Customer Reviews

Nina: The Essential Nina Simone

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not really having heard of Nina Simone prior to her recent passing, I caught a retrospective on NPR and was amazed at the power and persuasiveness of her voice. So, I beelined to the nearest music store, and picked out this CD, not knowing which one to select. Needless to say, "The Essential Nina Simone" is a masterful work of perfection.

Nina's voice is so incredibly deep and soulful, and soul-filled. I was immediately drawn to several of the tracks, realizing that just one listen wasn't enough. Nina manages to incorporate the power of her life and times into each song, as a reflection of where she's been and yet a hope of things to come. She's simply unlike any artist I've heard.

This CD is taking a prime place in my stereo for months to come. For relaxing, for reflection, for memories, for living, this CD and Nina Simone is a requisite.

Ten or so years ago, when I lived in wild and wikkit El Lay, I was having drinks with a client at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons (which as we all know, is NOT in Beverly Hills proper, but just across the street on Doheny). As we sat there, my client and I heard a woman (man?) talking just out of eyesight. The voice, while not loud, cut through the pre-cocktail hour buzzle like a small frigate---clean, strong, and distinctive. She wasn't being loud, it was just that that voice...that voice. My client persuaded me to go find out who was speaking, as we were mesmerized. I went into the next little salon off the bar area and saw an elegant black woman talking with an earnest young white man in his first grown-up suit, in his first grown-up A&R job (probably fresh from USC business school). She was talking and he had the most incoherent look on his face. In retrospect, I think he had never met someone like her, and of course, he never will again. I hope he appreciated her. I asked, "Excuse me, but your voice is so distinctive---it sounds very familiar. Do I know you?" She stopped her narrative, languidly looking up at me, extended her hand in a regal but not royal way, and simply said, "I am Nina Simone."

I have to admit that I had heard of her, but couldn't have named one song she'd recorded. Even in the hip 80's and 90's, she was radically underappreciated and heard in the States. Needless to say,(and this was way before amazon.com et al)I raced to Tower and bought several of her recordings. This recording is a favorite, and the more I listen to this amazing singer, the more I wonder why she never had a wider American audience. Her singing, like her speaking, was so very distinctive and mesmerizing. You may not want to, but you cannot help yourself from stopping to listen. I have had more people ask me "Who's playing?" when one of her songs comes up in the mix.

Her take on any song is memorable. Her voice has a resonant quality unlike the thin, reedy, over-produced songbirds on the charts today. Most modern singers in any genre seem hell-bent on showing off what their voices CAN do. It's like nude scene in a movie: gets your attention, but does nothing to move the plot along. Same with all the vocal melisma of current artists---all the shrieking does nothing to sell the song. With La Nina, it is just pure singing, straight out and true.

Try this album. You may not like it at first. Her voice is unique and requires attentive listening. But like dark chocolate, which might taste bitter at first, somehow seduces you and milk chocolate becomes a little ho-hum. So it is with Nina Simone. You may not want to play her for your next rave, but with friends over for drinks or dinner, Nina playing in the next room, soon everyone will be asking, "Who's playing?" And you can turn on a new audience to an incomparable, unique voice.

Nina: The Essential Nina Simone, is a wonderful compilation of some of Nina's best music. There are songs that seem dark and sad, as well as music that expresses great love and joy. Her arrangement of House of the Rising Sun is probably my favorite. She has taken that song and given it more feeling than I thought it could ever have.

I consider myself very fortunate to have discovered this truly amazing lady. My aunt had this disc in her cd changer on a day I just happened to be having dinner at her house. I really wasn't paying attention to the music in the background. But when I first heard Nina's voice, I found myself absolutely mesmerized. All I could say was "Who's that playing on the stereo?" It was, of course, Nina. I had never heard of this legendary lady before, but I became an instant fan. Nina has one of those voices that you just can't classify, like Macy Gracy, Tina Turner, Billie Holliday, Rod Stewart, Anastacia, Bjork and the list goes on... It's a potent instrument, soulful, emotional, beautifully textured, and deep. It's one of those rare voices that truly stands out from the millions of singers around the world. It's just heaven... One must hear Nina's voice to get a true sense of what I'm talking about. Her voice really will take your breath away...

I agree with the other two reviews but neither mentions what a consumate jazz and classical pianist Nina Simone is. After all, she was both Julliard-trained and a South Carolina share-cropper cotton picker in her childhood. What better combination? While not possessing a "fine" voice she sings a song from the soul, and her sheer pianistic power and skill is unmatched by any "popular" performer that I am aware of. In sum. her keyboard performances alone would put her in the top rank of jazz artists.

Ed Williams

I purchased this CD and its like nothing I have ever heard. Soft soulful sophisticated. Its in a stack of amazing artists in my cd rack next to Billie Holiday, Eva Cassidy, Ella Fitzgerald, Melody Gardot, Ray Charles, and Cole Porter.
Just that good!

This collection brings together some of Nina's more popular pieces that many people might already be familiar with (such as "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "See Line Woman", "Four Women" and "I Loves You Porgy") but also includes some of her lesser-known but acclaimed songs ("Love Me Or Leave Me", "Ain't No Use", "Mississippi Goddamn", "Fodder On Her Wings")

This is a great introduction to Nina Simone for those perhaps not too familiar with her range of styles and power of interpretation. Start with this collection...but don't stop with it!! There is much, much more to Nina than one compilation can provide.

Since I was not familiar with Nina simone's work, I was very happy to have a good sample of her most popular songs. She has an extremely expressive voice and a truly out of the ordinary range. Her piano playing is also really good. The recording on this disc are clear and well mastered (and I am an audiophile, pretty picky about this kind of things.).
Anyway, when I learned that we lost this disc, and although we did buy some other recordings of her, I reordered it. I wanted to have this particular set of songs from Nina Simone. A great buy!

heartful, sultry and impeccable music that is straight from the soul. I discovered her relatively lately and have been caught up in her wonder ever since. This is not just "essential Nina Simone," but actually essential music that is like no other.

This is certainly a competent survey of some of Nina's better songs, but oddly this disc doesn't contain any of her peak output. She's presented these and other songs in much more soulful renditions elsewhere.

There's even a chance that an uninitiated listener might hear this album and come away not truly getting the point.

Nina's best work was on Philips in the mid 1960s. If you're looking for a first glimpse of Nina Simone, probably the correct place to start is 1966's Wild Is the Wind. That album would better be described as "essential Nina Simone" than this collection.

Four stars for being a decent survey and since it's Nina Simone.