Site Menu

Tell Me All About Yourself

album_cover

Recorded 10/30/58, 11/4&10/58

Nat Cole - Vocals
Dave Cavanaugh - Arranger
Lee Gillette - Producer
Capitol W 1331
Capitol SW 1331

  1. Tell Me All About Yourself
  2. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
  3. The Best Thing For You
  4. When You Walked By
  5. Crazy She Calls Me
  6. You've Got The Indian Sign On Me
  7. For You
  8. Dedicated To You
  9. You Are My Love
  10. This Is Always
  11. My Life
  12. (I Would Do) Anything For You

The breeziest of Big Band albums, this one flies by, serenading with ballads as For You or breezing through upbeat tunes like the marvelously brassy The Best Thing For You with poise. Nat's band vocals demonstrate the same uncanny time and use of contrasting attack and sensitivity his ballads are famed for. A tight studio big band gives perfect support.

Yet this album could also be described as routine. It has no particular theme; each song no greater purpose or intent than the obvious, with the sole exception of the irony in The Best Thing For You. The arrangements are effective but generally quite dry and very brief. Every one is short; I have no idea why they don't stretch out some. One might be tempted to say they rushed through this project, but Nat is tuned in and not tossing off all the vocals, the recording is fantastic and it took the then-standard session time. So I wouldn't say there's anything sloppy about it, it's quite well done. Creatively, it doesn't have a shadow on Just One of Those Things nor does it match its closer relation, Welcome To the Club. But if this can be called the creative poor relation to Nat's other Big Band albums, that's a fine compliment to the quality of Nat's 'routine'.

Would that anyone could make an album like this at all today, let alone as a routine.