Since
Dean Martin had been cold on the singles charts for some time -- he hadn't scored a Top 40 hit in six years -- the success of "Everybody Loves Somebody," which took off for number one upon its release in May 1964, caught Reprise Records by surprise. The label already had a
Martin album on its schedule,
Dream With Dean, and that LP even contained "Everybody Loves Somebody." But that was an earlier recording, not the one racing up the singles charts. So, in order to take advantage of the success of the 45, Reprise slapped together this album from stray recordings dating back to
Martin's first recording session for the label more than two years before and issued it with the subtitle "The Hit Version" emblazoned on the album cover on the same day that
Dream With Dean was shipped. In addition to "Everybody Loves Somebody," there were also two other tracks recorded at the same April 16, 1964, session and previously unreleased ("Your Other Love," "Siesta Fiesta"), the B-side of the single ("A Little Voice"), two tracks previously released on singles in 1962 ("Baby-O," "Just Close Your Eyes"), four tracks from the 1963 album
Country Style ("Shutters and Boards," "Things," "My Heart Cries for You," "Face in a Crowd"), and two songs from the 1963 album
Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again ("From Lover to Loser," "Corrine Corrina"). Of course, the shopworn nature of the collection didn't matter; Everybody Loves Somebody topped the LP charts and went gold on the strength of its title song. But it isn't one of
Martin's more memorable records. ~ William Ruhlmann