The Best of Natalie Cole: The Priceless Collection

Performer: Natalie Cole
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: The Best of Natalie Cole volume in Collectables' Priceless Collection series focuses on her recordings for Capitol in the '70s and collects a couple of songs from each album she released. She had a few big chart hits in the '70s, and they are all included: the smooth R&B classic "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" hit number six in 1975, the sultry "I've Got Love on My Mind" reached number seven in 1977, and the quiet storm ballad "Our Love" hit number ten in 1978. Cole doesn't have the world's strongest voice -- at times it could be shockingly thin and her scatting on "Mr. Melody" is cringe inducing -- but she makes the most of it on tracks like the surprisingly funky "Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)," the grooving cautionary tale "Annie Mae," and the disco jam "Party Lights." A highlight of the disc is her duet with Peabo Bryson, the disco-funk "Gimme Some Time," taken from 1979's We're the Best of Friends. This disc is not the best of Cole as the title claims, but it does do a decent job of summing up her early work at a very low price. [The 2003 Collectables release is a reissue of EMI's 2001 release The Best of Natalie Cole. It keeps the same track listing but changes the cover.] ~ Tim Sendra

The daughter of celebrated singer Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Cole signed to Capitol Records in 1975 and went right to the Top 10 with her debut single "This Will Be," followed by two more hits in quick succession. An increasing drug dependency took a professional and personal toll. But after a successful spell in rehab, Cole re-launched her career in `87 with the album EVERLASTING, which spawned the transatlantic hit "Pink Cadillac." In 1991, Cole recorded a "duet" with her father on his original recording of the song "Unforgettable." The accompanying album won seven Grammy Awards, and sent her in a more jazz/pop direction from the early `90s and onward.

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