Eee-O-11: The Best Of The Rat Pack
Timed to the release of the 2001 remake of theSinatra-Martin-Davisanti-classicOcean's 11, this 18-track compendium serves as less a best-of than an introduction to the high-living nightclub ethos the Rat Pack embodied. Along with some true knockouts, mostly from Frank's catalog,Eee-O 11's mostly beltingly upbeat tracks also include the impossibly corny (a "When You're Smiling" that seems to be putting Dino himself to sleep) and a couple of straitjacketed studio takes on the Pack'sonstageantics (both Sammy duets). Handily,11culls one of the original movie's few high points--the rousing Davis blues that provides this disc's title--for a closer. Those drawn in by the newer flick will find this a welcome package, as will swingin' initiates looking for a road-trip CD soundtrack.--Rickey Wright