Nat King Cole at the Sands

AMG Review of Nat King Cole at the Sands

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

A year after Nat King Cole's death, Capitol Records released this "live" album, recorded at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas on January 14, 1960. There is a historical interest, in that this is the only Cole concert recording, and it's an enjoyable performance, with more up-tempo numbers than allads and a piano solo on "Where or When" that demonstrates Cole had not lost his jazz chops. But Cole on-stage is not a revelatory experience, at least on this night, and like most Vegas performances, this one is a little overdone. (An arrangement of Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" is especially unfortunate.) [Originally released in 1960, Nat King Cole at the Sands was reissued on CD in 2002, and reissued again on CD with bonus tracks in 2003.]