King Swings Review

07/13/2005 7:39 AM, AMG


To be honest, the king doesn't swing all that hard on this compilation of 18 numbers. It's suave swing, perhaps, often with orchestration, and sometimes so slow and romantic that you wouldn't associate it with swing unless it was on a collection titled The King Swings. Nonetheless, it's a quality assortment of numbers not only by Cole solo, but also a couple by the King Cole Trio, and three credited to the Count Basie Orchestra that featured Cole on vocals (and generally have more big-band verve than the rest of the program). The King Cole Trio's "But She's My Buddy's Chick," contrary to much of the disc, illustrates how he could skirt close to jump blues; a vocal version of the classic "Caravan," done so often as an instrumental, is another highlight. It's hard to see how ballads like "Blue and Sentimental" and "You're My Thrill" classify as swing except as a marketing tool to comply with the title of this anthology, though that doesn't detract from their quality. In the end, it's a rather uneasily grouped bunch of tunes, and probably one that will pick up the random Cole buyer more than the committed Cole fan. Also, it would help those without full Cole libraries to have recording or release dates in the liner notes (none are provided). ~ Richie Unterberger , All Music Guide