Natalie Cole Unforgettable With Love 1991 Elektrarar !link! ✅

The Ultimate Duet: How Natalie Cole’s ‘Unforgettable… with Love’ Conquered the Past and Redefined the Present

Release Year: 1991 Label: Elektra Records Key Track: "Unforgettable" (Duet with Nat King Cole)

In the landscape of early 1990s pop, dominated by the rise of hip-hop, the grit of grunge, and the polished sheen of adult contemporary, one album achieved a seemingly impossible feat: it made the Great American Songbook cool again. natalie cole unforgettable with love 1991 elektrarar

Natalie Cole’s Unforgettable… with Love was not just a covers album; it was a cultural event. Released on Elektra Records, the project saw the R&B hitmaker step away from the synthesizers and drum machines of her 1980s success to embrace the orchestral jazz standards made famous by her father, Nat King Cole. The result was a critical and commercial juggernaut that swept the Grammy Awards and introduced a timeless catalog of music to a brand-new generation. Billboard 200 (US): Peak position: No

5. Commercial Performance

• Billboard 200 (US): Peak position: No. 1
• Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (US): Peak position: No. 3
• Top Jazz Albums (US): No. 1 (held for over 30 weeks)
• Certification (RIAA): 7× Platinum (as of the 1990s; later updated to Diamond eligibility – over 10 million units worldwide)
• International: Top 10 in the UK, Japan, Canada, and Australia. Total global sales: ~14 million copies.

2. Production & Musical Style

• Producers: André Fischer (primary), David Foster, Tommy LiPuma, and Natalie Cole (executive producer).
• Arrangements: Strings and orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel, Alan Broadbent, and Dave Grusin.
• Musicians: Featured top-tier jazz and session players, including Joe Sample (piano), Harvey Mason (drums), and Ray Brown (bass).
• Style: A lush, orchestral tribute to the Great American Songbook, blending traditional pop vocals with contemporary (early 1990s) production sensibilities.

2. The Limited Japanese "Rarities" Pressing

Japan’s Warner-Pioneer (distributors for Elektra) famously produced limited-quantity "promo" and "high-fidelity" pressings for the Japanese audiophile market. In 1991, a very small run of the album was pressed on heavier 180g virgin vinyl with an obi strip. On certain databases, these are coded as "Elektra-Rar" (Rare Import). Over time, "Rar" and "Rarities" merged into the portmanteau "Elektrarar." Hank Williams Jr.

If you own a copy with Japanese liner notes and a catalog number like WPCP-4020 (CD) or JWL-110 (vinyl), check the matrix runout. It might contain "ELEKRAR" stamped in the dead wax, indicating a test pressing for the Japanese market.

7. Cultural & Industry Impact

1. Revival of the Great American Songbook: This album sparked a late-20th-century trend of pop singers releasing standards albums (e.g., Rod Stewart, Diana Krall, Tony Bennett).
2. Digital Restoration Pioneer: “Unforgettable” demonstrated the commercial viability of posthumous duets, paving the way for later projects (e.g., Hank Williams Jr., The Beatles’ “Free as a Bird”).
3. Natalie Cole’s Legacy: It transformed her from a 1970s R&B star (“This Will Be”) into a multiple-Grammy-winning adult contemporary/jazz icon, erasing prior tabloid narratives.
4. Elektra Records’ Profile: The album became the best-selling album in Elektra’s history up to that point.