Capitol
2009
Re~Generations
About This Album
Remix or tribute albums are often stodgy affairs, where the work of the artist being celebrated becomes as rigid as if cast in stone, and any artists doing the celebrating check their creativity at the door. Re: Generations, which commemorates Nat King Cole with a work that's half tribute album and half remix album, is a notable exception to this tendency. Not only does it feature a parade of talented names, but the artists make Cole's standards as fluid as water (which the deft pianist and beguiling vocalist would undoubtedly appreciate). Certainly the guests are exactly the types of artists a modern-day Cole would be working with, everyone from the Roots to TV on the Radio to Bebel Gilberto. If anything, the celebrators were overly free with Cole's work, modernizing it and portraying the man in a light that neither he nor his fans would perhaps appreciate. Cee-Lo Green could have done a marvelous job with "Lush Life," rethinking it as a modern torch song better than anything Danger Mouse has covered. Still, about all we learn from his remix are two facts: "I was wrong" and "I'll live a lush life." Contrast that with the original, where the intricate poetry of the lyrics comes together with a definitive reading to form one of Cole's most moving performances.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,7,8,9,10,11 and 12)

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