Submitted by Contributing Writer Michael Coleman
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If you understand spanish, youʼll love Grammy Award-winner Natalie Coleʼs faithful interpretations of classic spanish love songs on her new CD, “Natalie Cole En Español”. If you donʼt understand spanish, after your first listen youʼll want to order Rosetta Stone or take a spanish class at the local community college. The CD is Coleʼs best in over 20 years, and may be the best of her career.
I will admit to raising an eyebrow upon hearing that Cole was recording a CD of spanish standards. Natalieʼs dad, legend Nat “King” Cole, recorded his first spanish language album in 1958, so we should have expected the younger Cole to continue following in her fatherʼs formidable footsteps. Sheʼs mined the senior Coleʼs catalog so many times (beginning in 1987 and most successfully with 1991ʼs “Unforgettable”) that we can look for a posthumous duet on a Cole CD of standards…and sure enough, “Acércate Mas” is featured.
Coleʼs sweet duet with her dad is perhaps the weakest cut on this absolutely superb 12-track CD, produced by Cuban-American Rudy Perez. It is no surprise that “Natalie Cole En Español” debuted at #1 on Billboardʼs Latin Album chart, a spot it has retained since its release.
Coleʼs voice is in remarkably fine shape this time around, especially given her 63 years and tenure as a recording artist, which began in 1975 with her “Inseparable” album. She shines from the outset, with “Frenesi” changing tempo a third of the way in and leaving you wanting more. Cole displays authentic intonation and pronunciation throughout the CD, which is surprising for someone who confesses to not being fluent in spanish.
Coleʼs duet with classical tenor Andrea Bocelli “Besame Mucho” is sexy and romantic, and her versions of standards “Oye Como Va” and “Solamente Una Vez” are pitch-perfect. Her first single from the CD, a duet with Domican icon Juan Luis Guerra on his 1991 hit “Bachata Rosa”, is absolutely gorgeous.
“Black people and Hispanic people have the same feel for passion, for music, for fun, for heart,” Cole told the Huffington Post, adding that she prefers her spanish singing to her english hits. I think I agree.
Felicitaciones y muchas gracias, Ms. Cole!
