Search - Nat King Cole :: Unforgettable Nat King Cole

Great Songs -Sound Quality Disappointing

Gary S. Freed | Elkins Park, PA | 05/06/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation of Nat King Cole Songs should be a crowd pleaser to most ,since all of the songs on this CD were his trade mark songs during the 40'and 50's. I purchased this CD upon the reccommendation of one of the other reviews listed. It has been a very disappointing experience with most of Capitol recent remasters done by their engineer Bob Norberg. The sound quality is not up to snuff which is all too typical
of Mr. Norberg's work.The songs all must have been taken from 2nd or third generation
masters. Perhaps many people can't hear the difference between
a good remastering job and a poor one, unfortnately on this one
it is all too obvious.Capitol Jazz on the other hand did a fantastic job with the
After Midnight Seesions by the NAt King Cole Trio remastered by Ron Mcmaster in 20 bit super bit mapping. For around $ [money] treat yourself to the real deal. If you are looking for the same songs that are on this version of The Unforgettable Nat King Cole, try the imported version of the The Nat KIng Cole Story or even better yet try DCC classics version of The Nat King Cole Story using the Original master
tapes. Either of these three versions will make your listening pleasure many many times more enjoyable.This Capitol Version just doesn't cut it."

Nat at his incomparable best!

Jeffrey Link | Chicago, IL | 03/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I ran across this CD after being thoroughly engrossed in the current biography (by Epstein) of Nat King Cole that I'm reading. This man was steps ahead of his time, and the silkiness and perfection of his control and readings in the studio are without compare. Though a lot of people don't know he got his start and had a love for jazz....(The King Cole Trio), his vocal abilities are what we best know him for. This collection of 25 remastered tracks (2/2000) by Capitol brings us some alternate takes and truly his best. There are a few tracks missing that you might want....but if you own one Nat King Cole CD, make it this one. Thanks to his beautiful wife Maria and daughter Natalie for making this collection available through Capitol. It made a bigger fan of me than I ever could have imagined! No matter who you are, Nat makes you feel like he's singing right TO you! If he were still with us, he'd have turned 80 this year....and I've no doubt he'd still be beltin' 'em out. I wish I could have met the man..... Jeffrey/Chicago"

Cole Still "Unforgettable" In Lovingly Gathered 2000 Hit Set

Anthony G Pizza | FL | 02/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nat Cole's rich musical legacy has been addressed in all matter of "definitive" greatest hits collections, from budget sets like Capitol's 1990 "Collectors Series" to 1994's "Greatest Hits" (featuring dual solo and duet versions of Cole's theme song, "Unforgettable." )Yet each, while generous, seemed to have a missing piece: wrong "Christmas Song" here, too early "Nature Boy" there.This set, gathered by his widow,Maria, (with her loving remembrances in its liner notes) is the most satisfying and unified Cole collection yet. Rather than present the hugely popular but somewhat hokey hits from late in Cole's career ("Ramblin' Rose," "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer"), "Unforgettable" stays closer to Cole as the smooth jazz crooner and big-band swinger daughter Natalie feted in her successful 1991 tribute. The fuller, rounder versions of "Orange Colored Sky" (with its "punchy" Pete Rugolo chart), "Route 66" and eden abhez's haunting "Nature Boy" here are due to improved sound (Cole re-recorded many of his hits to take advantage of improved studio technology) and also to Cole's more careful phrasing and jazz piano playing. Cole's more precise "Nature Boy" here gets more from Frank DeVol's arrangement.You get superb versions of Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Lush Life." (Mrs. Cole, a former Ellington vocalist, recalls sweet memories of the song and Strayhorn despite Strayhorn's disappointment over Nat's version). You get a bopping live take on "Thou Swell" (which the younger Cole unsuccessfully covered), and two of Cole's last, sweetest songs, 1964's "L-O-V-E" and "That Sunday, That Summer."Despite replicating one-third of its songs from "Greatest Hits," this "Unforgettable" holds its place in any Nat Cole collection. It's recommeded for longtime fans, essential as a nwecomer's introduction to one of pop music's most distinctive, influential performers."