Natalie Cole 'Leavin'' album

Eight-time Grammy ® Award winner Natalie Cole is poised to release her 20th studio album on September 26th, marking an impressive milestone that speaks to her musicianship, her critically acclaimed abilities as a vocalist and her connection to her fans. Leavin’ also marks her first album of new material in nearly four years, a recording that returns Natalie to her musical roots as one of our time’s best r&b/pop vocalists. The Verve Records release finds the acclaimed chanteuse, who has sold more than 30 million albums, working with Grammy ® Award winning producer Dallas Austin, a combination which has produced one of Natalie’s most dynamic recordings to date.

An eclectic mix of classic pop, r&b and rock tracks, the 12-song album mixes Natalie’s stunning vocals with a list of classic songs from the likes of Fiona Apple, Aretha Franklin, Kate Bush, Sting, Shelby Lynne and others, as well as a new song, “5 Minutes Away,” a writing collaboration between Cole, Austin and keyboardist Chanz Parkman.

"Leavin’ represents a musical freedom that has given me the opportunity to explore the greatness in the songs of some of our most talented and gifted songwriters,” said Natalie. "It was a lot of fun to be able to put our spin on these songs and I thoroughly enjoyed interpreting them. Dallas was absolutely brilliant in the studio and together I think we were able to present a fresh new twist on some great music. I can’t wait for our fans to hear the album.”

The launch of the CD will be led by a remake of the 1972 #1 Billboard R&B single, the Aretha Franklin smash "Day Dreaming." Updated with a bit of hip-hop flavor, the song is the first single from the album and marks the release of Natalie’s first urban/pop single in nearly 16 years. Ironically, Natalie spent much of the early part of her career being compared to Franklin.

Natalie took some unexpected creative turns on Leavin.' The title track is a
soulful recast of the Shelby Lynne song from her Grammy® winning 2000 release I Am Shelby Lynne. She also tackles a rock standard by taking on Neil Young's "Old Man," an eloquent compliment to the original that shows the warmth and subtlety of Natalie’s voice.

Then there’s the Fiona Apple hit "Criminal," which Natalie and Austin gave a bluesy feel, as well as “The More You Do It,” a track that pays homage to her first husband and musical collaborator, the late producer Marvin Yancy. The track completes a trio of more soulful cuts including the Isley Brothers "Don't Say Goodnight" and the Etta James inspired "Lovin' Arms," each of which grants Natalie the opportunity to move back to her 70's roots with rich, shimmering vocals. Other highlights include remakes of songs written and made famous by Sting and Kate Bush.

The record is set to be launched with performances on a number of major morning and late night television programs and Natalie is expected to introduce the record via several intimate showcases. These outings are expected to be followed by a theater tour planned for late fall.

Cut-by-Cut

CRIMINAL (Fiona Apple): When they got this song to me, I didn’t know what the hell I could do with it because it’s great, but it’s so dark. I had to dissect the song, and find a more upbeat way to approach it. I had never really heard Fiona Apple’s version, but now I love her stuff. As with a lot of things about making this album, the whole experience has been a real discovery for me.

OLD MAN (Neil Young): This was one of the first songs that we recorded, and we were moved by the way it came out. The song was suggested to me by a lady who used to work in our office and I thought it was a great idea. I love the feel of it and hope that people will feel that with a woman singing it, the song will somehow have a different vibe. I love the ending. It just worked out that way. Chanz, our keyboard player, kept on playing and I started humming, so Rick our engineer just kept on recording and we just loved how it turned out.

DAY DREAMING (Aretha Franklin): That idea was Dallas’. He had a big charity event that he asked me to be a part of in Atlanta. We were just hanging, talking about things, eating chicken wings and he started singing “Day Dreaming.’” I said, I LOVE that song. He said, `I’ve always loved that song. I said, “Then, let’s do it since we had just gotten a request for two more songs from my record label.” When I first started singing, I remember my first manager telling me, ‘You have to stop singing those Aretha songs – you sound too much like her.’ Of course, I took it as a compliment.

LEAVIN’ (Shelby Lynne): The idea of doing a Shelby Lynne song came from my friend David Munk, who is the Co-Executive Producer of the album. He became so instrumental in helping me pick the songs. I’d never heard the song, but I knew that she had a dark past and one hell of a voice. They gave me a bunch of Shelby’s stuff and I chose that song. To me, it’s a great one.

THE MORE YOU DO IT (THE MORE I LIKE IT DONE TO ME) (Marvin Yancy-Chuck Jackson): This is my tribute to Marvin (Yancey), my first husband, my first producer, and his writing partner Chuck Jackson. This song was written by them and originally recorded by Ronnie Dyson. You can hear a little of “This Will Be” in it. That was my way of saying, “I haven’t forgotten.”

LOVIN’ ARMS (Tom Jans): I heard the Etta James version and the Irma Thomas version. Billy Eckstein did it. And there was this song, “The Sweeter He Is, The Longer The Pain,” that I wanted to do way back in the early Seventies by a group called the Soul Children. Their background vocals were so cool and so tight that I always loved it and I borrowed the background vocals for that here. When we were working on this one, Dallas came in and he said, “Let’s not put any drums on it.” And I thought, “I don’t know if it will work.” It really did – that’s Dallas’ brilliance.

LOVE LETTER (Bonnie Hayes): I wanted to do this Bonnie Raitt song. I had hoped that she would come in to record it with me and lay down a little guitar. Then we were hoping to get B.B. King and we didn’t get either of them. So we decided to just go have fun. It’s our jam song.

THE MAN WITH A CHILD IN HIS EYES (Kate Bush): I love that song and I actually recorded it several years ago when I was on Elektra. It never got released. I’ve been singing it live for years. Kate Bush is a very distinctive artist and I love the story. We tried to take it to a slightly more soulful place. That’s the only song that has strings on it.

5 MINUTES AWAY (Natalie Cole-Dallas Austin-Chanz Parkman): This is an original song that we wrote, even though people have said that it sounds like an old doo wop or soul song. We were furiously trying to come up with something at like three in the morning. Tony the guitar player is lying on the floor because he’s so tired. Chanz is hanging over his keyboards, and we’re still trying to come up with something. I went home, was thinking about my boyfriend – he lives 5 minutes away from me. So I told Dallas that I thought I had the title and he just went with it – he’s totally spontaneous.

DON’T SAY GOODNIGHT (IT’S TIME FOR LOVE) (Isley Brothers): I wanted to come up with something sexy and slow with a kind of red light in the basement vibe. It’s been a long time since I did anything like that, and so it was fun to do this Isley Brothers song. For me, the Fender Rhodes (electric piano) sets the mood. Sometimes it’s all about the mood.

YOU GOTTA BE (Des’ree-Ashley Ingram): I always felt that was one of the coolest songs around. I loved the theme of it. I saw Des’ree perform it once and then it seemed like she disappeared. We should’ve heard a lot more from her. So when the label asked for bonus tracks I had to call in a lot of favors from friends like Paul Jackson, Jr. and percussionist Kevin Ricard, and said you guys have to come in and record something with me.

The record company liked it so much that they put it on the album as not just a bonus track.

IF EVER I LOSE MY FAITH IN YOU (Sting): When I first heard Sting do the song, I felt that it had a religious undertone. I thought it was a beautiful, a subtle way to approach the topic. My hope was to make it more spiritual. So for me, I’m not thinking so much about it as an individual. I’m thinking about God. It was my way to keep the strength of a great song.

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Natalie Cole - Leavin'