Love Is the Thing

Love Is the Thing
Studio albumby Nat King Cole
Released	April 1957
Recorded	December 19, 28, 1956
Studio	Capitol(Hollywood)
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:14(12-track original album); 30:38 (10 track version); 45:43 (reissue with bonus tracks)
Label	Capitol
Producer	Lee Gillette
Nat King Colechronology
Just One of Those Things (1957) Love Is the Thing (1957) Cole Español (1958)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

Love Is the Thingis a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalistNat King Cole.It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arrangerGordon Jenkins.

Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79,the album reached #1 onBillboard's"Pop Albums"chart and tied at #1 on the UK Charts with thesoundtrackfor the 1956 filmThe King and I.According to the records of theRIAA,the album achievedgold statusin 1960 and broke platinum in 1992.The LP was Cole's first gold album.

Overview

In 1956, Cole came together with popular music arranger Jenkins to produce the first of the four collaborations that are described by critics as among the best of either artist.American Jazz commenterScott Yanownoted that the album "sticks exclusively" to the role Cole had established in 1950s popular opinion as a "superb ballad vocalist".WhileLove Is the Thinglittle reflects the jazz roots whence Cole emerged,the singer's "restrained vocal approach" and the arranger's "unhurried string charts" combined to produce a romantic album of enduring popularity.

Cole's three further albums with Jenkins wereThe Very Thought of You(1958),Every Time I Feel the Spirit(1959), andWhere Did Everyone Go?(1963).

Release history

Originally released byCapitol Records,the album has been re-issued by various companies in alternate forms.

A 1996 re-release on 24-kt gold foil by the Digital Compact Classics label included three bonus tracks,the same tracks incorporated in the re-titled 1991 CDLove Is the Thing (And More).In 2007, TheCollectors' Choicelabel reissued the album in conjunction with the final Cole/Jenkins collaboration on a single disc entitledLove Is the Thing/Where Did Everyone Go?In 2010 the audiophile Analogue Productions label issued a hybridSACDof the album, containing its original 12 tracks in mono, stereo, and three-track multichannel sound.

The original mono edition of the LP (Capitol W 824) contained two tracks not found on the original stereo edition (Capitol SW 824), those being "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" and "Love Letters," neither of which have appeared in stereo on any reissue.

Track listing

1. "When I Fall in Love"(Edward Heyman,Victor Young) – 3:10
2. "Stardust"(Hoagy Carmichael,Mitchell Parish) – 3:15
3. "Stay as Sweet as You Are" (Mack Gordon,Harry Revel) – 2:59
4. "Where Can I Go Without You?" (Peggy Lee,Young) – 2:57
5. "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much" (Irving Berlin) – 2:50
6. "Love Letters"(Heyman, Young) – 2:46
7. "Ain't Misbehavin'"(Harry Brooks,Andy Razaf,Fats Waller) – 3:17
8. "I Thought About Marie" (Gordon Jenkins) – 3:06
9. "At Last"(Gordon,Harry Warren) – 3:00
10. "It's All in the Game"(Charles G. Dawes,Carl Sigman) – 3:07
11. "When Sunny Gets Blue" (Marvin Fisher,Jack Segal) – 2:46
12. "Love Is the Thing" (Ned Washington,Young) – 3:01

Bonus Tracks

13. "Someone to Tell It To" (Sammy Cahn,Dolores Fuller,Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:17
14. "The End of a Love Affair" (Edward Redding) – 3:11
15. "If Love Ain't There" (Johnny Burke) – 3:01

Personnel

• Nat King Cole–vocals
• Lee Gillette –producer
• Steve Hoffman–mastering,remastering
• Gordon Jenkins–arranger,conductor
• Charlie LaVere–piano
• John Kraus –engineer
• Marcia McGovern – pre-production
• Bob Norberg– remastering
• Larry Walsh – remastering

Chart positions

Chart (1957)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	1

Certifications

Certifications and sales forLove Is the Thing

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000^
^Shipments figures based on certification alone.