Search - Nat King Cole :: This Is Nat "King" Cole

SMOOTH & SCINTILLATING: NAT "KING" COLE's FABULOUS LOVE BALL

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 06/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five BIG Stars!! AWESOME, Brilliant Ballad Singing!! This CD captures the fabulous pop music and jazz singer Nat "King" Cole in smooth and scintilating singing form, singing some classic songs, many that were on the old 'Hit Parade" and BillBoard charts. They have become timeless masterpieces of Mr Cole's singing wizardry. The standard 12 songs from the original "This Is Nat "King" Cole vinyl LP record are here plus 4 wonderful songs that are rarely heard and certainly could have 'made the cut'. While these do not include the Nat Cole mega-hits like "Mona Lisa", (They Tried to Tell Us We're) "Too Young", "Nature Boy", "Unforgettable", Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" and "For Sentimental Reasons", many of these were hit chart-makers that are certainly in the same class as his huge hits.



The 'best of the best' in this set, which is primarily smooth love ballads, begins with a song that is so compellingly beautiful and well done that I've seldom heard anyone else of statute attempt it: "Too Young To Go Steady" with Nelson Riddle's amazing musical colorations and a 'bridge' that is nothing short of amazing. "Never Let Me Go", "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life", and "Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow" are overpoweringly beautiful in vocal and musical arrangement execution. Three of my all-time favorites are "Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You", "That's All", and "To The Ends of the Earth", each of which were chart makers. The fact that the splendid bonus tracks "Don't Hurt The Girl", "Small Towns Are Smile Towns, "My Flaming Heart", and "United" are finally being widely released is commendable. Wonderfully recorded with fidelity that needs no re-mastering. Kudos to Nelson Riddle's masterful, imaginative arrangements. My Highest Recommendation. Five MASTERFUL Stars!!

(Audio CD, 47:06, 16 Tracks, informative notes with original cover and back photos,

Trivia:

*Nat Cole was with Capitol Records his entire pop music career; the unique circular, turntable platter-like Capitol Records building in Los Angeles is known as the "house that Nat Cole built" based on his enormous record sales.

*He was the first black artist to have a TV show.

*And let's not forget Cole's influence as a seminal 'jazz trio' influence along with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Johnny Miller on future trio leaders such as Ahmad Jamal and Oscar Peterson, using his drum-less piano, bass, guitar format.

*And Cole was one of jazz' premier, Metromome poll-winning jazz pianists, before his pop record sales took over his career.)"

Annabelle

Mrs. Maria Costa Bir | Sydney | 02/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent music - I had been looking for "Anabelle" all these years. It is one of Nat King Cole's best songs."