All The Girls Were Willing

A sudden switch in image accompanied Gilbert O'Sullivan's second album, 1972's Back to Front and its simultaneously released separate single "Alone Again (Naturally)." Gone was the mischievous little scamp sporting a jaunty cap and hand-me-down tweeds, in was a slick, hairy-chested lothario and along with this visual makeover came an aural overhaul, with O'Sullivan's sprightly show tune-inspired pop sounding slicker than before. And it's not just that Back to Front is given a gloss that would not have seemed out of place on a televised variety show from 1972, it's that O'Sullivan is taking great care to write sprightly theatrical tunes, songs that take great pride in their clever-clever twists, smiling, crowd-pleasing melodies, and the proudly cheeky sentimentality that drips off of “Clair,” to name the most obvious example here. In many ways, the unabashed showbiz cheer of Back to Front trumps the bedsit introspection of Himself: in his heart Gilbert O’Sullivan is a song-and-dance man possessing a way with a snappy hook or tearjerking melody, qualities that are amply – and charmingly – displayed here.

"Better by far" falls outwith the classic Caravan Deram label years of "Land of grey and pink", "For girls who grow.." etc., which were indeed better by far than this album. That said, the music here is enjoyable if relatively unchallenging…

This second 11-CD set is the first complete collection of all of Nat King Cole's recordings from the final half-decade of his career, a total of 292 masters. The set includes all of the following albums, in many cases including rare 'bonus' material from the same sessions: Nat King Cole's only in-concert recording, 'Live At The Sands' (1960) ' universally regarded as one of the great live albums of all time. 'Wild Is Love'