Nat King Cole box, "His Musical Autobiography," October 2015 from Universal*

Sorry, I posted the wrong link a few posts up....

Compare "Red Sails" on ultratop with "Red Sails" here.

 

I don't think I want to skip my next meal out to find out.

 

On the Autobiog set, That's All There is to That is the duophonic version. Listening to it on my big speakers, it has most of Nat pushed to the left channel. If you listen to it on the Capitol Heartland "Legendary" CD or the Bear Stardust box, Nat, the singers and the players are centered.

To my ears on Red Sails in the Sunset, the Michael Cuscana produced Lush Life album of Pete Rugolo sides sounds pretty much the same as the Autobiog set. So I doubt that it is Duophonic. There is some increased volume on the Autobiog Red Sails, but it isn't bad to hear. I found a Duophonic version of Red Sails in the Sunset on the 2005 CD version of the 4 CD The Unforgettable Nat King Cole from Reader's Digest/EMI Special Markets. On that one, Nat and the backup singers sound like they are singing from the bottom of the sea. Really bad!!

 

I can't run those computer clips through my big stereo system, so I didn't try to make any judgments about what version is on the computer clips.

 

Thanks, Dale.

 

CD2. - I listened to the first couple of Capitol sessions for the Trio from the Musical Autobiography set. I compared the tracks to the Mosaic edition of the same sessions. Mostly it was a wash, but sometimes I preferred the Mosaic and sometimes the Autobiography set. These sessions go from Straighten Up and Fly Right to It's Only A Paper Moon.
The timings which are not listed in the Autobiography box:

The timings for the first disc of the Mosaic:
01 - (2:59) Vom, Vim, Veedle
02 - (3:25) All for You
03 - (2:41) Let's Spring One
04 - (2:24) Beautiful Moons Ago
05 - (3:10) Pitchin' Up a Boogie
06 - (3:09) I'm Lost
07 - (3:04) F.S.T. (Fine, Sweet & Tasty)
08 - (3:06) My Lips Remember Your Kisses
09 - (2:34) Got a Penny
10 - (3:15) Let's Pretend
11 - (2:26) Straighten Up And Fly Right
12 - (2:56) Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You
13 - (2:28) Jumpin' at Capitol
14 - (3:06) If You Can't Smile And Say Yes
15 - (3:10) Sweet Lorraine
16 - (3:24) Embraceable You
17 - (3:20) Embraceable You (Alt)
18 - (2:56) It's Only a Paper Moon
19 - (3:05) I Just Can't See for Lookin'

On I Just Can't See For Lookin', it is 10 seconds longer on the Autobiography set and I like it better than the Mosaic. The Mosaic could be right but I just liked the sound and pace better on the longer version.

Now on If You Can't Smile and Say Yes, the Autobiography box picked the wrong tape or Mosaic corrected the speed. The Autobiography box timing is 2:48 and Nat sounds too young and you notice his vibrato. The Mosaic timing is 3:06 and Nat sounds like an adult and it is pleasant to hear.

On Gee Baby... I think I like the Autobiography box version, which sounded like the Wally Traugott engineered LP to me, but the differences were small.

 

@dale 88: I don't have the Mosaic discography in front of me to check, but the Mosaic did correct the speed on several tracks.

 

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Right, I checked the Mosaic notes and they said they corrected the speed on about 24 tracks. But only a few were mentioned specifically in the discography -- which were the worst cases.

 

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I can't see to make the picture's larger.

 

I skipped to CD 10 - The Rare and Unreleased

On Just You, Just Me, producer Lee Gillette asks Nat on take 5 or 6 if he could put his face closer to the microphone. Then when there is a flub on that take, Nat says he was trying to dodge the microphone.

The clarity of the transfers on some of the early 50s songs is great, such as The Magic Window, Sleeping Beauty, Sweet William, The Day Isn't Long Enough, and Little Child. Except for The Magic Window , the clarity still doesn't make them top tier songs, but they are more enjoyable. I would guess that Capitol didn't release The Magic Window when they heard Bing was finally taping a single of the song from the movie. I like Nat's version, but Bing's movie version holds a special place both for the singing and the arrangement. I think Bing's movie version is better than Bing's single version.

More later -- Nat practically loses his voice on Why Can't We Try Again.

• 
  
  
  • CD: 10
  • 01
    Track info
    00:13
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 02
    Track info
    03:06
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 03
    Track info
    01:41
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 04
    Track info
    03:32
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 05
    Track info
    03:01
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 06
    Track info
    01:21
    Just You, Just Me – Nat King Cole Trio
  • 07
    Track info
    03:02
    Little Child – Nat King Cole
  • 08
    Track info
    02:51
    The Day Isn't Long Enough – Nat King Cole
  • 09
    Track info
    03:21
    Sweet William (And Lily At The Valley) – Nat King Cole
  • 10
    Track info
    03:01
    Sleeping Beauty – Nat King Cole
  • 11
    Track info
    03:23
    The Magic Window – Nat King Cole
  • 12
    Track info
    00:42
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 13
    Track info
    03:19
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 14
    Track info
    00:17
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 15
    Track info
    00:18
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 16
    Track info
    03:24
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 17
    Track info
    00:13
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 18
    Track info
    00:14
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 19
    Track info
    03:20
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 20
    Track info
    03:13
    Why Can't We Try Again? – Nat King Cole
  • 21
    Track info
    02:56
    You're Wrong All Wrong – Nat King Cole
  • 22
    Track info
    02:49
    Little Fingers – Nat King Cole
  • 23
    Track info
    03:16
    United – Nat King Cole
  • 24
    Track info
    01:24
    United – Nat King Cole
  • 25
    Track info
    00:19
    United – Nat King Cole
  • 26
    Track info
    02:02
    Unfair – Nat King Cole
  • 27
    Track info
    01:54
    One Sun – Nat King Cole
  • 28
    Track info
    03:05
    Coo Coo Roo Coo Coo Paloma – Nat King Cole
  • 29
    Track info
    02:28
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 30
    Track info
    02:33
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 31
    Track info
    00:18
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 32
    Track info
    00:09
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 33
    Track info
    00:17
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 34
    Track info
    00:13
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 35
    Track info
    00:33
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 36
    Track info
    01:18
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 37
    Track info
    02:33
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 38
    Track info
    00:26
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 39
    Track info
    00:20
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 40
    Track info
    02:22
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole
  • 41
    Track info
    02:45
    Thank You Pretty Baby – Nat King Cole

 

To continue with CD 10.

On the second take of Why Can't We Try Again about half way thru Nat's voice fades away. Nat stops singing and says something like 'that slipped up on me'. The orchestra and background singers continue on to the end. Nice Riddle arrangement.

Of the nine takes on CD 10, the last one was issued on the 1992 Ballads of the Day CD.

If it had been me I would have patched the 2nd take's first minute to the 9th take. I thought the first minute of the 2nd take had some magic in it.

On You're Wrong All Wrong, I think the orchestra needed another take or two. It seems rough in places.

You wonder if Little Fingers was written with Nat in mind.

 

I think it was actually Take 8, Dale.

 

You're right, it is Take 8 that was released on the 1992 Ballads of the Day. I should have compared the 1992 release to the Autobiography set. I was repeating the Autobiography notes writer when he said it was the last take. The last take was Take 9.

Now that I have compared them, the sound on the Autobiography set on Why Can't We Try Again, all nine takes, is so much more natural than Norberg on the 1992 release. Shocker, I know.

 

How do you find the booklet/essay, Dale?

 

They seem pretty good. I haven't spent a lot of time with them. I wish they had published timings somewhere. I found a foreign internet site where I printed out the timings. There are several photos that I don't remember seeing before, and some I would like to ask people on the forum for identification. They did do a few pages about the Rare or Unreleased disc. Each song gets a paragraph. No one is listed as the author of the notes. Here is part of the Credits page:



I tried to insert a larger size photo credit page above, but this damn Xenforo software seems to cut down the size of one's photo.

 

Pretty sure Havers wrote the notes. And that's the first time I think I've ever seen anybody get a "metadata" credit.

 

Does anyone have any info regarding which songs were speed corrected on the Mosaic set? I'd like to do the same with the Autobiography set if they can be identified (and maybe it's obvious which ones...not sure).

Thanks.