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Nina Simone has always elicited a strong emotional response from her fans. For some, the attraction is her singing voice—an instrument not so much pretty as sensual and commanding. For others, it's Simone's musicianship; the Juilliard-trained pianist and composer whose vision of soul went against the Top 40 grain. But for all of the converted, Nina Simone stood for uncompromising artistry, influencing several generations of iconoclasts, from the late Jeff Buckley to Antony & The Johnsons. For longtime fans and the curious, these three new re/releases from RCA are a veritable treasure trove; not just for their renewed digital clarity, but because each represents a different facet of Simone's persona—chanteuse, soul diva, civil rights icon.
Nina Simone Sings The Blues is considered by many to be her finest collection ever—Simone's first album that played as a "piece" after her sometimes erratic early R&B sides. The normally dour "House Of The Rising Sun" becomes a red-hot jump blues in her nimble hands, while "My Man's Gone Now" could give Sinatra's rendition of "One For My Baby" a run for its money in barroom authenticity. But it's Simone's own compositions that make the strongest impression—the smoky signature "Do I Move You" and the naughty-suggestive "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl" may be more musically sophisticated than standard blues, but in their emotional power, they're as gutbucket as Bessie Smith.
Silk & Soul finds Simone once again refashioning a familiar genre in her own image—eclectic, musically complex, and fiercely sexual. "It Be's That Way Sometimes" manages to juggle both Latin and jazz flourishes without losing the essence of Top 40 soul. The stripped-down version of the Bacharach-David standard "The Look of Love" simply burns, while the airy flutes and flounce of "You Go To Hell" belie the song's lyrics of betrayal—until the horn-accented chorus hammers the point home.
Simone the Civil Rights firebrand comes to life on the compilation Forever Young, Gifted And Black: Songs Of Freedom & Spirit. Consisting of classic tracks ("Mississippi Goddamn," the Martin Luther King tribute "Why?") in complete and alternate takes, as well as previously unreleased material, Freedom & Spirit might be the best possible introduction to Simone's work—one where her unique voice, eclectic musical sensibility and sense of moral outrage all come together. Her take on Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changing," with its deliberate pacing and fierce vocal delivery, is particularly resonant, as is the medley of "Ain't Got No-I Got Life" from the musical Hair, which turns these normally explosive choral numbers into a jazzy monologue.
Though she died in 2003, Nina Simone's voice—and attitude—continue to inspire in a time when the quick buck, the sound byte, and compromise have become the lingua franca of our culture. These releases are essential.
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