Customer Reviews

Unforgettable Nat King Cole

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This compilation of Nat King Cole Songs should be a crowd pleaser to most ,since all of the songs on this CD were his trade mark songs during the 40'and 50's. I purchased this CD upon the reccommendation of one of the other reviews listed. It has been a very disappointing experience with most of Capitol recent remasters done by their engineer Bob Norberg.

The sound quality is not up to snuff which is all too typical
of Mr. Norberg's work.

The songs all must have been taken from 2nd or third generation
masters. Perhaps many people can't hear the difference between
a good remastering job and a poor one, unfortnately on this one
it is all too obvious.

Capitol Jazz on the other hand did a fantastic job with the
After Midnight Seesions by the NAt King Cole Trio remastered by Ron Mcmaster in 20 bit super bit mapping. For around $ [money] treat yourself to the real deal.

If you are looking for the same songs that are on this version of The Unforgettable Nat King Cole, try the imported version of the The Nat KIng Cole Story or even better yet try DCC classics version of The Nat King Cole Story using the Original master
tapes. Either of these three versions will make your listening pleasure many many times more enjoyable.

This Capitol Version just doesn't cut it.

I ran across this CD after being thoroughly engrossed in the current biography (by Epstein) of Nat King Cole that I'm reading. This man was steps ahead of his time, and the silkiness and perfection of his control and readings in the studio are without compare. Though a lot of people don't know he got his start and had a love for jazz....(The King Cole Trio), his vocal abilities are what we best know him for. This collection of 25 remastered tracks (2/2000) by Capitol brings us some alternate takes and truly his best. There are a few tracks missing that you might want....but if you own one Nat King Cole CD, make it this one. Thanks to his beautiful wife Maria and daughter Natalie for making this collection available through Capitol. It made a bigger fan of me than I ever could have imagined! No matter who you are, Nat makes you feel like he's singing right TO you! If he were still with us, he'd have turned 80 this year....and I've no doubt he'd still be beltin' 'em out. I wish I could have met the man..... Jeffrey/Chicago

Nat Cole's rich musical legacy has been addressed in all matter of "definitive" greatest hits collections, from budget sets like Capitol's 1990 "Collectors Series" to 1994's "Greatest Hits" (featuring dual solo and duet versions of Cole's theme song, "Unforgettable." )Yet each, while generous, seemed to have a missing piece: wrong "Christmas Song" here, too early "Nature Boy" there.

This set, gathered by his widow,Maria, (with her loving remembrances in its liner notes) is the most satisfying and unified Cole collection yet. Rather than present the hugely popular but somewhat hokey hits from late in Cole's career ("Ramblin' Rose," "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer"), "Unforgettable" stays closer to Cole as the smooth jazz crooner and big-band swinger daughter Natalie feted in her successful 1991 tribute.

The fuller, rounder versions of "Orange Colored Sky" (with its "punchy" Pete Rugolo chart), "Route 66" and eden abhez's haunting "Nature Boy" here are due to improved sound (Cole re-recorded many of his hits to take advantage of improved studio technology) and also to Cole's more careful phrasing and jazz piano playing. Cole's more precise "Nature Boy" here gets more from Frank DeVol's arrangement.

You get superb versions of Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Lush Life." (Mrs. Cole, a former Ellington vocalist, recalls sweet memories of the song and Strayhorn despite Strayhorn's disappointment over Nat's version). You get a bopping live take on "Thou Swell" (which the younger Cole unsuccessfully covered), and two of Cole's last, sweetest songs, 1964's "L-O-V-E" and "That Sunday, That Summer."

Despite replicating one-third of its songs from "Greatest Hits," this "Unforgettable" holds its place in any Nat Cole collection. It's recommeded for longtime fans, essential as a nwecomer's introduction to one of pop music's most distinctive, influential performers.

I highly recommend this album for those people who are newly discovering music of Nat King Cole AND those fans who don't own the "Nat King Cole Story" double CD. In almost all cases, this album uses the latest stereo versions of his original hits. The mono songs include Unforgettable, This Can't Be Love, Tenderly, Autumn Leaves, Avalon, Almost Like Being in Love, and Our Love is Here to Stay. The remainder come from the album the "Nat King Cole Story" double CD. These were recorded in 1961 using the original arrangements in stereo! Nat voice just got better with age! If you'd like to buy only one CD and don't care that these are not the "original" recordings, then THIS is the CD to own. This is also a must have for ANY Nat King Cole fan! The sound quality is superb!

This 2000 release cd is an "unforgettable" masterpiece compiling all of Nat`s block buster hits.It is digitally remastered giving you the feeling Nat is singing right to you.All the classics are here ,mona lisa.l-o-v-e,smile,too young,nature boy,etc.However what makes this cd sensational is that it contains 2 cuts of Nat King Coles siganture song UNFORGETTABLE.One is a solo version by Nat himself,the other is the studio remastered one wih his daughter, singer Natalie Cole.Both versions will leave you breathless.The only song missing from this great compilation is answer me my love and im dumfounded why capitol left it off this cd.Anyways it`s a must have from the greatest voice of the 20th century!!

There are so many great Nat King Cole CDs out there that it is really quite difficult for many people to figure out which disc to buy. You can hardly go wrong with just about anything released by this legendary artist. Having said that, I would opine that for most folks the choice would probably come down to Capitols 1994 release "Nat King Cole: The Greatest Hits" or this fine collection "Unforgettable" which was released back in 2000.
Neither collection is complete however, and each has its pros and cons. When push comes to shove however, I would be inclined to opt for "Unforgettable Nat King Cole". Each of the 25 selections in this marvelous collection have been digitally remastered for your listening enjoyment. And while the remastering job is not among the best I have ever heard, the audio quality is still far superior to the tracks on "Nat King Cole: The Greatest Hits" which do not appear to have been remastered at all. Still if you are primarily looking for Nat's biggest and best then you might ulimately prefer "The Greatest Hits". But the selections found on "Unforgettable" are pretty incredible as well. You'll find many of Nat's biggest solo hits of all time including the title song, "Mona Lisa", "L-O-V-E", "Autumn Leaves" as well as my personal favorite "That Sunday, That Summer". There are also a number of tunes from Nat's days with the King Cole Trio including "It's Only A Paper Moon", the classic "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" and of course "Straighten Up and Fly Right".
Add to that all of the great standards like "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Almost Like Being In Love" and "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and it is easy to see why this is the most popular Nat King Cole collection currently available. There are also some pretty interesting liner notes composed by Nat's widow Maria.
With all of the great anthologies being offered by the record companies nowadays it is clearly time for Capitol Records to step up and release a comprehensive and fully remastered 2 disc set of the biggest and best of Nat King Cole. After all, one could argue that Nat King Cole almost single-handedly built Capitol records back in the 1940's. He clearly deserves better. But for now, "Unforgettable" is probably the way to go. Highly recommended.

This is my first Nat King Cole purchase and I have to admit that I was rather hesitant to order this cd because of the negative reviews regarding the sound quality and I even put off my purchase for several weeks as a result. However, I am very pleased with the content and sound quality of this cd (I'm no expert but it sounds good to me). Initially I was after his recording of "L-O-V-E" but to my delight the entire cd is fantastic! This cd transports you to another time. Nostalgic, beautiful, and charming. I highly recommended it!

"Unforgettable" is the right word to describe the legendary Mr. Nat King Cole. How can you forget the silky and velvety voice that is identified with timeless melodies such as "The Very Thought Of You," "This Can't Be Love," "Mona Lisa," "Straighten Up And Fly Right," "Autumn Leaves," "L-O-V-E," "For Sentimental Reasons," "That Sunday That Summer," "Route 66," "Non Dementicar" and of course his signature song, "Unforgettable," to mention a few. The very talented Mr. Cole was one of the best vocalists in his time. He was also a great jazz pianist and a bandleader. It was unfortunate that his recording career was so short. Nevertheless, his music legacy will live on.

This CD comprises the most soothing and relaxing melodies of all-time. Highlights are two recordings of "Unforgettable," the original and the amazing "digitally remastered duet" with daughter, Natalie Cole. My topmost choices are, Gershwin Brothers' "Our Love Is Here To Stay," Noble's "The Very Thought Of You," Russell/Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," Watson/Best's "For Sentimental Reasons," Gross/Lawrence's "Tenderly" and Mercer/Kosma's "Autumn Leaves."

This is one great CD not only for fans of Nat King Cole, but also for everyone who loves classic and beautiful ballads. With my heartfelt recommendation for your listening pleasure now and forever.

I purchased the CD for just one cut, "That Sunday, That Summer",
and was blown away by the entire, thoughtful compilation. It is Nat King Cole at his best, and the bonus of Nat's recording of "Unforgettable" as well as the Nat and Natalie "Unforgettable" duet are a treasure. My only objection was that there were no liner notes with dates or credits for the other musicians. Nevertheless, this is a collection that any Nat King Cole fan will cherish.

This album was actually just hanging around in one of my moms CD baskets. She's had it for a while but I never listened to it because I was being too busy listening to things that basically don't compare to this masterpiece. A couple of days ago I got bored and saw it sitting there and finally decided to put it in my CD player. The first song "The Very Thought Of You" is just amazing. I mean the violins, the perfect pace and bass, and Nat's voice is just delicious candy to your ears. The moment you listen to "Mona Lisa" you can't help but want to play it again and again. There are so many songs that this man has made that I've heard over and over and never knew it was him. It reminds you of Ray Charles and James Brown among others because you hear these songs on commercial and in movie soundtracks but you never knew it was them. I don't think saying this album is perfect is enough to make people realize how deep and beautiful his music is. The music is perfect, Nat's voice and lyrics are unforgettable, the remastered sound quality is also sweet and rich. I put this CD on while I was doing some work for school and I was just so comfortable and relaxed. I finished the work in no time. You'll be surprised at how many songs you've heard before and didn't know it was Nat singing. All I can say is that this is definitely worth buying and trust me if you haven't heard much from Nat King Cole you'll love this.