Love Is the Thing
Love Is the Thing | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Nat King Cole | ||||
Released | April 1957 | |||
Recorded | December 19, 28, 1956 | |||
Studio | Capitol (Hollywood) | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 36:14 (12-track original album); 30:38 (10 track version); 45:43 (reissue with bonus tracks) | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Lee Gillette | |||
Nat King Cole chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [2] |
Love Is the Thing is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins.[3][4]
Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79,[5] the album reached #1 on Billboard's "Pop Albums" chart and tied at #1 on the UK Charts with the soundtrack for the 1956 film The King and I.[6] According to the records of the RIAA, the album achieved gold status in 1960 and broke platinum in 1992.[7] The LP was Cole's first gold album.
Overview
In 1956, Cole came together with popular music arranger Jenkins to produce the first of the four collaborations that are described by critics as among the best of either artist.[4][5] American Jazz commenter Scott Yanow noted that the album "sticks exclusively" to the role Cole had established in 1950s popular opinion as a "superb ballad vocalist".[8] While Love Is the Thing little reflects the jazz roots whence Cole emerged,[8] the singer's "restrained vocal approach" and the arranger's "unhurried string charts" combined to produce a romantic album of enduring popularity.[4]
Cole's three further albums with Jenkins were The Very Thought of You (1958), Every Time I Feel the Spirit (1959), and Where Did Everyone Go? (1963).
Release history
Originally released by Capitol Records, the album has been re-issued by various companies in alternate forms.
A 1996 re-release on 24-kt gold foil by the Digital Compact Classics label included three bonus tracks,[8][9] the same tracks incorporated in the re-titled 1991 CD Love Is the Thing (And More).[5] In 2007, The Collectors' Choice label reissued the album in conjunction with the final Cole/Jenkins collaboration on a single disc entitled Love Is the Thing/Where Did Everyone Go?[4] In 2010 the audiophile Analogue Productions label issued a hybrid SACD of the album, containing its original 12 tracks in mono, stereo, and three-track multichannel sound.
The original mono edition of the LP (Capitol W 824) contained two tracks not found on the original stereo edition (Capitol SW 824), those being "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" and "Love Letters," neither of which have appeared in stereo on any reissue.
Track listing
- "When I Fall in Love" (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) – 3:10
- "Stardust" (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish) – 3:15
- "Stay as Sweet as You Are" (Mack Gordon, Harry Revel) – 2:59
- "Where Can I Go Without You?" (Peggy Lee, Young) – 2:57
- "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" (Irving Berlin) – 2:50
- "Love Letters" (Heyman, Young) – 2:46
- "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller) – 3:17
- "I Thought About Marie" (Gordon Jenkins) – 3:06
- "At Last" (Gordon, Harry Warren) – 3:00
- "It's All in the Game" (Charles G. Dawes, Carl Sigman) – 3:07
- "When Sunny Gets Blue" (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:46
- "Love Is the Thing" (Ned Washington, Young) – 3:01
Bonus Tracks
- "Someone to Tell It To" (Sammy Cahn, Dolores Fuller, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:17
- "The End of a Love Affair" (Edward Redding) – 3:11
- "If Love Ain't There" (Johnny Burke) – 3:01
Personnel
- Nat King Cole – vocals
- Lee Gillette – producer
- Steve Hoffman – mastering, remastering
- Gordon Jenkins – arranger, conductor
- Charlie LaVere – piano
- John Kraus – engineer
- Marcia McGovern – pre-production
- Bob Norberg – remastering
- Larry Walsh – remastering
Chart positions
Chart (1957) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums Chart[10] | 1 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[11] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Yanow, Scott. Love Is the Thing at AllMusic
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 44. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Where Did Everyone Go? at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d Love Is the Thing/Where Did Everyone Go? at AllMusic
- ^ a b c Love Is the Thing (And More) at AllMusic
- ^ Nat King Cole: Love Is the Thing Archived 2007-12-15 at the Wayback Machine The Official UK Charts Company. Accessed December 5, 2007.
- ^ "American album certifications – Nat King Cole – Love Is the Thing". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ a b c Love Is the Thing at AllMusic
- ^ Puccio, John. (January 1999). "Nat 'King' Cole: The Greatest Hits" Sensible Sound.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company – Nat King Cole – Love Is The Thing". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ "American album certifications – Nat King Cole – Love Is the Thing". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- v
- t
- e
- The King Cole Trio
- Nat King Cole at the Piano
- King Cole for Kids
- Penthouse Serenade
- Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love
- The Piano Style of Nat King Cole
- After Midnight
- Just One of Those Things
- Love Is the Thing
- Cole Español
- St. Louis Blues
- The Very Thought of You
- To Whom It May Concern
- Welcome to the Club
- A Mis Amigos
- Tell Me All About Yourself
- Every Time I Feel the Spirit
- Wild Is Love
- The Magic of Christmas
- The Nat King Cole Story
- The Touch of Your Lips
- Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays
- Ramblin' Rose
- Dear Lonely Hearts
- More Cole Español
- Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
- Where Did Everyone Go?
- Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady
- Let's Face the Music!
- I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore
- L-O-V-E
- Harvest of Hits
- Top Pops
- Unforgettable
- 10th Anniversary Album
- Ballads of the Day
- This Is Nat King Cole
- The Beautiful Ballads
- 20 Golden Greats
- For Sentimental Reasons
- Love Songs
- All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio
- Dear Mr. Cole
- Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
- The Nat King Cole Songbook
- P.S. Mr. Cole
- A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole
- With Respect to Nat
- You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs)
- Nat King Cole & Me
- "That Ain't Right
- "All for You"
- "Straighten Up and Fly Right"
- "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You"
- "It's Only a Paper Moon"
- "The Frim-Fram Sauce"
- "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66"
- "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"
- "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"
- "What'll I Do"
- "Nature Boy"
- "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea"
- "Don't Blame Me"
- "For You My Love"
- "I Almost Lost My Mind"
- "Mona Lisa"
- "Orange Colored Sky"
- "Frosty the Snowman"
- "Too Young"
- "Red Sails in the Sunset"
- "Unforgettable"
- "Somewhere Along the Way"
- "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"
- "Because You're Mine"
- "Pretend"
- "I Am in Love"
- "Lover, Come Back to Me"
- "Answer Me, My Love"
- "Tenderly"
- "Smile"
- "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"
- "A Blossom Fell"
- "That's All There Is to That"
- "Night Lights"
- "To the Ends of the Earth"
- "Ballerina"
- "When I Fall in Love"
- "Stardust"
- "Send for Me"
- "Looking Back"
- "Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)"
- "Non Dimenticar"
- "You Made Me Love You"
- "Just as Much as Ever"
- "Let There Be Love"
- "Ramblin' Rose"
- "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"
- "That Sunday, That Summer"
- "People"
- "L-O-V-E"
- "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
- Maria Cole (wife)
- Carole Cole (daughter)
- Natalie Cole (daughter)
- Eddie Cole (brother)
- Ike Cole (brother)
- Freddy Cole (brother)
- Lionel Cole (nephew)