Let’s Face The Music! – NAT KING COLE****

Day In Day Out/Bidin’ My Time/When My Sugar Walks Down The Street/Warm & Willing/I’m Gonna Sit Right Down & Write Myself A Letter/Cold Cold Heart/Something Makes Me Want To Dance With You/Moon Love/The Rules Of The Road/Ebony Rhapsody/Too Little Too Late/Let’s Face The Music & Dance

Recorded in 1961, but not released until 1964, Let’s Face The Music! is unique in that it is the only occasion Nat King Cole was recorded playing on organ. Billy May is the arranger.

“Here is a great session with Nat King Cole and Billy May - their second together. The sound is bold and brassy, big band with a twist (Cole plays nice harmonium solos). Cole is in fine voice and May delivers orchestrations typical of his style.”

“Let's Face The Music!, a swinging album of rhythm tunes, is notable in Cole's catalogue in that it is the only instance of an LP on which he is heard playing the Hammond organ. That is not to say that this is an instrumental collection. On the contrary, Cole sings on every track; it's just that he also sits down at the organ in between vocal sections and reels off some lively solos. They are not, however, the real high points of the set, which is dominated by May's typically punchy, neo-swing horn charts, augmented with string passages.”

“Choosing a majority of standards dating back to 1924, with half the songs bearing '30s copyrights, Cole keeps up with May's arrangements easily, but he never brings the kind of aggressive edge heard in Sinatra's work with the conductor. Up, or medium, tempo Cole maintains his cool and his smooth delivery, always sounding unhurried, articulate and correct, whether he is singing of romantic joy or sorrow. This even-handedness sometimes drains the material of its potential force. Still, Cole fans can welcome his versions of some classic songs he had not addressed before.”

“A big, brassy classic from Nat and his comrade-in-swing, arranger Billy May. Let’s Face The Music features Nat on organ; not only is it the only time he played the instrument on record, but it marked the last time he would play any keyboard in the recording studio."