The latest albums making noise
Natalie Cole is no stranger to interpreting iconic favorites from the American Songbook; one need only look at her 1991 album Unforgettable … With Love as proof. For this collection of remakes of the likes of Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and, of course, her late father Nat King Cole, Cole offers up jazzy tunes that are as fun as they are passionate.
Nowhere is this more true than with her father on the whimsical, piano-driven “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” a Nat King Cole track that by today’s standards is an innocent story of two mischievous lovebirds. If that doesn’t bring a smile to a listener’s face, then “Coffee Time” will. The fun song percolates with a smooth yet mellow encouragement to join Cole at a local (likely non-Starbucks) coffee house she knows “where all the new bohemians go.”
“Nice ’N‘ Easy” is equally commanding and instructive, with the house band happily at the mercy of Cole’s smooth voice as she embraces the many detours on the road to falling in love. She gets feisty on “Why Don’t You Do Right?” which evokes the proverbial smoky lounge with the sexy starlet hypnotizing the crowd with lyrics that simultaneously ask a question and flirt with the all-too-eager-to-listen crowd.
There are no shortages of simple yet beautifully sung ballads, with “Somewhere Along the Way,” “Here Comes That Rainy Day” and “You Go To My Head” fitting the bill. Also included are more cuts about courtship, such as “Lollipops and Roses” and “But Beautiful.”
Rather than making Unforgettable, part two, Cole has made this endeavor much more playful and fun, which is inviting to the casual listener of jazz music and those looking to expand their tastes. Cole also succeeds in making these songs contemporary while still declaring them her own, proudly and respectfully differentiating her versions from those that have been performed by some of the heavyweights of music.
Track List:
1. “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” with Nat King Cole
2. “Come Rain or Come Shine”
3. “Coffee Time”
4. “Somewhere Along the Way”
5. “You Go To My Head”
6. “Nice ’N‘ Easy”
7. “Why Don’t You Do Right?”
8. “Here’s That Rainy Day”
9. “But Beautiful”
10. “Lollipops and Roses”
11. “The Best Is Yet to Come”
12. “Something’s Gotta Give”
13. “Until the Real Thing Comes Along”
14. “It’s All Right with Me”
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