Customer Reviews

Nina Simone Anthology

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One of this country's most renowned singers is also one of the most misunderstood. And no, this is not a cheesy segway into her great version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Nina Simone was never as popular as she should have been due her strength of refusal to be a puppet for neither record company executives, racism, and even the audience's refusal to support a talent who refused to be pegged as either solely a jazz, soul, blues, gospel, standards, or Broadway artist. Her story in a way is similar to Tina Turner's in that she eventually got fed up and felt she needed to leave the US to make the most of her life and not to suffer some of the hardships/prejudices that some would like to sweep under the rug for people.

But what about the music? Well one listen to this remastered 2 CD collection will give any fan or future convert an overview of a versatile treasure who could sing the most tender and elegant of songs and immediately display her anger and frustration, especially when it came to issues surrounding the Civil Rights Movement. The common denominator that I found in hearing all these treasures was a certain elegance, soulfulness, and pride that left do doubt about her feelings regarding any song she was singing. On the other hand, she never resorted to the histrionics of other singers and both her pain and joy were tempered and best appreciated by listening very carefully to the way she uses silence as much as her voice to interpret any given song.

It's amazing that Simone sounds equally good in both studio productions and live performances, and this collection is peppered with many of both. In a nutshell, I think that this is a must have collection and that with the exception of a few covers towards the end of the second CD (Here Comes The Sun and Rich Girl), is perfect. Since I was not around during her most productive period, I am not sure if any of her essential songs are missing, so if you've been are a hard-core fan, consult the song list to make sure that none of your favorites are missing.

Although not relevant to this review, I think that those who love some of the artists thoughtlessly clumped as "neo-soul" artists, owe themselves the pleasure of listening to some of the masters to get a better un understanding and perspective to the music that they listen to. I am amazed by how great treasures like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Etta James, and Stevie Wonder (just to name a few) still sound fresher than much of what is hailed as the cream of the crop these days. If for example, you were one of the millions that thought that Usher's latest CD was good, give the masters a listen and you may find that it would not sound odd to burn a mix that may have Prince, Lena Horne, Van Hunt, Nina Simone, Seal, and ______ (fill in with your favorite(s)) sitting side by side and the result would be more cohesive than those alleged best of compilations that records companies love to release. One listen to "Mississippi Goddam" and you may never be the same. Nina Simone died in the South of France in 2003, but her music makes her sound more alive than many of the lesser singers who self-pen themselves as "divas." Simone may have been misunderstood but with time we are all catching up to all the singers who matter and she stands at the front of that line.

Nina Simone. This collection of her work might just be the best 2 disk compilation of music ever made. There is not a song on here that can be called anything but outstanding. Ms. Simone makes even the most standard of torch songs huanting and compleatly new... she takes classic blues ideal and makes them complex works of classical philosophy....

as a guy raised on indie rock and folk nina simone early on became and important break from the norm. It is impossible for anyone to not like her.... i just cant see how there could be a single human alive that would not appriciate this collection of her work in their library..... FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HUMAN TASTE PLEASE BUY THIS!!!!!

The remix job is horrible. They placed vocals on left channel and instruments on right with little center fill. Listening to "My Baby Just Cares For Me" I submit that the sound engineer should be fired.

Fantastic compilation. However, I was very upset that my favorite Nina Simone song was excluded, the wonderful "Wild is the Wind". Why that song is not in her anthology is beyond my understanding.

This woman sings and you believe every word she is singing. She sings from her heart. She sings deep and from her gut. I feel transformed into a dark smoky lounge room when she sings. I really like her even though she sounds so sad when she sings.

Young, gifted and black, Nina Simone had a lot of things she needed to get off her chest. Racial conflict, social inequality, political aversion - the passionate subject matter of her songs is as gritty as the voice that sings them. This anthology gathers a collection of material from a variety of labels and demonstrates Simone's two-sided mentality; namely, that of musician and poet. Guided by a subjective introspection, her songs dive head first into a political pathos with an unapologetic disregard for sweetness and simplicity. Their messages are harsh and candid, brutally confrontational; their titles are explicit labels of what issues are contained inside ("I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"; "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair"; "Strange Fruit").

But that's only half the appeal. Simone's vocal delivery - often unfathomably overcooked - produces a dark, smoky and undulating quality to the proceedings that, curiously, travels further than the material often permits. The blues-cum-gospel musical arrangements are mostly uncluttered to lend a more engaged sound as Simone protests, dismays, and wrestles to establish her communal identity in the foreground, and tinkers away brazenly on piano in the background.

Yet her delivery is just as convincing in her love songs. "I Loves You, Porgy", the album's opening track, adopts a relaxed, almost sleepy, disposition, and whose bittersweet content is perfectly reflected in Simone's beseeching voice: "Don't let him take me/don't let him handle me/and drive me mad." In addition, her talents also extended to good humor, as some of the live recordings reveal; her ability to make the audience laugh through on-stage banter is quite moving. Ultimately, Nina Simone left this earth with a much clearer chest. This compilation stows her lifetime's worth of encumbrance.

Everything about this woman and her voice is amazing. Her music is an all encompassing soulful back and foreground that I will never tire of. I buy all her CDs and rip all her MP3s. She even sounds great remixed. I've generated legions of Nina fans by playing her and giving her away at every opportunity. She's relaxing, inspiring, helps me concentrate, perks me up and sends me off to sleep. This cd covers her best tracks, and I'm sure there is something here for everyone. Buy it. Buy two copies and bless a loved one with her moving voice.

When the Gods created the skies, Africa and life, they gave birth to a living spirt, Nina Simone, the Queen of the Queens of Afro-American music. Nina Simone is an enigmatic, exuberant and extroverted person. One of the most eclectic artists of our time, Nina is guaranteeed to run the gamut of musical diversity; whether it's a time-honored spiritual, a blues groove, a folk song, a jazz standard, a pop hit or a show tune, she always adds her own distintive musical touch to the material at hand. As this remarkable album domonstrates, she belongs to that rarest of the musical species: an uncompromising artist whose choice of material is dictated by her own emotional sensibilites. As much as any other Nina Simone collection, this album is a kaleidoscopic tour of the musical world of this extraordinary artist, Whether singing with unabashed passion or offering a scintillating round on the keys, Nina perfoms whithout restraining on every cut of this album. Indeed, one might say that freedom is the key to Nina Simone's consummate artistry. And, as expressed by the peerless musical pioneer, that very human quest for freedom - on all levels - is as relevant in 2003 as it was in the 60's & 70's when this music was first recorded, Enjoy!

In her introduction to "Who Knows Where The Times Goes" on this fantastic CD, Nina Simone says that time transcends race. Sadly, we are reminded that racism in this country practically drove this great singer mad. I purchased this CD for this cut alone. As always Ms. Simone takes a song that we think we know or that somone else has sung what we think is the definitive version and makes it her own all over again. That is precisely what happens here. It's as if you have never heard this music before. With a simple accompaniment, Simone sings this sad, haunting ballad. I have been loving this woman's albums for over thirty years and didn't know she recorded this beauty in 1970. In the recent movie "The Dancer Upstairs," the movie ends with a young girl dancing while Ms. Simone sings this song. I knew I had to own Ms. Simone's version of this Sandy Denny lyric.

There are many other wonderful songs as well on this 2 CD set. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,""To Love Somebody," "Here Comes The Sun," "Just Like A Woman." I had not heard this arrangement of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" before. Finally "Everyone's Going To The Moon" has Ms. Simone playing piano. You can imagine what a great concert pianist she would have been. But we would have been the losers, not to have witnessed her magnificant voice.

Of the 31 cuts on this set, at least 10 of them were recorded on the recently released "Four Women" 3 CD set that contains all the songs Ms. Simone recorded for Verve in the 60's, I believe. I would have purchased this CD, however, if everything but "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" had been on the previous CD.

I wouldn't have missed hearing Ms. Simone sing this song.