Search - Natalie Cole :: Good to Be Back

I miss you like crazy

Nathaniel Marsaleno McGhee | 05/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently my wife passed away and this was our favorite song. It brings me to tears every time I play this song but this way I will never forget her.."

Perhaps Natalie's best in the pop genre

libby | 09/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Natalie Cole is now famous as being a jazz singer in the tradition of her late father, Nat "King" Cole. I have listened to her sing jazz, and even saw her in concert, and still believe that Natalie is NOT a jazz singer! I'm not saying that she sounds terrible or anything, I just think that her music was much stronger when she was not doing scat singing, working with a full orchestra, etc. Natalie Cole is a great artist, but I really miss the pop side of her music. This album is the strongest Natalie album I have heard, and should have done way better on the charts.
The album offers a mixture of styles that Natalie can sing really well. There are big ballads, danceable funky numbers, and relaxed soul songs. The album always has a cohesive sound to it, as if the first and the last songs ("Safe" and "Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat"), although very different in style, could still belong on the same album. My favourite is easily "Miss You Like Crazy", a huge chart hit in 1989, and yet a song that seems to rarely gets radio play anymore. It's strong in that the whole song is a crescendo, complete with the classic Michael Masser key changes. Natalie's high range hits the notes perfectly, complete with the emotion that the song evokes. Another favourite is "Gonna Make You Mine", a mid-tempo number with simple lyrics and neat jazzy chord progressions, but could still be considered a pop song. "Rest Of The Night" is another good one, with soaring vocals and a neat key change. Other good songs are the dancy "Safe", the modern-sounding "I Can't Cry", and the 1980's R&B of "Good To Be Back".
The album does contain some weak spots. "As A Matter Of Fact" is a little too much like "filler" material in my opinion. "Starting Over Again" seems too empty, and I prefer Dionne Warwick's 1981 version on the "Hot! Live And Otherwise" album. Obviously, my least favourite is the scat-jazz of "Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat". Jazz lovers will like this, but I'm not inclined towards jazz.
For someone looking for Natalie Cole material without too much of a jazz influence, this album is a perfect choice. It has fewer hit singles than 1987's "Everlasting", but is a stronger album. It certainly was good for Natalie to "be back" with this album."

Natalie Cole Good To Be Back

Nathaniel Marsaleno McGhee | Cleveland, Ohio United States | 07/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Natalie Cole's 1989 Pop-Rock Album Good To Be Back was a perfect way for her to end the 1980's,because she ends it on a possitive note.The songs are Safe,As A Matter Of Fact,The Rest Of The Night,Miss You Like Crazy which sometimes makes me think of my grandmother's 1987 death,I Do her duet with Freddie Jackson,the title-cut Good To Be Back,Gonna Make You Mine,the remake of Dionne Warwick's Starting Over Again,Don't Mention My Heartache,the personal I Can't Cry,and the Remake of the late Dinah Washington's Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat."