Customer Reviews

Cool Cole-King Cole Trio Story

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I must have at least four different box sets of King Cole Trio material, but I feel this import, which covers a ten year span (1940-50) is arguably the best one to own, other than the huge COMPLETE CAPITOL RECORDINGS OF THE NAT KING COLE TRIO. Songs that aren't on previous collections, such as "In the Cool of the Evening", "Could Ja", "Lament In Chords". "Flo and Joe", "Exactly Like You" and "I Almost Lost My Mind" are featured here, plus the rare R&B rocker "For You, My Love", recorded with fellow Capitol artist Nellie Lutcher, is blazing with pure soul. Of course you have the Trio standbys: "Sweet Lorraine", "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "Route 66", "I'm An Errand Boy For Rhythm", etc., but also included are Nat's early solo hit songs, such as "Nature Boy", "Portrait of Jennie", "Lost April", "Mona Lisa" and "Lush Life". Plus with this excellent collection is a booklet which includes photos, a complete discography with group members, recording dates and places and the story of the Trio, and Nat's eventual rise to solo stardom. As good as it can get, and for a great price, too! Even if you own other box sets like I do, you'll want to have this one as well, and believe me, you won't be disappointed.

This four-CD boxed set collection of delightful tunes by the King Cole Trio surpassed all of my expectations; instead of simply hop-scotching its way through Nat "King" Cole's early days with thirty or so "hits," this set presents five magnificent hours of pure jazz at its best. One hundred and four grand tracks from the Trio, recorded from 1941-1950 (arguably the glory days of jazz), this is probably the best we'll get when it comes to collecting the essentials of a group that were truly the perfectors of the jazz era. No tricks here; just pure jazz in all its glory.

For the money, this is as good of a box set as you are going to find. All of the trio's hits are here - - more to the point, the collection is a document of Cole at the height of his powers. It's stylish, urbane and superbly performed.

This is an import for Amazon, and it appears from the Penguin Jazz Record Guide that it is going out of print. So if you are thinking about buying it, I'd buy it as soon as possible. You won't regret it.

Covering the period 1941 to 1950, the jazz music here is noticeably different from Nat's later work as a solo singer performing to orchestral backing music, although Nat`s easy-listening vocals are still in plenty of evidence.. While much of the music here focuses on ~Nat's Trio recordings, there are a few solo tracks recorded during that period, as well as recordings featuring various guests, among them Nellie Lutcher (For you my love) and the Stan Kenton orchestra (Orange colored sky).

Most of Nat's hits on the pop charts and the R+B charts are included, though a few lesser hits are missing. All the important tracks are included, including All for you (the title track to Diana Krall's magnificent tribute album), Straighten up and fly right, Gee baby ain't I good to you, I love you for sentimental reasons, The Christmas song , Nature boy and Mona Lisa, as well as his popular non-hit Sweet Lorraine. You may also recognize a few songs that were made famous by other people, but which Nat covered superbly; however, there are plenty of songs here that you probably haven't heard elsewhere.

Nat went on to greater success as a solo singer, before he lost his life prematurely to cancer, but his later music is easy to find elsewhere and I've reviewed some of it. As a collection of his Trio music, this is brilliant, with a booklet containing extensive notes.

There probably isn't much that I can add to what has already been said about the great Nat King Cole. These recordings are earlier work than the orchestrated songs that many people are familiar with. Nat was a terrific jazz pianist and didn't do much if any singing early on, especially when the trio was traveling all around the country doing gigs and one night stands. If I remember correctly, Nat didn't even consider himself a singer, and was reluctant to take up the microphone. Thank God for small favors when he did. Most of these takes do showcase Nat's singing ability, though. Surprise, surprise, another hidden talent from a humble guy. These recordings are well worth the price. You get four discs with no repeats or retakes. Some of the recordings are a bit "scratchy" sounding; but who cares? The music is wonderful and wonderfully played by all three musically gifted men. You get bounce and jive and good feelings listening to this music. That's about all I have to say. I am happy with this purchase. You will be, too.

Cool Cole: The King Cole Trio Story represents the Properbox series at its finest. No doubt there are more comprehensive ways to collect the King Cole Trio's impressive output; completists might be less than satisfied with this collection. But for anyone not in the completist camp, looking for a solid overview of the trio's output during the period from 1940 to 1950, they need look no further. Including a terrific booklet that introduces the artist and provides detailed information on all 100+ tracks, and boasting (given the age of these recordings) good sound throughout, this is a tremendous value. All in all, a delightful package!

Everyone is familiar with Nat's more popular songs, but the man was a consumate pianist and musician. This collection meets criteria for a great value. The recordings have obviously been cleaned up, leaving a pretty high quality sound for something recorded that long ago. The musicianship is exquisite. In this age of big walls of sound, the trio (with an occasional addition of some percussion or an extra voice) brings a clean precise ensemble that is pleasure for the ears. This collection of 4 CD's plus an informative booklet insert is a steal. I heartily recommend this to anyone who likes traditional swinging jazz.

The 4 CD set of Nat "King" Cole that I ordered arrived in very good condition, was exactly as expected and was earlier than I anticipated. I am very pleased with the transaction. Not much else to say.