Ineluctably overshadowed by the incomparable vocal and instrumental talents of his older brother Nat, Freddy Cole has spent his long career torn between reviving Nat’s repertoire and attempting to assert his own individuality. No fraternal ghosts haunt this collection of Michel Legrand songs, but Cole’s hoarse, enervated singing does little to enhance his reputation, and his pianistics are restricted to one selection. Passable lounge music but not a patch on the Legrand-arranged albums of his own compositions showcasing Jack Jones, Sarah Vaughan and Lena Horne. Cole fans will be dismayed to discover that three of the 11 tracks-constituting one-third of the CD’s running time-are recycled from the vocalist’s previous Fantasy discs.
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