Customer Reviews

Re: Generations

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a pretty cool idea: Hip Hoop, Latin, reggae and pop artists covering some of the genius' most notable tunes. That said, it feels like the "generation" gap is simply too wide. Newer beats and stylings don't always fit with Mr. Cole's era of songwriting. It is intriguing and filled with talent like will.i.am, The Roots, Nas, Cut Chemist and more, but few tunes rate a second listen. The exceptions definitely worth a download and a dance are "Lush Life" (Cee-Lo), "Calypso Blues" (Damien and Stephen Marley) and "Pick Up" (Just Blaze). Sample at iTunes before you buy. (Mark Beneventi)

Relax, all you haters! As a huge Nat King Cole fan, I'm puzzled by all the concern voiced here about desecrating the music. It's really not that big a deal, it's actually interesting, and gives a few otherwise unmemorable tunes a bit more life. Finally, if this re-imagining actually gets only one teenager out there to buy a real Nat King Cole CD, it's well worth it.

Dunno exactly what I was expecting; but, I am pretty certain Nat Cole would surely concur, "Yes, forgettable! That's was this was..."

I'm sure this was intended as some sort of tribute to a legend, but it simply doesn't work. It's a novelty record at best. Save the money and use it toward a 'real' Nat King Cole album.

Could there be a greater desecration of a master's music than this? I most definitely do not think so. Listening to these "updated, reinterpreted covers" of Nat's music literally made me feel ill. This isn't art in any form - it's simply the sacrilege of a great American genius' music. Nat isn't turning over in his grave- he's spinning and screaming out in agony. I am a fan of many of the participant musicians in this project- I just hate what they've done here. Will.i.am,- you need to stick with Boom Boom Pow and the Black Eyed Peas and leave Nat's music alone. Musicians have been doing covers for years and there is nothing wrong with that- these reinterpretations are just putrid.

Look.... I dig a lot of the artists on this album, but not when all they're doing is taking something already recorded and dubbing beats on top of it. Why is the trend nowadays to try and give "fresh treatments" to already well established classics? No, it's not that I'm a purist. Modern treatments of classic compositions have been going on for decades. It's actually part of the culture. I could respect the efforts if the artists' themselves had created their own arrangements of these tunes (and provided their OWN vocals instead of just dubbing on top of Nat's). It's also convenient that these collaborative efforts always occur AFTER the artist they are sampling has passed away. If they aren't alive to give you their own consent, you shouldn't be assuming you already have their blessing.

First off, I have a pretty wide variety of musical tastes - and I'm not a purist. So I gave this album a chance, and an open mind.

Didn't like it.

Two main reasons:

1- Sloppy technical execution. What I mean by that is that the blend of old and new did not always fit, from a technical standpoint (ie. Nat sometimes is off-key or not quite with the beat). The whole idea of doing this was to blend the old and new in such a way that you wouldn't perceive the difference. An example of when it worked was "Straighten Up and Fly Right", where it seemed to gel. Other songs, on the other hand, didn't fare as well.

2- Nat was not always in the forefront. A perfect example of this was "Lush Life", which actually had a nice beat to it. So much so that Nat's entire performance was shoved into the background. You could have extracted his vocals and it wouldn't have even been missed, and that's just disturbing. "Nature Boy" is another example of this. I kept thinking of the Billie Holiday remixes, where the new music seemed to fit itself around her voice. But on this album, I felt that the exact opposite was going on - the producers were trying to fit Nat's voice into the music.

I also didn't think that the different mix of genres worked all that well as a cohesive whole -the artists went into too many different directions. Not enough of detriment to give it its own bullet, but again it broke the whole "Nat was in the studio" imaginary scenario, imo.

...other than that I can't seem to stop playing this CD. I love it!

At 51 I'm lovin' modern digital recordings played through my car's sound system (subwoofers and all) including this CD of studio sampling and remix artists. This is a great CD to play while cruising in your car. The sound is incredible.

Every song has its own style so there's plenty of variety so it doesn't sound repetitive like a lot of modern electronica and dance music. There's some sampled sounds and looped rhythms that are amazingly artful and add a modern feel and full bodied sound to Nat King Cole's innocent, upbeat and positive style.

However, some of the remix riffs seem to clash with a melodic dissonance that conflicts with Nat's poignant style of delivery as well as playing on top of Nat's voice at times which is a big no-no to Nat King Cole fans and any other legendary vocalists for that matter. But it's not enough to ruin the majority of the CD.

For those put off by this remix of this legendary vocalist I'ld like to remind the purists that Nat has been part of the American cultural lexicon for decades just like Bing Crosby, Elvis and Campbell soup. And like Andy Warhol's use of the familiar Campbell soup can as borrowed "clip art" to force an alternative POV out of its cultural context, the same has been intelligently applied in the mixing of these selections.

Not saying the mixers did it perfectly but considering the huge cultural divide, IMO I feel most of the songs pulled it off and created something new and with a lot of ambience. One piece titled "Pick Up" has a girl smarting off in Rosie Perez street style lingo to Nat's sampled vocals. I couldn't stop laughing.

This would make an excellent party CD for all generations IMO.

I LOVE Nat King Cole, but this CD was horrid! Who could listen to it and think it was good? I've purchased several other CDs of "remixed" standards and they were good. This was just AWFUL! I'm sure that Mr. Cole had not intended for his music to be like this. He's probably rolling in his grave!

This is one of those projects that sharply divides. On the one hand, you have the purists who will be aghast. On the other hand, you have people open to experimentation and new ideas, (as well as a new generation discovering the old). I fall into the latter, that is those open to experimentation and new ideas. I'm a fan of Nat King Cole's, but still, a few of the tracks here are new to me.

"Re: Generations" is a remix/re-interpretation of 13 Cole tracks by DJs, Producers and singers. The idea birthed by his daughter Carole Cole, was to bridge the gap between the new and the old generation, and it works pretty well if you're willing to let it.

The songs are given diverse treatments; a Hip Hop/Jazz feel (the absolutely stunning and danceable "Lush Life" by Cee-Lo using select verses from the original, a groovy bassline, darting horns and skittery beats, "Walkin' my baby back home" with a rapped coda by The Roots, "The game of love" with Nas which also has a Brazilian feel), Reggae ("Calypso blues" with Damien Marley), Latin (the lilting "Brazilian love song" with Bebel Gilberto, "More and more of your amor" produced by Bittersweet, "El Choolo" with fab horns and a Matador feel), Rock (the very arty "Nature boy" is given an erie atmospheric feel by Alternative Rock band TV on the Radio adding distortion and electronic flourishes to great effect), while the rest largely stay true to the original arrangements with subtle embellishments.

"Straighten up and fly right" is produced by will.i.am and is a duet with daughter Natalie (scatting nicely) set to nice clipped beats over a Jazzy backdrop. "Hit that Jive Jack" is filled with hand claps with rapping by Izza Kizza over a spare musical arrangement. "Day in-day out" is big band jazz with rich percussion produced by Cut-Chemist. "Pick up" is a soothing Jook joint, as is the absolutely lovely horn-peppered "Anytime anyday anywhere" with Amp Fiddler.

I absolutely love this album, and from reviews I've read here, it appears some of the younger generation are discovering Cole's music thanks to this CD, helping make him truly unforgettable. Mission accomplished!