Track Listing

1. Unforgettable
2. Route 66
3. Orange Colored Sky
4. Mona Lisa
5. Walkin' My Baby Back Home
6. Straighten up and Fly Right
7. Send for Me
8. Looking Back
9. You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)
10. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
11. Nature Boy
12. Ramblin' Rose
13. Pretend
14. Too Young
15. Somewhere Along the Way
16. Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
17. Smile
18. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
19. Answer Me, My Love
20. Blossom Fell
21. If I May
22. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9323 in Music
• Released on: 1994-10-18
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
You could fill box set after box set with Nat "King" Cole's work--and those are certainly out there--and never hit a less-than-stellar note. But for the creme de la creme, it'd be hard to fault this career-spanning, 22-song retrospective. From the swinging jump blues of "Straighten Up and Fly Right" to the easy lope of his definitive "Route 66" to the lush balladry of "Mona Lisa," every facet of the great singer-pianist's is explored. Bookended by Cole's original version of "Unforgettable" and his posthumous duet with daughter Natalie, this collection provides an ideal introduction to--or a stirring reminder of--Nat "King" Cole's legacy. --David Sprague

Customer Reviews

The reason why it's called THE GREATEST HITS...
I've been reading several of the reviews here and there are complaints as to why certain songs aren't included. What you should know is this...The reason why these songs were chosen for this particular Nat King Cole CD is that these are Nat's HIGHEST CHARTING HIT SINGLES (with the exception of the non-inclusion of "The Christmas Song", a #3 hit in the fall/winter of 1946), according to Billboard Magazine. Most of the tunes on this CD made the Top Ten. So if you were looking for "When I Fall In Love", "L-O-V-E" and other popular tunes like that and didn't find them here - pay close attention, now - it's because they either weren't ever released as singles, or if they were, they didn't chart higher than a certain position to be considered to be one of "the greatest hits". Granted, they may have indeed been POPULAR, but they were not HITS.

As far as the complaint goes about the lack of stereo used on some cuts and the pitch of his voice, the originals were the versions of Nat's songs that became hits, NOT THE REMAKES. This is just what Capitol/EMI was aiming for, having the originals on one CD in a GREATEST HITS compilation. So don't complain! Wouldn't you agree that Nat's voice always sounded like heaven, no matter WHEN he recorded a tune??

If you're looking for other songs that weren't here, or aren't feeling these ORIGINAL VERSIONS Of Nat's hits where his voice wasn't as deep, then there are plenty of other CDs you can get by him that include those selections. But IMO, this and the UNFORGETTABLE (2000) CD are two of the best CDs you can own if you want the hits, plus other songs by Nat that are popular.

The best CD I own
Though I own hundreds of CD's, this one is my favorite. His smooth crooning and romantic lyrics are just what I need when I have had one of those days. Almost all of his very best songs are on this album. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

The Greatest Hits is not so great.
To begin with, the song "The Very Thought of You", one of his most beautiful songs, is not even included. Then, "Nature Boy" is not the stereo version, but a 1940's mono version in inferior sound. The whole cd is badly produced. After I bought this cd and found it sadly lacking, I purchased the cd titled "Unforgettable Nat King Cole" (on Capitol,released 2000). It has all of the great hits in stereo and in perfect sound. It should receive the 5 star rating. Why people should rate the "Greatest Hits" album 5 stars is beyond me. It should get at most 2 stars. I'm sorry I was snookered into buying it. I can always use it as a coffee coaster.