Anyone else a fan of Nat King Cole? (1 Viewer)

[StephenA]

I love Nat King Cole, and he's now my favorite singer. I only have The Unforgettable Nat King Cole right. Myu favorite songs from him are:

Mona Lisa
L-O-V-E
Unforgettable
Route 66
Smile
Lush Life
That Sunday, That Summer

For those who like him, what else do you reccomend I listen to?

 

[Rachael B]

Try something from his early days with his jazz trio. The recording is rougher but it's great stuff. His first guitarist Oscar Moore set the mold for modern jazz guitarists, IMO. There's alot of Trio collections out there and they vary wildly in quality. The best one I've heard is:

Nat King Cole Trio - 1943/49 THE VOCAL SIDES, Delta Music, (11044).

It's a German import. It's culled from live radio performances. It features: WHAT CAN I SAY AFTER I SAY I'M SORRY, I'M THROUGH WITH LOVE, GEE BABY AIN'T I GOOD TO YOU, TOO MARVELOUS FOR WORDS, THE MAN I LOVE, and 13 more tracks. Best wishes!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Who ISN'T a Nat King Cole fan?

Capitol has re-released some nice things by Nat. One of my faves is The Complete After Midnight Sessions with the Trio and soloists Harry "Sweets" Edison, Willie Smith, Juan Tizol and Stuff Smith.



I also recommend an awesome four disc set put out by Capitol which is fairly comprehensive of Nat's career--if its still in print.

I DO agree with Rachael that Nat's earlier stuff with the trio is MUCH better than the later Capitol stuff with Ralph Carmichael, Gordon Jenkins, etc. I really wish they hadn't tried to turn him into Frank Sinatra.

What a smooth voice.

 

[Rachael B]

Mike, I know alot of Ozzie and Coldplay fans who'd beg to differ with US over Nat!

That one you're touting sure looks nice. I'll proably end up aqquiring it. Thanks and best wishes!

 

[Danny Tse]

What those who don't know, Nat King Cole is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[John Watson]

I think I had that song "Send for me" on a cd, and thought it was almost R&B, but Nat King Cole in the R&R Hall of Fame is wierd.

The nxt thing ya know, Percy Faith will be there too!

 

[Danny Tse]

John,

Nat King Cole was inducted as an early influence to R&R. I have one of those thick books that listed ratings of every R&R CD, and Nat King Cole was again cited as an early influence to R&R.

You have to admit that Mr. Cole is sooooo very smooth.

 

[Julian Reville]

Nat "King" Cole has the most resonant voice and best diction of any male singer I know of. And he could swing, too. I have several of his LPs and some more on the way.

As far as his best songs, don't forget his definitive "The Christmas Song". Puts the Mathis version to shame.

 

[Mike Frezon]

And, again, go with the earlier version from 1946 with the trio and only a string quartet (or sextet, I can't remember which). Far superior to the well-worn 1961 Ralph Carmichael version--which is, itself, great.

He is also undervalued as a pianist. His keybaord work ranks with the best of them. For anyone who is interested, Diana Krall did an EXCELLENT tribute album to Nat a few years ago which ranks as one of my all-time fave CDs.



She rocks and swings with the same early enthusiasm as Nat.

 

[StephenA]

Thanks everyone for responding. More opinions are welcome.

 

[Paul.S]

Anyone have the OOP DCC gold CDs of his Greatest Hits, The Very Thought Of You and/or Love Is the Thing? Worth paying north of $80 for when they pop up via Amazon Marketplace third-party sellers? Capitol's DVD-A release sked has been very spotty . . .

-p