Legends Of The 20th Century

This volume of Capitol/EMI's Legends Of The 20th Century profiles Nat King Cole, tracing his work as a jazz pianist and a massively popular singer. Both sides of Cole's talent are explored in this 22-track album, which includes "Nature Boy," "Unforgettable," "When I Fall In Love" and other vocal hits as well as jazz works like "Straighten Up And Fly Right," "When I Take My Sugar To Tea," "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" and "Body And Soul." A fine sampling of highlights from both of Cole's careers.

Released as part of Capitol/EMI's Legends of the 20th Century series, this single-disc collection is an excellent summary of Fats Domino's legendary singles. Technically, it doesn't have all the hits – it's missing such gold singles as "Bo Weevil," "It's You I Love," and "Wait and See" – but it has every classic: "The Fat Man," "Ain't It a Shame," "I'm In Love Again," "My Blue Heaven," "Blueberry Hill," "Blue Monday," "I'm Walkin'," "Whole Lotta Loving," "I'm Ready," "I Want to Walk You Home," "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Some Day," "Be My Guest," "Walking to New Orleans," "My Girl Josephine," and "Let the Four Winds Blow," among others. Yes, it's essentially the same as many of the other greatest hits collection, but it's done well, sounds good, and, at 25 tracks, is quite generous, making it an ideal choice for most listeners.

Our series of historic radio recordings from Russian archives has proved very popular all over the world. Many people have chosen performance over recording quality. – which, when necessary, we have improved optimally. – Thus allowing themselves the infinite joy of listening to legendary performers.
The musicians in this large set are all (living) legends indeed: pianists, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Lazar Berman, Evgeny Kissin; violinists David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Viktor Tretiakov and Gidon Kremer; cellists Rostropovich and Daniel Shafran. Solo works, chamber music and works with orchestra are included. The recordings of lesser-known and hardly ever heard repertoire are a definite additional bonus of this series. The list of mainly Russian composers comprises such names as Catoire, Medtner, Kazhlaev, and Vladigerov.

This entry in mail-order firm Collectors' Choice Music's series of reissues of Nat King Cole albums pairs two instrumental collections he recorded in the 1950s. In its original form as a 10," eight-song LP, Penthouse Serenade, recorded on July 18, 1952, found Cole returning to the small-band format of his jazz playing days in an ensemble that featured him on piano, John Collins on guitar, Charles Harris on bass, and Bunny Shawker on drums (with Jack Costanzo joining in on bongos and conga on "Rose Room," "Once in a Blue Moon," and "Down by the Old Mill Stream"). Three years later, on July 14, 1955, Cole re-entered the studio to cut another four songs so that the album could be reissued as a 12-song, 12" LP. Two songs each were added to the ends of the two sides of the album.