Pat Boone - My 10th Anniversary With Dot Records (1965)

Pat Boone's tenth anniversary album includes three outstanding tracks, but beyond that provides no cause for celebration. "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming," the album's lead-off track, is a dandy. The stunning, fresh arrangements given to this pleasant but unremarkable Patti Page hit totally transforms it into a musical pearl. Credit for this goes largely to Billy Vaughn for the distinctive, flavorful sound his arranging skills produce. Though his fine touch is apparent throughout the album's 12 tracks, most of the songs fail to realize their potential because Boone's voice, simply put, is not in its customary fine fettle. This creates an air of something akin to apathy on several tracks. A curious exception to this is "Pass Me By," a rousing "Strike Up the Band" type number in which Boone's singing seems as good as ever. It's too bad that the spirit and enthusiasm he brings to this piece does not carry over into the rest of the album. The compilation's third and final top-notch track is "Release Me." This recording comes two years before the famous Engelbert Humperdinck hit of 1967 but is actually closer in style to the Esther Phillips original of 1962. Boone immerses himself entirely into its mood and lyrics, and the effect is unreservedly convincing. It would have been better had "Pearly Shells" and "My Love Forgive Me" been excluded. The former is tolerable as an instrumental but the addition of several lines of insipid lyrics seals its fate as the album's weakest track. The latter compares unfavorably with the popular original version and is the album's second most ineffective entry. There were several good Pat Boone albums yet to come in the 1960s, but his tenth anniversary effort would remain as one of his two most disappointing. ~ Arthur Rowe

Tracklist:
1.01 - Pat Boone - With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming (2:24)
1.02 - Pat Boone - Red Roses For A Blue Lady (2:25)
1.03 - Pat Boone - Maybe (2:53)
1.04 - Pat Boone - Release Me (3:04)
1.05 - Pat Boone - Willow Weep For Me (2:22)
1.06 - Pat Boone - Dear Heart (2:31)
1.07 - Pat Boone - (It’s No) Sin (2:14)
1.08 - Pat Boone - Pass Me By (2:23)
1.09 - Pat Boone - My Love Forgive Me (2:25)
1.10 - Pat Boone - When Did You Leave Heaven (2:33)
1.11 - Pat Boone - The Girl From Ipanema (2:44)
1.12 - Pat Boone - Pearly Shells (2:47)