AMG Review of Love Songs [2001]

Andy Kellman
All Music Guide

Like a lot of artists who have had compilations released as part of the various Love Songs series that have surfaced from different labels, Natalie Cole has released so many songs that fit the bill -- just about 95 percent of her output, in fact -- that it seems redundant to gather her material in the name of the theme. So it's no surprise that Love Songs doesn't look much different from most of the other Natalie Cole anthologies, although it is a little heavier on ballads. This features a fair amount of her '70s and early-'80s highlights. Several chart hits -- "I Live for Your Love," "Inseparable," "I've Got Love on My Mind," "When I Fall in Love" -- are included. And yes, nearly a third of the tracks have "Love" in the title.