Customer Reviews

Dear Lonely Hearts/I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a joy to hear that magnificent voice of Nat "King" Cole on this dual album CD. It makes one realize more and more what a treasure we had in that man.

DEAR LONELY HEARTS showcases the pure, measured voice of Nat performing some long lost classics like "Yearning (Just For You)", "Miss You" and "Oh How I Miss You Tonite" to Belford Hendricks fine arrangements and backed up by one of the best choruses in the business. You know, during the '60's, many of the great singers (Crosby, Sinatra, Como, Williams) recorded with the back up choruses of the Johnny Mann Singers and the Ray Charles Singers among others. Sadly, no one does that anymore. What a loss and a shame. Sadly, the art of good, pure singing waned in the '70's and after and has gradually gotten worse. Today, there are really only a handful of new "pure singers" (just great voices), unadulterated by the affectations of endless boring vocal "runs", poor voice quality and the incessant synthesized background music and drum machines. That small handful includes the wonderful Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Jane Monheit and Diane Kral to name just a few. With the onset of "American Idol" I am seeing the gradual return of real singing and even more so on "American Juniors" and they are performing more standards.

I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE continues in the same great vein. Sadly, this was one of Nat's last albums but there is nary a trace of the illness that would take him in 1965.

I would rate this dual disc as prime Nat "King" Cole. Some would refer to it as "easy listening" but I would call it just great music performed by one of the industry's giants.

Dick Bobnick

If we could get Nat's "Cole Italiano" or any of his three Spanish albums on a collection like this, I'd be thrilled! Meantime, we have this great collection. We open with "DEAR LONELY HEARTS", with arrangements by the great Belford Hendricks. Hendricks gave us all the great charts on RAMBLIN' ROSE, which is the counterpart to this album. Some great ones here include "MISS YOU", something of a hit for the McGuire Sisters, "WHY SHOULD I CRY OVER YOU?", treated here with a slight swing tempo and "NEAR YOU", which should be a treat to those of us who only knew this great piece as an instrumental by Roger Williams. The lyrics fit perfectly, and Nat handles this (as anything he ever sang) with class and beauty. While the country/western sound is implied on all the sides here, its interesting to note that not all these songs are of the country and western vein. "LONESOME AND SORRY" does however, and its one of those "one more time!" kind of songs, where the group is arm and arm, singing at last call. The second half of this album contains more of those such songs, only with Ralp Carmichael arrangements. While not in the same class of Nelson Riddle or Gordon Jenkins, Carmichael always wrote excellent charts for Nat. Standouts here include "I'M ALONE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU", "DON'T YOU REMEMBER" and another "one more time" tune, the melodramatic "GO, IF YOU'RE GOING". The orchestras and choruses on all sides here frame Nat's voice perfectly, and considering these albums came late in the game for Nat, he is spectacular form. One of my favorite performers ever, and these albums further that. Listen and enjoy!

"Dear Lonely Hearts" and "I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore" gives you 24 of the finest vocals by anyone in musical history...the sound is marvelous stereo...there should have been more like this, but this is it, so cherish the moment...listening to Nat though, is always great...he had a tenderness in his voice, completely flawless...he could never deliver a bad tune...his style and signature of making a song his own has never been duplicated...within this twofer album are songs of the day back in 1962 and 1964...some are timeless and remain classics, while others are songs that have never seen the light of day...but this release is a dream come true...more selections from the greatest entertainer of our time...cause Nat King Cole rules.

You can't go wrong with any of Cole's albums that are now on CD...both are excellent, many are hard-to-find and some not well known...highlights and stand outs are "ALL BYSELF", "ALL OVER THE WORLD", "MISS YOU", "IT'S A LONESOME OLD TOWN WHEN YOU'RE NOT AROUND", "OH, HOW I MISS YOU TONIGHT", "YOU'RE MY EVERYTHING", when it comes to interpretation and expertly performed, Nat is the master at his craft.

The one and only master of interpretation...no other singer in the business had the warmth that this man gave during a performance or recording session...along with Frank Sinatra, Cole built the Capitol Towers and brought them fame and fortune...Nat King Cole in my estimation did more for Capitol Records than any other recording artist of that time (and that my friend is saying something), but is the gospel.

Total Time: 59:03 on 24 Tracks ~ EMI/Int'l 494994 ~ (3/30/1998)

These are my two favorite albums by Nat King Cole. They contain none of his great hits, but are so full of beautiful singing and trenchant interpretations that for me they top his wonderful, more popular albums. Cole conveys loss and loneliness with a wistfulness that even Sinatra had trouble matching. Just listen to All By Myself, an old number that Cole invests with elegance and pathos. The title track of Dear Lonely Hearts shows off Cole in a mature but almost resigned mode, as he speaks the truth of someone "looking for love." This album contains two Cole rarities, his excursions into rock and roll inspired music. The two numbers, My First and Only Lover and Who's Next in Line?, offer spot on interpretations that make you realize what a loss it was for Cole to die in the middle of the '60's, when so much mainstream music that he would have interpreted brilliantly was being created. The second album on this CD is almost as good as Dear Lonely Hearts. Was That the Human Thing To Do? gives Cole a chance to shine in a song replete with irony. The sound on this CD is very good. All Nat King Cole fans should take the opportunity to acquaint themselves with these almost forgotten albums.

I wasn't familiar with any of the tunes (except one) that were on this 2-fer CD, DEAR LONELY HEARTS/I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE, but because I am a die-hard NKC fan I decided to buy it anyway to see how I would like it. It has its bright spots but I kept thinking to myself, "Where are Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle (or even Dave Cavanaugh) when you need them?" Since I'm not a country or folk music fan, I found I didn't like some of the songs, but I was open-minded enough to at least listen. However, there were some tracks to take notice of: From DEAR LONELY HEARTS (1962), (which like its predecessor RAMBLIN' ROSE, had Belford Hendricks doing the orchestrations) it was the title song, "Miss You", " Oh How I Miss You Tonight", "Lonesome And Sorry", "My First And Only Lover" and "Who's Next In Line?" The last two songs don't sound like country at all to me. "My First And Only Lover" has tinges of early Motown, and "Who's Next In Line?" has an early '60s R&B feeling to it. (Which it should've, because it was co-written by Clyde Otis, who was responsible for hit R&B songs by Dinah Washington and Brook Benton.)

I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE (1964) continues the country/western/folk theme with arranger and conductor Ralph Carmichael at the helm. Before I listened to it, I was hoping for maybe another jazzy Cole/Shearing-like project, or perhaps the lush TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS. (Carmichael was behind both of those wonderful albums.) As with DEAR LONELY HEARTS, there are some songs that are worth listening to, such as "I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore", "You're My Everything", "I Don't Want To See Tomorrow", "Was That The Human Thing To Do?" and "Road To Nowhere". The other songs will have to grow on me because I really wasn't feeling them when I played them the first time. Nat sounds great as always on both albums, even though by the time he made I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE he was already very ill, but you'd never know it. Because it was Nat I gave it four stars.

I wasn't familiar with any of the tunes (except one) that were on this 2-fer CD, DEAR LONELY HEARTS/I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE, but because I am a die-hard NKC fan I decided to buy it anyway to see how I would like it. It has its bright spots but I kept thinking to myself, "Where are Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle when you need them?"

I'll be very honest here. If you are a fan of Nat's jazz works with his Trio -- or his work with Riddle and Jenkins -- this is probably not the NKC CD for you. Because I really don't like country music, I found I didn't like some of the songs, but I was open-minded enough to at least listen. There are, however, some tracks to take notice of: From DEAR LONELY HEARTS (1962), (which like its predecessor RAMBLIN' ROSE, had Belford Hendricks doing the orchestrations) it was the title song, "Miss You", "Why Should I Cry Over You?", "Oh How I Miss You Tonight", "It's a Lonesome Old Town", "My First And Only Lover" and "Who's Next In Line?" The last two songs don't sound like country at all to me: "My First And Only Lover" has tinges of early Motown, and "Who's Next In Line?" is early '60s R&B. Belford Hendricks, unfortunately, has been labeled as someone who did Nat's career more harm than good, outside of his work with Nat on "Ramblin' Rose". Many say he ruined Nat's credibility as a serious artist.

I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE (1964) continues the country theme (with a touch of folk) with arranger and conductor Ralph Carmichael at the helm. Before I listened to it, I was hoping for maybe another jazzy Cole/Shearing-like project, or perhaps the lush TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS. (Carmichael was behind both of those wonderful albums.) As with DEAR LONELY HEARTS, there are some songs that are worth checking out, such as three minor hits of Nat's from this era: "I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore", "You're My Everything" and "I Don't Want To See Tomorrow", and other cuts ("Was That The Human Thing To Do?", "Road To Nowhere" and "I'm All Cried Out"). The other songs will have to grow on me because I really wasn't feeling them when I played them the first time. Nat sounds great as always on both albums, even though by the time he made I DON'T WANT TO BE HURT ANYMORE he was already very ill, but you'd never know it. Because it was Nat I gave it four stars.

I bought this CD because I couldn't find the song "I don't want to be hurt anymore" on any other CD, not even the hit collections. I wasn't disappointed by the track - it's the original recording and sounds great. I haven't listened to the rest of the CD very much, yet, but I would classify it as "essential." This is for NKC fans. There aren't many other hits on these albums. Although Nat sounds great. I would recommend buying this album just for the title track and to anyone who likes songs about lost love. NKC is a class act all the way, and this CD proves that.