LATEST ADDITIONS

Back in 1998 KOCH licensed both the RCA and Arista Kinks catalogs from BMG. Ray Davies supervised and approved the transfer from two-track analog masters, which was accomplished using an Ampex ATR102 directly feeding a Pacific Microsonics Model One A/D converter running at 88.2k/24 bit PCM (bonus tracks were sourced from Ray's DAT tapes). The files were sent to Bob Ludwig's Gateway Mastering for final mastering, including HDCD encoding.

The first studio album proper by the duet since 1976's Whistling Down The Wire, Crosby-Nash - a two-CD set - is an interesting, intriguing and overall thoughtful affair. To say something like that it reflects the 'lives in the balance' vibe that we are all surrounded by here in 2004 through the minds of these two firebrands would be accurate, but there's more, much more.

A nice return to form has been achieved. While I thought their last album, Hello Nasty, was lacking compared to the groundbreaking holy trinity of Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication, To the 5 Boroughs brings back some tasty examples of why the boys will go down in musical history as Rap-Rock trailblazers.

This bio produced by the Spanish Eforfilms is essential viewing for any Nat King Cole fan. There's plenty of great Nat footage, but more importantly, an intelligent script a that looks at all facets of Nat's life, including the tension between Nat the jazz pianist and Nat the pop crooner. Also key was the difficult racial environment in which Cole, among others, was forced to suffer.
There are complete musical performances, including Cole with Ella and a hilarious duet with Sammy Davis, Jr., with Sammy doing a perfect Nat impression, much to the “King”'s delight. Unfortunately I was unable to view the bonus footage, because the bar code on the jacket was placed over where the disc sits and when the distribution company punched the promo hole, it put a hole in the disc. Even without the bonus footage, this is worth having. Other bios in the series include Billie Holiday and Lena Horne, with a Frank Sinatra disc due soon.
Also for Nat fans: Nat "King" Cole Soundies and Telescriptions (idem Home Video IDVD1017NT), a 72 minute DVD compilation of Cole performances from various venues. Mostly black and white with lo-fi sound, it's Nat's look that will mesmerize, and the music's so good, the bad sound will not interfere