NAT KING COLE: GREATEST HITS (DCC 180 TEST PRESSING)

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Nat King Cole: Greatest Hits

DCC LPZ-2061

THIS OFFERING COMES IN A PLAIN WHITE COVER (WITH CATALOGUE NUMBER AND DATE STAMPED ON IT) AND A PLAIN WHITE LABEL. 

This highly collectible test pressing is from the first stamper and there are less than 20 in existence. Test pressings reflect the closest you can get to the lacquers and hence have a special collectible value.

DCC 180+ Gram Analogue Virgin Heavy Vinyl LPs are fast becoming one of the rarest in ANY out of print series.

Forget low numbers – Test Pressings are as rare as they come!

ONLY A SMALL NUMBER ARE PRESSED!

AN AUDIOPHILE’S DREAM!

Mastered by Steve Hoffman and re-mastered from the Original Master Tapes on DCC’s vintage Vacuum-Tube Playback System. 

Audiophiles know Steve Hoffman’s work, no need for more explanation!

NOTE: This release is a two-LP set.  This test pressing is only Side A/B

CONDITION:

Cover: M-

Record: M-

Nat King Cole: Greatest Hits

A true best-of Nat "King" Cole collection would run at least six discs and about half that many styles. But this set, properly named The Greatest Hits, focuses on the more visible final stage of Cole’s career. After beginning as an influential if under-appreciated West Coast jazz pianist in the late ‘30s, Cole expanded into swinging jazz vocals in late 1940 with a Decca session that included a popular version of "Sweet Lorraine." Additional jazz and jazz-vocal sides as well as the widely loved Christmas pop sessions followed throughout the ‘40s. By the early ‘50s, the popularity of his vocal sides, with that smooth, enveloping, and masculine delivery, naturally led to more pop-oriented settings. This collection has a single track from 1946, another from 1954 (both in mono), with the remaining 20 songs coming from the more commercial 1958-63 period.

Many of the songs from these later sessions are merely vehicles for Cole’s voice, but his assured style and perfect delivery make the performances worthwhile. "Mona Lisa," with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra backing, is as good as pop will ever get. "Unforgettable," which opens the disc as a solo number and closes it as the 1991 Grammy-winning posthumous duet with daughter Natalie, is also pop perfection. On the other hand, "Straighten Up And Fly Right," "You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" and "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" give us a picture of Cole not just as a singer, but in his first setting, as the pianist of the prototypical piano/guitar/bass trio. This view offers a glimpse of just how much was lost when Cole shifted focus from player to singer. But the pop songs here, "Nature Boy," "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66," and "Walkin’ My Baby Back Home," among others, are well worth the admission price.

In all, The Greatest Hits is the perfect sampler of Cole’s final recordings. Pick it up if you want to hear the greatest hits, but don’t forget to also look for the more jazz-oriented stuff.

Tracks:

Side 1

1. Unforgettable
2. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
3. Orange Colored Sky
4. Mona Lisa
5. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home

Side 2

1. Straighten Up And Fly Right
2. Send For Me
3. Looking Back
4. You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)
5. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons

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