It was only right, I think, for the most “Antique Album” I’ve reviewed in this series, that I listen to it on the shiny new record player that I received for my 16th birthday. So, armed with an original vinyl copy of “Ballads of the Day” that Mr. Kotzan generously let me borrow, I set out to listen to this album the way it was intended to be heard: spinning around the phonograph on a lazy Saturday morning.
The album in question is the creation of quintessential ‘40s crooner Nat King Cole, one of my favorites in the genre. Most people today will recognize him and his voice from many Christmas songs, most notably “The Christmas Song,” but Cole’s career is so much more than “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” While not as much of a household
name as Sinatra or other ‘40s swing singers, Cole nails the romantic aspect of this time better than the rest, and there’s not a single song of his I know that isn’t about the most wonderful feeling in the world: love.
While not exactly a love song, “Smile” has to be my favorite song on the album. It’s a song that showcases Cole’s voice in all its glory; the soft, smooth, richness of it is like no other artist I’ve heard. Combining that with the song’s wistfully optimistic lyrics of “Smile, though your heart is breaking,” you’re left with a warm and fuzzy feeling deep in your soul that very few songs can evoke.
Time and time again, I find myself coming back to Cole after a long day, and there’s no better album than “Ballads of the Day” to soothe the spirit. The album is filled with so much emotion, yet listening to it provides a sigh of relief every song.
And so, as the year draws to a close, I leave you with one final album created by a singer fully deserving of the title of “King.”
But when I return, we’ll take a look at a very different “King” from a similar time, the King, as a matter of fact. And you better not step on his “Blue Suede Shoes.”
