Nat King Cole
(Capitol/EMI)
Re:Generations attempts to bring the classic vocal and piano stylings of Nat King Cole - cut mostly in the post-Dionne quintuplets era of the 1940s and '50s - into the harsh light of today, as re-imagined by producers and artists from the Octo-Mom generation. Like any large family, however, success rubs elbows at the dinner table with failure.
Cole, who died in 1965, is hooked up here with daughter Natalie on a straightforward reading of her dad's first hit, 1944's "Straighten up and Fly Right." The coupling also features Nat's swinging Art Tatum/Erroll Garner-style piano. And what's not to like about the Just Blaze-produced "Pick-Up," with Nat's behind-the-wheel ("Hey baby, can I give you a ride?") line, put down roundly by a sassy young girl who could be Wanda Sykes' lippy daughter! "Brazilian Love Song" adds Bebel Gilberto's tropical counter-melody to Cole's original vocal to nice effect.
But not everything works here. Producer Cee-Lo Green uses so little of Cole's vocals on "Lush Life," the melody is totally unrecognizable. He should have checked out the Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane version to see what could have been done with this supple line. It's also too bad nobody chose to personalize Cole's eye-popping 1950 collaboration with Stan Kenton's big jazz band: "Orange Colored Sky." On the other hand, TV On The Radio gets right to the heart of another Coltrane fave, "Nature Boy" - the Eden Ahbez-penned Cole chart-topper from 1948 - by adding a layer of David Lynch-like industrial grit to a song that's as timelessly haunting as anything Nat King Cole ever recorded.
Standout Tracks: "Nature Boy," "Pick-Up" JUD COST
