#1 for weeks of September 21, 28, and October 5th, 1963.
Well Mr. Vinton, we meet again. For those of you who have been following my reviews from the beginning, you will probably remember me voting Bobby Vinton's "Roses Are Red (My Love)" as the weakest song to hit #1 in 1962. Not that the song was awful or unlistenable, but more that the song was incredibly dated, sappy, and too mellow. Over a year later, he scored another #1 with "Blue Velvet". Does he progress on his original sound? Is this song a step in the right direction?...No, Not even remotely. But...
It's clear that Bobby Vinton found a style and stuck with it. While that style does sound quite a deal better than modern top 40 pop garbage, I find this overly romantic orchestrated lovestruck style to not be what I gravitate towards. This song could have easily been recorded in the 1950's, but here we are in 1963. Still, I am being a bit hard on the song so I'll leave my personal opinions at the door and give this song a more justified rating.
First off, this was originally made famous by Tony Bennett way back in the early 1950's, and Bobby does a good job at keeping the spirit of the original alive. I can also say the "Blue Velvet" line in the song has a strong tendency to get stuck in your head. Again, Bobby has a good singing voice and he puts it to good use here. Even the backing vocals are much better sounding than on "Roses Are Red". Finally, the instrument track has a bit more of a guitar ballad feel as opposed to an overly symphonic pop song. Not too bad actually.
So does this song hold up today? Maybe in certain circumstances such as a romantic candlelit evening or in a good film. However, when we have a version by Tony Bennett, a singer who's name has lived on through the 21st century, I can't see this cover version being remembered as fondly as time goes on.
Final Verdict - While again not my style, this rendition of the tune is harmless and gentle enough that those who are a fan of the genre will no doubt appreciate it.
Coming Up Next - "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer And The Fireballs.
Until Next Time - I'm "doooooooooooooooooocter" Rock
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