Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › Music › Nat King Cole?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Nat King Cole?

post #1 of 4
3/9/11 at 3:36am
Thread Starter 

Anyone a fan? I'm just getting into his stuff and was wondering if there are any recommendations to get me started (best albums or compilations, CD or vinyl). There was one thread on this already but I would like a bit more feedback. 

Reply
post #2 of 4
3/9/11 at 11:08am
The best Nat Cole stuff is with the trio. He was a fabulous jazz pianist. It's a shame he hung that up later to go the pop vocalist route.

You can't go wrong with any of the NKC Trio collections, but be aware that they overlap all over the place. Once you've got a few CDs, it can be tough to find another one that doesn't duplicate a lot of songs.

A great unknown set is the collection of MacGregor radio transcriptions. Laserlight released a super bargain four CD set a few years back, and since then other labels have put out their own collections of transcriptions. The advantage to the MacGregors is that they were recorded live very quickly. There's a great sense of spontenaety and fun. Also there are tunes among the transcriptions that the trio never recorded for Capitol.

For the completist, Mosaic released a complete set of trio sides. It's one of the best collections Mosaic ever released.
Reply
post #3 of 4
3/9/11 at 3:32pm


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigshot View Post

The best Nat Cole stuff is with the trio. He was a fabulous jazz pianist. It's a shame he hung that up later to go the pop vocalist route.

You can't go wrong with any of the NKC Trio collections, but be aware that they overlap all over the place. Once you've got a few CDs, it can be tough to find another one that doesn't duplicate a lot of songs.

A great unknown set is the collection of MacGregor radio transcriptions. Laserlight released a super bargain four CD set a few years back, and since then other labels have put out their own collections of transcriptions. The advantage to the MacGregors is that they were recorded live very quickly. There's a great sense of spontenaety and fun. Also there are tunes among the transcriptions that the trio never recorded for Capitol.

For the completist, Mosaic released a complete set of trio sides. It's one of the best collections Mosaic ever released.


Can't disagree with anything said here, especially the plug about the MacGregor transcriptions. Not a lot of folks know how good that music is.

 

If I was going to choose something to get me started, though, I might try After Midnight: The Complete Sessions. It was Cole's return to jazz after singing pop almost exclusively for several years, and the band is on fire.

Reply
post #4 of 4
3/13/11 at 9:51pm

I absolutely adore Nat King Cole!

 

It's taken me a while but I nearly have everything he released from 1950 - 1964. I also highly recommend the Mosaic box set containing his Trio work. Some of the best sounding albums I own are Nat King Cole albums. Be sure to check out the new Analogue Production SACD's that are being released. They are absolutely essential if you are a Nat King Cole fan. I personally tend to enjoy his foreign language albums. I get a kick listening to Nat sing in German, Spanish or Japanese.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Music
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › Music › Nat King Cole?