THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU  -  NAT KING COLE

YEAR:  1958
LABEL:  Capitol
TRACK LISTING:  The Very Thought of You,  But Beautiful,  Impossible,  I Wish I Knew the Way To Your Heart (Notorious),  I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five and Ten Cent Store),  Magnificent Obsession,  My Heart Tells Me,  Paradise,  This Is All I Ask,  Cherie I Love You,  Making Believe You're Here,  Cherchez La Femme,  For All We Know,  The More I See You
BONUS TRACKS:  Don't Blame Me,  There Is No Greater Love
IMPRESSIONS:  Mellow, mellow, mellow.  This is the mellowest of mellow Nat King Cole; an album designed to be listened to by young lovers cuddled up on a couch in front of a roaring fire.  As allmusic's Scott Yanow rightly points out "...there is no piano playing or (sic) any hint of his jazz-oriented past..." on this album.  This, in fact, is a quintessential example of the 1950's LP; a vocalist standing in front of a microphone while a lush orchestra (heavy on the strings) wafts around him.  And this album packs in some of the King's best balladeering:  the gorgeous title track a magnificent opening salvo.  And besides that, I love the cover photograph of Nat in his dapper hat!
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  The Very Thought of You,  But Beautiful,  Impossible,  I Wish I Knew the Way To Your Heart (Notorious),  I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five and Ten Cent Store),  Magnificent Obsession,  Cherie I Love You,  For All We Know,  The More I See You
FACT SHEET:  THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU is Nat King Cole's ninth album (if you're counting 12" albums).  The album was arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins.  In addition to the two bonus tracks I have listed, apparently the 2007 CD reissue also included two more bonus tracks ("A Farewell To Arms" and "Happy New Year") which do not appear on my copy.  All four bonus tracks were recorded at the same sessions as this album.