Blues singer and pianist once told me that back in the early days, he and Nat “King” Cole used to tour together, alternating between who would open and close each night. They both had a piano/guitar/bass trio, and brothers (Oscar and Johnny) on guitar. Their voices are remarkably similar, with Brown a bit more blues edged.
One day a recording agent came in, and happened upon Cole’s group. Impressed, he signed the pianist/singer, who went on to become a household name, while Brown never got the same break. But, if you listen to this two disc 50 song set, you could easily play the game “This is what Cole would have sounded like if Brown became a pop star”.
Brown is in a variety of settings here, starting with Moore’s trio with his molasses-toned voice in great form on the R&B hit “I’ll Miss You” while leading his own band on the swinging “If You Don’t, Why Don’t Ya” the relaxed ”A Long Time” and “It’s Nothing” while sounding very Cole-ish on “Get Yourself Another Fool” and hep cat “Gee”.
He reclines on a jazzy “How Hight The Moon” and is Ray Charles breathy for “I’ll Always Be In Love With You”. He’s calm and romantic on “My Silent Love” and sounds good with strings and orchestra for “Moonrise” while gets deep into R&B on “Honey Sipper” and a Fats Domino-inflected “I’ll Always Be In Love With You”. The classic version of “Merry Christmas Baby” is thrown in for irony, as this one-off is probably his best known tune. At least now with this set you don’t have to wait until Christmas to hear Charles Brown croon the blues.