Love Is the Thing

Nat King Cole, Gordon Jenkins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 1996)
• Label: Indent Series
• ASIN: B000005JIG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,923 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. When I Fall in Love

2. Stardust

3. Stay as Sweet as You Are

4. Where Can I Go Without You?

5. Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much

6. Love Letters

7. Ain't Misbehavin'

8. I Thought About Marie

9. At Last

10. It's All in the Game

11. When Sunny Gets Blue

12. Love Is the Thing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When a good man sings great songs..., February 6, 2002

By 

Scott Sweet "Music Freak" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Love Is the Thing (And More) (Audio CD)

This album is a reminder that Cole didn't have a great big Las Vegas voice. He sang respectfully, making you lean in to share his secrets. He didn't try to reach the back row; he invited the back row to come closer. His voice glided across the surface of Gordon Jenkins' orchestrations. The interplay is incredible; singer and conductor accomodated each other like they had all the time in the world. Peel these songs away from films like "Sleepless in Seattle," and their true power is revealed.

Yes, "When I Fall in Love" has been done to death. Still, the original survives and surpasses all imitators. "Stardust" is haunting, with a simple, aching beauty that I've rarely found outside of dramatic film scores. Musically, it's sort of a Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho," "Fahrenheit 451") ballad. If you haven't heard it before, it'll hurt you the first time. It'll heal you every time after that. The songs are quite similar in pace and style, which is natural given the orchestra and one singer.

People my age and younger (the grandkids of most Nat King Cole fans) are bombarded with music that either dwells on or plainly celebrates hatred and anger. When this album came out in 1957, that was not the ideal time for a black man to sing to packed theatres and assert his dignity. They needed his songs then, and we can sure use them now.

Six of the songs have "love" in the title. Nowadays, that suggests writer's block. The album is called "Love Is The Thing" - cut the guy some slack. He was just staying on topic. The lyrics never stray from the idea that love is there to be had, and to be lost.

My parents loved this stuff while they were in the world. When I have a chance to stop running around chasing the day into the night, I'm finding comfort in Cole's music. Put on this CD, and the desparate veneer of the 21st century falters - you'll catch yourself believing that Love Is The Thing...

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They don't make 'em like this anymore but...., July 30, 2000

By 

The Fancy One "blackprincess" (Westchester County, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Love Is the Thing (Audio CD)

...thank God for reissues. This has got to be the most romantic and beautiful sounding CD I own. I absolutely love it. Nat's voice, as always, is like sipping hot cocoa on a cold winter's day. I am in totally in love with "Stardust"...Nat sings it with such a dream-like quality, it'll bring tears to your eyes. He was no doubt a gifted musician, but he was also blessed with a wonderful voice, it was his destiny to sing to the masses... The sweeping strings of Gordon Jenkins' arrangement is so relaxing, all you'll want to do is sit back, close your eyes, and absorb every note. When I listen to to this CD it reminds me of how much I love Nat King Cole and his music, even though I was only a baby when he died. He is greatly missed by the world.

Plus the three additional songs from 1963's WHERE DID EVERYONE GO? fit in quite well with the original tracks from LOVE IS THE THING, which was by the way, a #1 LP for Nat in 1957. If you are a NKC fan, this CD is a MUST. Buy it, you will love it, too! Through his music, NAT LIVES!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST Voice, January 12, 2000

By 

Laura A. Atiyeh "Moviebuff" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Is the Thing (Audio CD)

I've had this CD for several years and I always return to it for quiet, romantic, relaxing music.My husband likes it to fall asleep to! My personal favorite is "Stardust". Just listen to those words and the sweep of those strings! Nat's voice is the ultimate, of course. I listened to him, too, growing up, when my parents' his an LP of his on the record player. I think this is the sweetest of his recordings,When Sunny Gets Blueis fabulous and as always, When I Fall in Love and the mellow version of Ain't Misbehavin'. We miss you, Nat! You left us far, far too soon!