This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
DISCS: Four.
TRACKS: 101.
YEARS: 1942 – 1964.
LOWDOWN: Unforgettable. That’s the easiest way to sum up velvet-voice jazz crooner Nat King Cole. From the early ’40s until his untimely death at age 45 from lung cancer in 1964, the singe and pianist chalked up a long string of finger-popping hits and cool ballads, many of which have become standards. We’re talking about songs like Straighten Up And Fly Right, Sweet Lorraine, It’s Only A Paper Moon, Route 66, Nature Boy, Mona Lisa, Ramblin’ Rose and Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer. The Classic Singles has them all, along with about 90 other singles and flipsides. Even better, it doesn’t have that posthumous collaboration with daughter Natalie.
NEW STUFF: If they were new, they wouldn’t be classics.
EYE CANDY: A 60-page book with a biography, plenty of pics and chart information.
DAMAGE: About $75.
