As excitement builds up to the premiere of "Ocean's 11" (remake of the original which starred Sinatra, Martin and Davis) less than two months from now, the ring-a-ding-ding years of the Rat Pack and its three central figures - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. - are celebrated on a pair of new Capitol album releases that turn up the cool and turn back the clock nearly four decades.

THE RAT PACK LIVE AT THE SANDS, a previously unreleased recording of "the merry triumvirate's" unforgettable performance at the famed Las Vegas hotel's Copa Room on September 7, 1963, and Eee-O-11, the first time that 18 of their signature recordings (ranging from 1952 to 1964) have been officially collected on one album - are scheduled for November 20th in-store date. Both albums feature liner notes written by Bill Zehme, the well-known Hollywood biographer of the Chairman of the Board (The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin'), Jay Leno (Leading With My Chin), Andy Kaufman and others.

From Dean's opening medley of "Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes/I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine/I Love Vegas (Paris)," to the threesome's closing romp on "The Oldest Established (Permanent Floating Crap Game In New York)," Frank, Dean and Sammy command the Las Vegas stage for more than an hour.

THE RAT PACK LIVE AT THE SANDS presents the show just as it happened that night, complete with wisecracks, dialogue, impressions, mixed drinks - and plenty of great music. Included are such touchstones as "June In January," "Volare" (by Dean); "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Call Me Irresponsible," "My Heart Stood Still," "Please Be Kind," "I Have Dreamed," and "Luck Be A Lady" (by Frank); and "The Lady Is A Tramp" (by Sammy).

Staying true to the spirit of the era, Eee-O-11 takes its title from its closing track, the original "Ocean's 11" movie theme by Sammy Davis Jr., released only as a collectors item single (on Verve) back in 1960. The collection is divided (and alternates back and forth) between classic sides by Frank, Dean and Sammy at what many consider the artistic heights of their careers. Sinatra is represented by his Capitol recordings circa 1954 to '58, "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," "(Love Is) The Tender Trap," "Mr. Success," "You Make Me Feel So Young," "The Lady Is A Tramp," "Chicago," and "Witchcraft," one of his biggest top 10 hit of the 1950s.

Dean Martin is represented on Eee-O-11 by his Capitol and Reprise recordings of the '50s and '60s, including "Volare," "When You're Smiling," "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You," "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" (which he and Sammy sang in "Ocean's 11"), and "I'm Sitting On Top Of The World." In addition to "Eee-O Eleven," Sammy Davis Jr. is heard on his 1962-63 Reprise recordings of "Too Close For Comfort," "A Lot Of Livin' To Do," "The Birth Of The Blues," and both sides of his rare non-LP duets single of "Me And My Shadow" (with Frank) b/w "Sam's Song" (with Dean).

The releases of THE RAT PACK LIVE AT THE SANDS and Eee-O-11 are sure to attract attention as anticipation mounts in advance of the opening of "Ocean's 11" on December 7th. Award winning director Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Eric Brockovich") has assembled an all-star cast led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and others (plus many surprise guests whose identities are being kept under wraps). The Warner Bros./ Village Pictures Roadshow production is a contemporary remake of the 1960 film that introduced the Rat Pack on-screen - Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, along with 28-year old Angie Dickinson and several guests in cameo roles.

Rat Pack mythology was shaped during the filming of "Ocean's 11" in very early 1960. The five leading men went through their paces with veteran movie director Lewis Milestone during the day and then gathered onstage at the Sands Hotel at night. These "Summit Meetings" not only galvanized Las Vegas as thousands of visitors poured into the gambling mecca without a prayer of getting a room reservation, but also made headlines and piqued imaginations as news reverberated around the world.

The Rat Pack's support of Senator John F. Kennedy (Lawford's brother-in-law) in his bid for the presidency became a cornerstone of his campaign, even as he was a ringside visitor at their shows. It was a moment in time, in history, never to be repeated. "There they were," writes Bill Zehme in his liner notes to THE RAT PACK LIVE AT THE SANDS, "twice nightly, without fail, tearing it up together through the dinner show at eight and back again at midnight, primed for even greater mayhem and off-color foolery."

As Zehme paraphrases Dean Martin in the notes to Eee-O-11, "It's a gasser... It's fun. Anybody who says its work doesn't know what he's talking about... Appearin' with Frank, Sam, Joe, Pete - at the Summit Meeting - why, that's more fun than I ever had in my whole life."

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