Search - Nat King Cole :: 10-CD Set

Kevin G. (kkg-ct) from NEW FAIRFIELD, CT
Reviewed on 2/22/2023...

When you review the great voices , Ella, Frank, usually one name would do...unless only 3 will do.You have to commit to a stylist whose early works in the mid 1940 trio days seriously up tempo, crisp clean energetic club sets. The honey toned balladeer came later, the chronological order of the disks permits an appreciation of the maturation and evolution in style, hep cat swing to the soul of a song. Alas a collection of this breadth should have had a detailed liner booklet, may be out there.

No Embellishments - Just 11 Hours Of The Best Of Nat "King"

10/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This incredible bargain may have slipped my notice entirely had I not been given a heads-up by one of the Top 20 reviewers here at Amazon, Peter Harris, who knew of my fondness for Nat "King" Cole. The first question someone will ask is, how can they sell a 10-CD set containing 233 songs for that ridiculous price? Well, perhaps one answer is, there are no liner notes nor discography/sessionography.



The discs come in individual sleeves (all bearing the same picture you see above) in a small cardboard box with the tracks broken down as follows: CD 1 - Harlem Swing - 1 to 24; CD 2 - Hit That Jive Jack - tracks 25 to 48; CD 3 - What Is This Thing Called Love - tracks 49 to 72; CD 4 - I'm A Shy Guy - tracks 73 to 97; CD 5 - Route 66 - tracks 98 to 120; CD 6 - For Sentimental Reasons - tracks121 to 142; CD 7 - These Foolish Tings - tracks 143 to 166; CD 8 - Little Girl - tracks 167 to 189; CD 9 - My Fair Lady - tracks 190 to 209; CD 10 - That's My Girl - tracks 210 to 233 (note that, on the sleeves, the tracks are numbered from 1 up according to the contents of each sleeve).



The sound quality of this 2005 release from Membran International GmbH of Hamburg, Germany is, however, remarkably good, and that is particularly important when it comes to the earliest cuts which date back to 1936! And rest assured, ALL are original renditions, with many of Nat's biggest hits included, both on the R&B and Pop charts, covering his pre-Trio days, then with the legendary King Cole Trio, and finally as a solo artist working with some of the best bands of his era.



To try and go through all 233 tracks would make this review far too long, so what I have done is show his singles discography in the Comments section, including his contributions to the V-Disc label (V for Victory), produced during World War II as the result of a special deal cooked up between Washington and the recording companies whereby U.S. military personnel overseas had access to the best the entertainment industry had to offer. Each was a 12-inch 78 rpm disc that actually were produced from 1943 to 1949.



A marvelous, compact box-set that contains many of the singles listed in the comments and which you cannot pass up if you are a fan of this legendary artist."

Deal

harrold | los angeles | 12/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I thought it was a typo: You get 10 CDs, it's good basic Nat King Cole....how can you go wrong at the price?"