Nat King Cole - The Greatest HIts [DCC GZS-1127]
EAC | Flac-Cue-Log | 352Mb RAR'D - 3% Recovery | RS Links
Scans Included | Original Release: 1994 - This Release: 1998
EAC | Flac-Cue-Log | 352Mb RAR'D - 3% Recovery | RS Links
Scans Included | Original Release: 1994 - This Release: 1998
Nat King Cole remains a huge influence on today's younger artists--and rightly so. Nat King Cole could take a classic number and sing it as if it were the world's most beautiful and freshest ballad--ever. His voice on this CD is consistently energetic and full of masculine warmth; and the songs on CD represent a collection of Nat's greatest hit singles.
A true best-of Nat "King" Cole collection would run at least six discs and about half that many styles. But this set, properly named The Greatest Hits, focuses on the more visible final stage of Cole’s career. After beginning as an influential if under-appreciated West Coast jazz pianist in the late ‘30s, Cole expanded into swinging jazz vocals in late 1940 with a Decca session that included a popular version of "Sweet Lorraine." Additional jazz and jazz-vocal sides as well as the widely loved Christmas pop sessions followed throughout the ‘40s. By the early ‘50s, the popularity of his vocal sides, with that smooth, enveloping, and masculine delivery, naturally led to more pop-oriented settings. This collection has a single track from 1946, another from 1954 (both in mono), with the remaining 20 songs coming from the more commercial 1958-63 period.
Many of the songs from these later sessions are merely vehicles for Cole’s voice, but his assured style and perfect delivery make the performances worthwhile. "Mona Lisa," with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra backing, is as good as pop will ever get. "Unforgettable," which opens the disc as a solo number and closes it as the 1991 Grammy-winning posthumous duet with daughter Natalie, is also pop perfection. On the other hand, "Straighten Up And Fly Right," "You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" and "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" give us a picture of Cole not just as a singer, but in his first setting, as the pianist of the prototypical piano/guitar/bass trio. This view offers a glimpse of just how much was lost when Cole shifted focus from player to singer. But the pop songs here, "Nature Boy," "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66," and "Walkin’ My Baby Back Home," among others, are well worth the admission price.
Tracks:
01. Unforgettable [3:28
02. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 [3:00]
03. Orange Colored Sky [2:36]
04. Mona Lisa [3:29]
05. Walkin' My Baby Back Home [2:44]
06. Straighten Up and Fly Right [2:43]
07. Send for Me [2:32]
08. Looking Back [2:31]
09. You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) [3:08]
10. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons [3:09]
11. Nature Boy [2:57]
12. Ramblin' Rose [2:54]
13. Pretend [2:50]
14. Too Young [3:28]
15. Somewhere Along the Way [3:03]
16. Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer [2:59]
17. Smile [2:57]
18. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup [2:53]
19. Answer Me, My Love [3:00]
20. A Blossom Fell [2:47]
21. If I May [3:07]
22. Unforgettable (Duet with Natalie Cole) [3:32]
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