Nina Simone
Posted by: David Sutton on 20 June 2003
I recently bought a "best of" CD on Verve, and have really enjoyed it. Can anyone make some recommendations about other explorations in Nina's work?
Many thanks in anticipation!
Many thanks in anticipation!
Posted on: 20 June 2003 by Tim Jones
David -
I suspect most of it these days will be 'best ofs...'. 'Little Girl Blue' is very good, and possibly the most accessible, all good recordings. I have some earlier things like 'Forbidden Fruit' and 'Live at Town Hall' but the recordings are not good and the material patchy.
Look out for a tune called 'African Mailman' which has some graet Nina piano playing on it. I think she was a really underrated pianist.
Hope this helps.
Tim
I suspect most of it these days will be 'best ofs...'. 'Little Girl Blue' is very good, and possibly the most accessible, all good recordings. I have some earlier things like 'Forbidden Fruit' and 'Live at Town Hall' but the recordings are not good and the material patchy.
Look out for a tune called 'African Mailman' which has some graet Nina piano playing on it. I think she was a really underrated pianist.
Hope this helps.
Tim
Posted on: 20 June 2003 by Minky
Hi David,
I am not sure what the Verve "best of" has on it. I have one on the Crimson label called "My baby just cares for me" that covers most of the bases.
If you don't object to the thought of Nina covering more modern songs, I recommend the 1995 remaster of her 1978 album "Baltimore" . The title track is the old Randy Newman song which is a killer. She also does a very nice rendition of "Everything must change" which featured on Oleta Adams first Album. Her band on this album includes Eric Gale, Jerry Friedman and Will Lee.
Yes, she originally trained to be a classical pianist. Never wanted to be a singer and resented having to sing at all.
I am not sure what the Verve "best of" has on it. I have one on the Crimson label called "My baby just cares for me" that covers most of the bases.
If you don't object to the thought of Nina covering more modern songs, I recommend the 1995 remaster of her 1978 album "Baltimore" . The title track is the old Randy Newman song which is a killer. She also does a very nice rendition of "Everything must change" which featured on Oleta Adams first Album. Her band on this album includes Eric Gale, Jerry Friedman and Will Lee.
quote:
Look out for a tune called 'African Mailman' which has some graet Nina piano playing on it. I think she was a really underrated pianist.
Yes, she originally trained to be a classical pianist. Never wanted to be a singer and resented having to sing at all.
Posted on: 21 June 2003 by Phil Barry
And don't miss her song 'Four Women'.
Phil
Phil
Posted on: 21 June 2003 by throbnorth
The handling of poor Nina's back catalogue seems to be the cruellest ever visited on a truly major artist, although I expect she brought it on herself.
The only explanation I can think of is that her consummate crabbiness always prevented her from ever getting an agent who could negotiate the right deals and generally protect her from herself.
It's not as if her star has ever dipped - nobody at any point in her career has ever had bad things to say about her talent, and yet her recorded legacy is frustrating and fragmented. Virtually all we have to pick over are the various 'best of's' that seem to come out at six monthly intervals, each containing her core gems with the odd unknown stunner thrown in. You try to find original albums to snap up, but discover they've been deleted, are very dubious [recorded illicitly via handbag and in mono] etc., or generally unappetising in some way.
Minky, I agree - Baltimore is the virtual definition of spine tinglingness. Likewise, she can cover stuff like Here Comes The Sun, To Love Somebody etc., and instantly make the song her own, giving it layers of meaning and emotion inconceivable to their creators, and the original but a pale shadow. My parents used to rabbit on about Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald etc. performing this trick, but Nina is the only gal that's ever done it for me so convincingly.
Artists of this calibre who don't write their own material usually either distort a song so much that they ruin it [and make you feel cross when you listen to it - think Cleo Laine], or just use it as a vehicle for displaying their own technical expertise. Nina seems to simultaneously respect the original, and take it to a completely different level, carrying the listener along with her. It's a really hard thing to do.
I too am in awe at her prowess as a piano player. I have to confess that in view of the general situation with available recordings, I grab what I can and burn my favourites in a piecemeal way. What I really want to get are some of her Bach-y noodlings, which were the first things that alerted me to the fact that she wasn't the usual run of 'legends' [Billie etc.] that I can happily ignore. Presumably these are to be found on live recordings? If I'm lucky enough to be able to find any of these, what should I look out for?
throb
The only explanation I can think of is that her consummate crabbiness always prevented her from ever getting an agent who could negotiate the right deals and generally protect her from herself.
It's not as if her star has ever dipped - nobody at any point in her career has ever had bad things to say about her talent, and yet her recorded legacy is frustrating and fragmented. Virtually all we have to pick over are the various 'best of's' that seem to come out at six monthly intervals, each containing her core gems with the odd unknown stunner thrown in. You try to find original albums to snap up, but discover they've been deleted, are very dubious [recorded illicitly via handbag and in mono] etc., or generally unappetising in some way.
Minky, I agree - Baltimore is the virtual definition of spine tinglingness. Likewise, she can cover stuff like Here Comes The Sun, To Love Somebody etc., and instantly make the song her own, giving it layers of meaning and emotion inconceivable to their creators, and the original but a pale shadow. My parents used to rabbit on about Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald etc. performing this trick, but Nina is the only gal that's ever done it for me so convincingly.
Artists of this calibre who don't write their own material usually either distort a song so much that they ruin it [and make you feel cross when you listen to it - think Cleo Laine], or just use it as a vehicle for displaying their own technical expertise. Nina seems to simultaneously respect the original, and take it to a completely different level, carrying the listener along with her. It's a really hard thing to do.
I too am in awe at her prowess as a piano player. I have to confess that in view of the general situation with available recordings, I grab what I can and burn my favourites in a piecemeal way. What I really want to get are some of her Bach-y noodlings, which were the first things that alerted me to the fact that she wasn't the usual run of 'legends' [Billie etc.] that I can happily ignore. Presumably these are to be found on live recordings? If I'm lucky enough to be able to find any of these, what should I look out for?
throb
Posted on: 21 June 2003 by garth
I'd say her debut recording Little Girl Blue is a must have. Consistently great, inventive, and original with some wonderful piano. Her contrapuntal weaving of "Good King Wenceslas" against the theme in Little Girl Blue is quite marvelous and I can't imagine a more moving I Love's You Porgy. I found a used vinyl of it in San Francisco and the recording quality is spooky-good.
I just picked up The Best Of The Colpix Years and The Blues and think they are excellent. I also plan to pick up the Town Hall and Village Gate live recordings which are very highly rated.
Incidentally, I find the All Music Guide To Jazz indispensable. Much prefer it to the Penguin Guide.
Garth
I just picked up The Best Of The Colpix Years and The Blues and think they are excellent. I also plan to pick up the Town Hall and Village Gate live recordings which are very highly rated.
Incidentally, I find the All Music Guide To Jazz indispensable. Much prefer it to the Penguin Guide.
Garth
Posted on: 23 June 2003 by David Sutton
Many thanks everyone. I feel embarrassed to have reached my sad age in life and only just to have discovered this genius. Pity it was in the year of her death.
BTW all the tracks mentioned are wonderful, but Sinner Man is also a gem.
BTW all the tracks mentioned are wonderful, but Sinner Man is also a gem.