Natalie Cole Unforgettable With Love 1991 Elektrarar ((top)) -
Natalie Cole's Unforgettable... with Love , released on June 11, 1991, under Elektra Records
, is a tribute album where she covers jazz and pop standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. Key Album Details Significance:
It served as Natalie's 12th studio album and her debut for Elektra after leaving EMI. Commercial Success: The album spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold over seven million copies in the U.S.. Award Recognition: It won seven Grammy Awards
in 1992, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Production:
Features arrangements by David Foster, Andre Fischer, and Ray Brown, among others. Track List The standard version of the album contains 22 tracks: The Very Thought of You (It's Only A) Paper Moon This Can't Be Love That Sunday That Summer Orange Colored Sky Medley: For Sentimental Reasons / Tenderly / Autumn Leaves Straighten Up and Fly Right Don't Get Around Much Anymore Nature Boy Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup Almost Like Being in Love Thou Swell Non Dimenticar Our Love Is Here to Stay Unforgettable (Duet with Nat King Cole) — Uses electronic mixing to pair their vocals Audiophile Audition Recent Reissues A 30th-anniversary reissue was released by Craft Recordings in 2022, featuring remastered audio and bonus tracks like " Cottage for Sale Audiophile Audition vinyl availability background stories on a particular track from this album? natalie cole unforgettable with love 1991 elektrarar
Released on June 11, 1991, Unforgettable... with Love served as a watershed moment in the career of Natalie Cole. Departing from the R&B and pop sounds that defined her earlier success, Cole turned toward the standards of the Great American Songbook, specifically the repertoire of her father, the legendary Nat "King" Cole. The result was an artistic and commercial triumph that reshaped her musical legacy. Production and Creative Vision
The album marked Natalie Cole's debut for Elektra Records after leaving EMI. It was produced by a high-caliber team including André Fischer, David Foster, and Tommy LiPuma. For the first time in her professional life, Cole fully embraced her father's musical heritage—a move she had resisted for nearly 20 years.
A hallmark of the album was its lush, orchestral production, featuring arrangements by industry giants such as Ray Brown, Bill Holman, and Michel Legrand. Personal family touches further grounded the project, with her uncle Ike Cole providing piano accompaniment on several tracks. The Groundbreaking "Unforgettable" Duet
The centerpiece of the album was the title track, a "virtual duet" between Natalie and her late father. The "Unforgettable" Natalie Cole Arrangements Natalie Cole's Unforgettable
4. The Groundbreaking Duet: “Unforgettable”
The album’s most famous track is the technologically advanced duet between Natalie Cole and her father, Nat King Cole (who died in 1965).
- Process: Natalie recorded her vocals in 1990. Engineers used Nat’s 1961 Capitol Records master tape, digitally isolating his voice, adjusting pitch and tempo to match Natalie’s new arrangement, and mixing them together.
- Result: A seamless posthumous duet that sounded eerily natural. It became a massive emotional and commercial hit.
The Magic of Technology
The centerpiece of the album, and undoubtedly its most famous moment, was the title track. "Unforgettable" had been one of Nat King Cole’s signature songs. The 1991 version transformed it into a "virtual duet."
Using modern studio technology, engineers isolated Nat King Cole’s original 1961 vocal track. Natalie then recorded a new vocal arrangement to accompany her father. The result was spine-tingling. It wasn't just a duet; it felt like a conversation across time. When the two voices harmonized in the chorus, the emotional weight was palpable, creating a sense of closure and connection between a daughter and the father she lost too soon.
Accompanied by a music video that utilized archival footage of Nat, seamlessly inserting Natalie into the frame, the song became an instant classic, heavy with nostalgia and technical brilliance. Process: Natalie recorded her vocals in 1990
A Critical and Commercial Sweep
Upon its release in June 1991, Unforgettable… with Love exceeded all expectations. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart and climbed to the upper echelons of the Billboard 200, eventually selling over 7 million copies in the United States alone.
Critics praised Cole’s vocal versatility. She didn't try to mimic her father’s baritone smoothness; instead, she brought her own R&B-tinged clarity and power to tracks like "L-O-V-E," "Mona Lisa," and "Route 66."
At the 1992 Grammy Awards, the album was the night's big winner. It took home Album of the Year, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, and Record of the Year for the title track duet. In her acceptance speech, a visibly moved Cole acknowledged the gravity of the moment, cementing the album as the defining achievement of her career.
The "Elektrarar" Phenomenon: Decoding the Misspelling
Now, let’s address the keyword: "Natalie Cole Unforgettable With Love 1991 Elektrarar."
If you search for this exact phrase, you will find a fascinating subset of record collector forums (Discogs, Steve Hoffman Music Forums, and eBay listings) where users discuss a specific, rare pressing. The term "Elektrarar" appears to be a hybrid typo or a promotional abbreviation combining Elektra (the record label) with RAR (an abbreviation for "Rare" or possibly a reference to a specific pressing plant code, like "RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis").
In collector slang, the "Elektrarar" generally refers to one of three potential rarities: