Unforgettable voice. Sadly forgettable songs…
Release Date: April 1957
Topped the chart:
2nd June 1957 (for one week, tied with Original Soundtrack: The King and I)
One week total
Let’s start a by stating the bleeding obvious: Nat King Cole has quite a good voice.
It’s instantly distinctive from the first note. And while he may have ended up as the singer who everyone’s Granny had about halfway through their record box, that voice is honey smooth, a scotch whiskey to Frank Sinatra’s bourbon. There’s just enough melancholy in there to suggest range- so it’s a shame that none of that can be found here.
Love is the Thing was the debut recording for Cole with arranger Gordon Jenkins, having previously worked with big band purveyors Nelson Riddle (him again) and Billy Ray earlier in the 1950s. Jenkins had a stellar arranging career before working with Cole and the pair would have a fruitful working relationship going forward. But on evidence here, it’s not clear what Jenkins wanted to do with the rich instrument he was gifted to work with. Jenkins is known for his string-drenched orchestration which is in full effect on Love is the Thing. The effect is like adding a dollop of clotted cream ice cream to a slice of honey cake: sure, it’s delicious on small plates, but twelve courses of the thing will make you sick.
It's the cloying lack of dynamics that’s the main issue. It might be impressive, but Cole’s voice has no sexiness or earth to it (compare his asinine version of At Last to the pure filth of the Etta James version for Chess), so there needs to be a bit of oomph. Instead, the emotion of the arrangements drift off as vapour with nothing to ground the trebly violins and harps.
A few songs break through—When I Fall In Love remains one of Cole’s signature and most romantic songs; a slight smirk in the delivery of Ain’t Misbehavin’ suggests otherwise—but so many of these tunes are gone as soon as they end. Stay as Sweet as You Are and Sunny Gets Blue are throttle-inducingly twee, and if you can remember anything about Love Letters five seconds after you’ve heard it, you’re doing better than I.
This is perhaps the ultimate example of a Black voice being marketed towards white audiences; you can imagine those living in segregated locations thinking that Nat King Cole was a white singer- he carries no Black heritage, no hint of the blues or rock n roll or soul of his contemporaries. Just a little grit under the shell would have made a huge difference to this collection, but alas these are standards performed as standard.
Cole had a voice so much older than he was, that it's always a tragic shame to remember that he would pass away in 1965, aged just 45. So much potential untapped, so many songs left unsung.
Something about the strings and Cole’s fireside voice invokes the festive season like a pile of Quality Street wrappers and, as individual songs, there is a lot that’s perfectly pleasant here. It’s just a shame that pleasant isn’t for life, it’s just for Christmas.
Score: 4/10
What do you think of our only visit to Nat King Cole on this list? Is there anything I missed in the arrangements? Please let me know in the comments.
Tracklisting:
1. When I Fall In Love
2. Stardust
3. Stay as Sweet as You Are
4. Where Can I Go Without You?
5. Maybe It’s Because I Love You Too Much
6. Love Letters
7. Ain’t Misbehavin’
8. I Thought About Marie
9. At Last
10. It’s All in the Game
11. When Sunny Gets Blue
12. Love is the Thing
‘The effect is like adding a dollop of clotted cream ice cream to a slice of honey cake: sure, it’s delicious on small plates, but twelve courses of the thing will make you sick.’ This made me laugh out loud! However, I didn’t realise how young he was when he died! Not going to rush to this one based on your review!