Cocktail Combos (1997)

About this title: In some ways, this three-CD set from 1997 was a very unnecessary release. There had already been reissues of the complete output of the Nat King Cole Trio plus all of the Aladdin recordings made by Charles Brown and Floyd Dixon, so all 75 numbers on this generous reissue (25 from Cole, 32 by Brown including three from his days with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, and 18 by Dixon) were already readily available elsewhere. Also, since this is a three-CD package, it is not exactly inexpensive. However, the music (in settings ranging from trios to quintets with tenorman Maxwell Davis) is quite ... read more

Tracks:

1. Straighten up and Fly Right [Cole/Mills]
2. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You [Redman/Razaf]
3. Sweet Lorraine [Burwell/Parish]
4. Easy Listening Blues [Robinson]
5. Bring Another Drink [Branker/Belloc]
6. I'm a Shy Guy [Cole]
7. You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You [Morgan/Cavanaugh/St]
8. Don't Blame Me [McHugh/Fields]
9. I'm Through With Love [Kahn/Livingston/Mal]
10. Come to Baby, Do! [James/Miller]
11. The Frim Fram Sauce [Ricardel/Evans]
12. Loan Me Two Till Tuesday [Miller]
13. Route 66 Kicks [Troup]
14. Baby, Baby All the Time [Troup]
15. Oh, But I Do! [Watts/Fitzgerald]
16. But She's My Buddy's Chick [Atkinson/Oliver]
17. You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) [Dubois/Gregory/Conr]
18. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons [Best/Watson]
19. You're the Cream in My Coffee [DeSylva/Brown/Hende]
20. You Don't Learn That in School [Alfred/Fisher]
21. I Miss You So [Henderson/Scott/Rob]
22. I Think You Get What I Mean [Black]
23. (Everyone Has Someone) But All I've Got Is Me [Cole/George]
24. What'll I Do? [Berlin]
25. I'll String Along With You [Warren/Dubin]
26. Blazer's Boogie [Moore/Brown/William]
27. Baby Don't You Cry [Johnson/Washington]
28. Driftin' Blues [Moore/Brown/William]
29. Homesick Blues [Brown/Dixon]
30. How High the Moon [Hamilton/Lewis]
31. Get Yourself Another Fool [Haywood/Tucker]
32. In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down [Carr]
33. Trouble Blues [Brown]
34. I Don't Care Who Knows [Johnson]
35. When Your Lover Has Gone [Swan]
36. Tormented [Hudson]
37. Alley Batting [Brown]
38. Take Me [Bloom/David]
39. Let's Have a Ball [Brown]
40. Did You Ever Love a Woman [Moore]
41. Again [Cochran/Newman]
42. Gee! [Rogers]
43. I've Made up My Mind [Boze]
44. I've Got That Old Feeling [Brown/Fain]
45. Without the One You Love [Johnson]
46. Black Night [Brown/Robinson]
47. Once There Lived a Fool [Robinson]
48. Hard Times [Leiber/Stoller]
49. Evening Shadows [Martin]
50. Rollin' Like a Pebble in the Sand [Toombs]
51. Rising Sun [Toombs]
52. Cryin' and Driftin' Blues [Locks]
53. Goodnight My Love [Gordon/Revel]
54. Cryin' Mercy [Brown]
55. P.S. I Love You [Mercer/Jenkins]
56. My Silent Love [Heyman/Suesse]
57. I Want to Fool Around With You [Ford]
58. Married Woman [Dixon]
59. Wino Blues [Dixon]
60. Empty Stocking Blues [Hurley/Moore]
61. Walkin' and Talkin' Blues [Dixon]
62. San Francisco Blues [Dixon]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.