The 20-track EMI set
The One and Only is a valuable examination of the LP brilliance of
Nat King Cole, rarely reissued in full on CD but deserving a recommendation superseded only by
Frank Sinatra's work of the same period. The disc grabs 20 tracks from '50s classics like
Nat Sings for Two in Love (his first LP, recorded with
Nelson Riddle),
The Nat King Cole Story (a set of re-recordings, with
Ralph Carmichael), Just One of Those Things (with
Billy May), and
Love Is the Thing (with
Gordon Jenkins). The opener, "Sweet Lorraine," is a later, rarer version of the
Cole standard, and the compilers are able to select great material that hasn't been heard enough (thanks mostly to Capitol's continued ignoring of original items in the
Cole catalog). Highlights come frequently, led by "Mona Lisa" but also including obscure material like "Serenata," "The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)," "Love Is the Thing," and "Dance Ballerina Dance."