sea." He sings along with Martin on "King of the Road" and "Ain't That A Kick In The Head." But some of the others...eh, furgettaboughit. Check out the promo video on the Amazon site and listen to what Robbie Williams has to say, namely that he wants to BE Dean Martin.
Let's make one thing clear: Robbie Williams will never be Dean Martin. If you still want to torture yourself, the CD is selling for $13.97 on Amazon. Better yet I recommend any of Dino's "best of" CDs and that you just listen to the one and only (and emphasis on the word "only") Dean Martin.
