Album Reviews

Recorded in December of 1956 and released in the spring of 1957, this lushly arranged, string-drenched concept album collected a set of love ballads that Nat “King” Cole delivered with unerring intimacy and warmth.

With Love is the Thing, Cole completed his transition from jazz pianist to pop vocalist. The record buying public had made a transition too: from 78rpm singles and multi-disc “album” buyers to eager, committed LP collectors.

Recorded in December of 1956 and released in the spring of 1957, this lushly arranged, string-drenched concept album collected a set of love ballads that Nat “King” Cole delivered with unerring intimacy and warmth.

With Love is the Thing, Cole completed his transition from jazz pianist to pop vocalist. The record buying public had made a transition too: from 78rpm singles and multi-disc “album” buyers to eager, committed LP collectors.

Capitol was quick to take advantage of buyer enthusiasm for the new microgroove format with a series of “concept” albums from Cole and Frank Sinatra.

Love is the Thing quickly rose to the top of the pop charts and remained on the charts for the better part of two years, first in monophonic sound and later in a stereophonic version marred by an excess of echo.

Gordon Jenkins’ supple arrangements for these enduring ballads featuring plush string beds, accented by harp glissandos and anchored by double bass and some brush work aren’t subtle, but neither are they saccharine and they certainly aren’t overly busy.

Cole’s relaxed, intimate, yet powerful delivery exudes the full measure of pleasure to be found in the experience of being in love. The album stays in that mode from first song ‘til last, producing an unrelenting sensation of pheromone driven buoyancy and well-being.

Cole’s voice is closely-miked, producing the sensation of a giant, solid, three-dimensional apparition between the speakers. Playing the opener, “When I Fall in Love,” for a visitor inevitably results in bulging eyes of disbelief and involuntary sighs and “wow!”s It never fails.

When Steve Hoffman re-mastered this twelve song album for DCC Compact Classics back in the 1990s, he worked from the three-track master, mixing down to two tracks and adding a touch of reverb. Using the original two track stereo master, with its watery reverb, was out of the question.

That DCC Compact Classics 180g LP became one of the most popular of the albums the label issued back then. The DCC is still much sought.

For this reissue, Kevin Gray and Hoffman went back to the three track and mixed it live to lacquer. They constructed a reverb chamber in the hallway at the Record Technology Incorporated pressing plant that does a remarkably accurate job of mimicking Capitol’s famed reverb chambers located under the Capitol tower’s parking lot.

Mixing “live” from 3-track saves a generation and helps produce a finished album that’s even better than the already excellent DCC Compact Classic edition. If you play the DCC on a full range system you’ll hear and feel Cole pop the mike diaphragm on a few room-shaking consonants. This is accentuated by the fact that Hoffman made the not unreasonable choice to boost the bass on the opening track in an effort to counter the rising high end of the microphone, which gives the top end of the vocals a layer of cool edge.

While the bass boost on the opening track produces pleasing warmth, it’s a bit overhyped. In producing this reissue producer Chad Kassem was faced with a dilemma: create a reissue that’s more accurate to the source, or warm it up like on the DCC reissue. Kassem ultimately chose to tone down the bass boost on the opening track.

This decision may surprise and perhaps disappoint owners of the DCC version, but ultimately I believe it was the correct one. The brightness is only on the opening track as apparently the engineers later compensated to smooth-out the vocal sound. The result is a “When I Fall in Love” with a bit more edge, but less bloat.

The double 45rpm cut results in cleaner transients and greater cut-to-cut consistency as the cut never comes close to the smaller inner groove area radii. If you already own the DCC, should you make the investment in this reissue? I’d say yes. It’s as good as you will ever hear this classic album and while today we think of every new reissue as always being available, don’t count on it! Get this while you can.

Owners of SACD players should consider the new multi-format SACD, particularly if you have a multi-channel SACD player and system. The 24 track disc includes a stereo mix on both the CD and SACD layers, the original outstanding mono mix (plus two bonus tracks) on both the CD and SACD layers, plus a three track transfer, with Cole’s voice in the center channel. Play that back on a two-channel system and you have the best damn Karaoke tracks ever recorded!

Given a choice between the extra-filled SACD and the original album on double 45, I’d go for the vinyl if you want the purest, sweetest, most natural sounding Nat. If you already have the DCC Compact Classic's version, should you buy this one? If you really love the record, I'd say "yes." 

 I wouldn’t go through life without a copy of Love is the Thing and this one is easily the best yet and probably the best you’ll ever hear or be able to buy unless the master tape ends up on the auction block.