Portrait of [Import]

Nat King Cole | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Mci/Gallerie
• ASIN: B000024B80
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,042 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Nothing Ever Happens

2. Gone With the Draft

3. Honeysuckle Rose

4. Babs

5. Scotchin' With the Soda

6. Slow Down

7. I Like to Riff

8. Stop! The Red Light's On

9. This Will Make You Laugh

10. Are You Fer It?

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. The Man I Love

2. What Is This Thing Called Love?

3. After You Get What You Want, You Don't Want It

4. I Realize Now

5. Look What You've Done to Me

6. Bring Another Drink

7. I'm a Shy Guy

8. Katusha

9. Don't Blame Me

10. I'm Thru With Love

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent "Portrait" of Nat's Trio, March 6, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Portrait of (Audio CD)

I own many sets of the King Cole Trio's work, and this is English import is one of the finest for the price. It covers much of the jazz mastery of Nat King Cole's Trio from 1940 to 1947, and the majority of the songs on the first CD are mostly from their pre-Capitol years. You will find some rare cuts on this set that you probably won't find on other Trio compliations, such as "Babs", "Are You Fer It", "Call The Police", "Scotchin' With The Soda", "Homeward Bound", "After You Get What You Want", "I'm A Shy Guy", "That Ain't Right" and "Stop! The Red Light's On". On many of these early songs, Nat wasn't the only one singing. His partners, Oscar Moore and Wesley Prince (later, Johnny Miller), do their share of vocalizing as well, which is the way Nat wanted it back in the day. They really sound like they are having a ball. Of course "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "It's Only A Paper Moon", and "Sweet Lorraine" are featured, songs Nat sang throughout his successful 25 year career at Capitol Records.

What I also liked about how this set was put together is the inclusion of the dates of when these songs were recorded. With the exception of "Sweet Lorraine" and "Straighten Up and Fly Right", these dates are correct. On those two songs, however, it'll be obvious to Cole-ophiles by the tone of Nat's voice that they were recorded at later dates than what is printed here, perhaps in the early 1950s. Nat's voice sounds deeper and his diction more deliberate than they did on the originals.

The sound quality is very good. If you're just getting into the music of Nat's Trio, this is a great start. Highly recommended!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of Nat King Cole Trio [BOX SET] by Gallerie, January 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Portrait of (Audio CD)

Everyone loves to hear Nat "King" Cole sing love ballads with his warm, smooth voice.

But he started out as a "swing" man. In the 1940's he and his Trio played swing music with a fun, playful style. Cole wanted to be respected as a piano player more than a singer. And his technique is great. So is his guitarist. The arrangements are tight. It's obvious these guys played together all the time. And there are also some beautiful ballads evenly mixed in. It's nice to hear Cole sing them in that honey-smooth voice, but without the overproduced strings so prevalent in his later recordings.

Some compilations of the NKC Trio have been weak and scratchy, but the sound quality of this remaster is very good.

Also recommended; Nat King Cole: After Midnight: The Complete Sessions [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The same fun sound of the Trio recordings, though not as tight, probably due to the intervening years, still very nice. And as a bonus there are some extra instuments, horns, sax and even a jazz violin to fill out the sound a little but not overpower it. Also, as it was recorded later, in the 1950's and recently remastered, the sound quality is even better than the Trio recordings. In fact the sound quality is excellent.

Also recommended; Sinatra And Sextet: Live In Paris

It's nice to hear Sinatra in an intimate club atmosphere, with a sextet instead of huge orchestrations. In the 1960's his voice was not as strong, but had developed a nice mellow quality.