NINA SIMONE - THE BEST OF - RARE UK PHILIPS LP - 1Y//1 / 2Y//2 – 1969

	£		18
	$		23

NINA SIMONE - THE BEST OF - RARE UK PHILIPS LP - 1Y//1 / 2Y//2 – 1969

Rare Album by Nina Simone

“The Best Of Nina Simone”

Released on the black/silver Philips Record Label

(P) 1969

852 135 BY

Matrix:

852135 1Y//1 420

852135 2Y//2 420

“ “BEST OF” types of albums are always treats for record-buyers because they contain only the hits, the “A” sides.  Since everything she does is hit material, some other criteria have to be put in play.  This album contains, then, not only “bests” but songs of special meaning to Nina, and therefore, to her fans.

I LOVES YOU, PORGY is a very good way to start things off since the Gershwin song was Nina’s first big hit.  MISSISSIPPI GODDAM is her own composition, which she calls “a show tune, but the show hasn’t been written for it yet.”  However, after listening to the dynamic, nearly five-minute track, you may disagree with her; this “show tune” is the show, eloquent and complete.  SINNERMAN possibly harkens to Nina’s early days when she accompanied her mother, an ordained Methodist minister.  That is to say, it has a strong deep-rooted gospel flavour.  But more than that, the sustained suspense throughout the long number is a musical milestone.

SEE-LINE WOMAN is a blues melody punctuated by an Afro beat.  Nina first heard I PUT A SPELL ON YOU when it was being performed by the composer, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.  As you may remember, Screamin’ Jay’s arrangement contained some spectacular screeches.  Nina made the apt comment that “it was the kind of a song that no one can ignore.”  By toning down the decibels (but not in all cases) and adding her own distinct style, Nina has made her version equally un-ignorable.

BREAK DOWN AND LET IT ALL OUT is a gusty, raucous comment on the plight of the woman scorned.  Its advice to those afflicted is to bite down hard and cut loose.  Nina’s own FOUR WOMEN is a powerful, gritty biographical summary of the origins and fates of a quartet of unfortunate females.

The old movie theme, WILD IS THE WIND, is given a unique touch of onomatopoeia with key words possessing the properties of the things they describe.  “Fly” floats.  “Wind” whistles through the air.  And listen, too, to the exciting piano, very much in evidence.

Kurt Weil and Bertolt Brecht wrote PIRATE JENNY for a different country and a different decade.  The song from the Threepenny Opera conveys the bitterness and frustration that causes a servant to fantasize on the day she will conquer the people who hold her in bondage.  Nina gives the vicious lyrics and tart melody a special meaning for our time.  Finally, there is DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD, a difficult song for most singers, but Nina handles the intricate and sensuous rhythm with deep-throated perfection.

There you have the “best” of Nina.  But when you consider the sting of superlatives that have been used by critics and fans alike in describing her performances, “best” seems not only pale in comparison, but unnecessary as well.  Think then of the album as a Nina Simone sampler, something to enjoy before going back for more.  And, as any record dealer will be happy to tell you, more Nina is eminently available in the form of seven other Philips albums.  That should come as the best news all day.”

Dick Lochte

The Track List is as follows:

SIDE 1

                                                                           1.    I LOVE YOU, PORGY (from “Porgy & Bess) (G. Gershwin/I. Gershwin/D. Heyward)

                                                                           2.    MISSISSIPPI GODDAM (N. Simone)

                                                                           3.    SINNERMAN (N. Simone)

                                                                           4.    SEE-LINE WOMAN (G. H. Bass)

SIDE 2

                                                                           1.    I PUT A SPELL ON YOU (J. Hawkins)

                                                                           2.    BREAK DOWN AND LET IT ALL OUT (V. McCoy)

                                                                           3.    FOUR WOMEN (N. Simone)

                                                                           4.    WILD IS THE WIND (D. Tiomkin/N. Washington)

                                                                           5.    PIRATE JENNY (Weill/Brecht/Blitzstein)

                                                                           6.    DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD (Benjamin/Marcus/Caldwell)

Produced by HAL MOONEY

The LP is in Very Good Condition with just a few surface marks and surface scratches

It plays well

The Sleeve is in Very Good Condition with only a small amount of scuffing, very slight laminate creasing and slight record rim outline.  There is a small label stuck top right on the front

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