AMG Review of Spotlight on Dean Martin [Great Gentlemen of Song]

John Bush
All Music Guide

Unlike many in Capitol's Spotlight On... series, Dean Martin's volume isn't quite the all-encompassing hits collection it appears to be from the package. Of the 18 tracks, each was recorded at either of two sessions -- January 1959 and May 1960 -- just over a year apart, which doesn't exactly make the album a career retrospective. Still, it includes many of the great dreamy ballads Martin was renowned for, including "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You," "Just in Time," "Goodnight Sweetheart," "Dream a Little Dream of Me," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," "All I Do Is Dream of You" and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone." There are several better Dean Martin compilations out there, but Spotlight On... can be interesting for fans and neophytes alike.