Nat King Cole: Ramblin' Rose (And More) CD Track Listing

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Nat King Cole Ramblin' Rose (And More) (1962)
Originally Released 1962\nCD Edition Released July 23, 1996\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: In 1962, a few months after the release of Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Nat King Cole released his "country" album, Ramblin' Rose. The string-drenched, pop-country approach was not too far removed from many of the Nashville Sound recordings of the era, but nonetheless much of this music bears little similarity to what is generally regarded as country, and most of the material is foreign to country repertory. Cole's version of the Claude King hit "Wolverton Mountain" is the most country-sounding cut, while "Your Cheatin' Heart" is so far removed from Hank Williams that it's unintentionally funny. "Ramblin' Rose" became a popular song to cover for a while, and many of the other tracks, such as "Sing Another Song (And We'll Go Home)" and a surprisingly successful version of "Skip to My Lou," will please fans of Cole's 1960s pop-crooner phase. Focusing on country songs reinterpreted for the pop market, Ramblin' Rose is a pleasant but not earth-shaking genre experiment, although it's clear that the idea of producing a Nat King Cole country album was not the overriding artistic aim of the project. The 1987 CD includes a few tracks from a similar album Cole recorded the same year, and it's unfortunate that Capitol did not choose to release the complete albums as a two-fer instead. -- Greg Adams\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNat does country...and quite well, July 25, 2001\nReviewer: The Fancy One "blackprincess" (New York, NY)\nI've had the RAMBLIN' ROSE (AND MORE) cd for well over a year, and to be honest, I was not too crazy about it when I first played it. I'm not a country music fan so I REALLY wasn't feeling a lot of the songs on it, and it spent more time on my shelf than in my CD player. But as time went on, I've developed a love for this like I didn't think I would. Of course I loved "Ramblin' Rose", but along with a couple other songs on the CD, they were the only ones getting the time of day in my home...but playing it in its entirety recently made me really appreciate even more what a diverse talent that Nat was. I figured he may have been following Ray Charles' lead on doing an LP with a country/western theme, since Ray had done something similar earlier the same year (1962) and broke all kinds of records when he did it, sort of creating a new genre of music: country soul. Nat did equally as well. \nThere are a few songs on RAMBLIN' ROSE (AND MORE) that tend to be a little on the corny side (example: "Skip To My Lou", "Sing Another Song", "Twilight On The Trail"), but overall this CD is very good. Nat brings his warm and seductive charm to these tunes, and like I said in a review of another Nat CD, Nat could sing anything and make you love it...which is just what happened to me. It has that "everybody, sing-it-with-me" quality. Even though I'm not thrilled about "Wolverton Mountain", Nat handles it with a lot of spirit, and I can't knock him for that. This is the way he approached everything he sang, regardless of the genre. But enough about what I don't like....The best cuts on this CD are of course, "Ramblin' Rose", "I Don't Want It That Way", "Your Cheating Heart" and "Goodnight Irene". Also outstanding is the wistfulness of "He'll Have To Go" and "One Has My Name, The Other Has My Heart". "He'll Have To Go" is especially tender and romantic, with the gentle oohs and ahhs being sung in the background...no doubt, one of my favorite songs on the CD. "The Good Times", which was originally the B-side of the "Ramblin' Rose" single, seems like it was a fluke that it ended up on this album because it's the only song on it that is not arranged in the country/pop style...it's an upbeat pop/R&B joint that is reminiscent of the Ben E. King '60s hit "Stand By Me". I liked the call-and-response arrangement that Nat and his background chorus used in it; in fact the call-and-response technique is used on several songs here. The AND MORE part of the CD features three tracks from the follow up to the RAMBLIN' ROSE LP, DEAR LONELY HEARTS, another country/pop-themed album: "All By Myself", "All Over the World" and the title song, "Dear Lonely Hearts". The latter two songs were minor hits for Nat in late 1962. \n\nFor a non-country fan like me, RAMBLIN' ROSE (AND MORE) turned out to be a pleasant surprize. Only Nat King Cole's magnificent voice could make me have more respect for that genre of music, whereas before I thought most country songs were about drinking beer and cheating! LOL. This is an enjoyable CD. Add it to your collection!\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA real blast from my past !, November 28, 2003\nReviewer: James Dunn (Big Moose, NY USA)\nThis album brings back warm fuzzy memories for me. In 1969 my Father bought a brand new Ford station wagon and equipped it with a "state of the art" 8-track tape player with (wow) 4 speakers! The family, five kids and our parents took a 4000 mile round trip from the Adirondack mountains of New York State to Florida and back. This recording in all of its 8-track glory was one of five tapes that ran for most of the 200 hours we spent in the car. With everyone asleep in the middle of the night and my Father driving along the interstate, a six year old Me came crawling into the front seat. With NKC's velvet voice gently flowing from the speakers and Dad's arm around me, I watched the world going safely by. To this day when I play this music I can still smell that new car and feel that long since gone arm on my shoulder. Nat "King" Cole had the kind of voice and talent which stands alone regardless of the style of music he performed. If I had to live out my days with only a limited selection of music, this album would be on the short list.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Belford Hendricks \nProducer: Lee Gillette
This country cd contains 15 tracks and runs 39min 2sec.
Freedb: cd09240f

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