Natalie Cole says 'Take a Look' album celebrates songs by famous black singers - Cover Story

Jet, July 5, 1993

Supreme songstylist Natalie e, whose Unforgettable With Love album tribute to her famous father Nat King Cole won seven Grammy Awards in 1992, has released a new and, perhaps, more memorable album, Take A Look.

The chip-off-the-block singer with velvety vocal chords said she "wanted to stick with the ambiance and atmosphere" of the 22 classics of her smooth-as-satin singer father in Unforgettable but not "make an album that would be a total repetition."

She explains: "I learned a lot from my Dad. And, one thing was always true: he never repeated himself musically, and to me, that's what the integrity of the artist is all about."

Another facet of Natalie's honesty and musical morality prompted her to record this, her second Elektra album, to celebrate 18 songs previously recorded by some of her dad's famous friends--Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

With a recording team that included her husband Andre Fischer and Tommy LiPuma, Natalie, noting that she had total input, listened to some 40 to 50 tracks to make the final selection of signature songs. "This album actually is the album that I've always wanted to do and that is an album of jazz standards with great stuff that my dad turned me on to when I was about 10 or 11 years old," she told Jet.

"Not only did I meet and get to know some of these great singers and musicians," Natalie says, "but I fondly recall addressing them as |aunt' and |uncle.'

"I love the idea of introducing younger listeners to the kind of music on this album," Natalie enthuses, 'and at the same time, bringing back wonderful memories for other people of songs they heard and loved thirty or forty years ago.

"It is with much love and affection that I present this musical portion to you--the buyer, the listener, as well as friends old and new. It is my hope that you will listen with new ears, for there is something different here that you may notice. I think they call it |attitude,' " she says with a smile.

Although she insists that the theme of Take A Look is "re-establishing my own musical personality," Natalie hastens to point out the origin of the album title. She says, "Take A Look was originally recorded by Aretha Franklin on a 1966 Columbia album. It's a song with a very powerful lyric and the message is as timely now as it was when it was first written. Although at first I didn't think it fits with the rest of the material on the album, I realized that I didn't want to put myself in the place where I would be stigmatized musically. That's why we included a few songs that don't fit the norm."

Natalie reveals that she didn't learn that Take A Look was Aretha's song until after the recording session. "I had no idea--not only did I not know until later--that she had done this song, I found out that she also titled her album Take A Look. I quickly wrote her a letter," Natalie says, "because I didn't want her to think that I didn't know that she recorded the original. She was lovely and responded back through her agent who was a friend of mine. She said she got my letter and was thrilled that I was doing the song and that she would definitely take the time to write me herself."

Although the Queen of Soul is the originator of Take A Look, Natalie is no imitator. She gives the song her own interpretation as she also gives to the other oldies but goodies which include Don't Explain, Cry Me A River, Undecided, Calypso Blues, It's Sand Man, Crazy He Calls Me, I Wish You Love, Let There Be Love and I'm Beginning To See The Light.

"The thing that I've tried to do in these songs is tell the story," Natalie points out. "If I'm so busy trying to push my style and yet not tell the story, then something is missing. It's more important for me to tell the story and then my presentation will shine through. That's one of the things I learned from my father. He told the story."

Moreover, Natalie says this album celebrates songs by famous Black singers. "I don't want people to think that we started with rap music. We didn't. I want Black people to realize that this is our history, as well as gospel, blues and R&B (rhythm and blues)," she emphasized.

Reflecting upon the encouragement and unrivaled support she has been getting in her career, Natalie says: "I'm indebted to my Heavenly Father, who looks beyond my faults and sees my needs. Yes, I'm still acknowledging God and I want you to continue to impress upon all your readers that I give all my honors to God...I have reaped the rewards tenfold more than I ever could have imagined."