Ultra Lounge: Vegas Baby

The Special Edition disc has a green felt cover, with a roulette wheel toy in the center that has the Ultra-Lounge logo on it (it doesn't spin; it's more like one of those Cracker Jack toys where you tip the game to move a silver ball around). The toy is fun, but makes you wonder how you'll stack it on the shelf with your other CDs.

Look at this Loungey line-up: Mel Torme, Bobby Darin, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Wayne Newton, Count Basie, and even Tom Jones! Loius Prima and Keely Smith sing one of their classic standards, and Dino and Sammy are right on the money. You'll be pulling right into Swanksville, baby!

The only thing missing here (and this is a big-time mystery!), is why there's no Frank on this disc. Sinatra's "Luck, Be a Lady" would have been perfect, and even if there's no Frank, the song itself belongs on this album. This oversight is pretty major, and takes the fizz right out of your club soda. For shame, Capitol!

Even so, this ain't no sucker bet, pally. Roll them dice, order this CD, and Lady Luck will be at your side all night!

No album with the name "Vegas" in the title would be complete without the vocal stylings of Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Tom Jones, or, of course, Wayne Newton. Yep, we've got "Danke Schoen," we've got the quintessential Tom Jones Vegas tune "It's Not Unusual," and we've got the "theme song" from the original "Ocean's Eleven": Dino singing "Ain't That a Kick In the Head."

The only downside is that this album is similar in theme and overlapping in tunes with the "Wild, Cool & Swingin'" albums that Ultra-Lounge has previously put out. I own both of those, but I thought there was enough new music to make this purchase worthwhile.

This is the soundtrack for cheesy, wonderful, 60's Vegas. Plus, the "Limited Edition" version you're looking at has a fuzzy craps-table felt exterior with a little roulette wheel in the center. All this and a Bobby Darin bonus track. "It is betting time!"