Nina Simone and Piano! [Original recording reissued, Special Limited Edition, HiFi Sound, Limited Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered]

Nina Simone | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl
• Format: Original recording reissued, Special Limited Edition, HiFi Sound, Limited Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA Victor
• ASIN: B001DXEPL8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,377 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Musicians certainly don't have it easy with record companies. First of all, they must struggle to even get a contract. Then, when their debut release has proved a success, they are bandied around from one arranger to another in all the recording studios imaginable. But having been "treated" with such sounds as a snappy combo, meaty big band and smoochy string orchestra, there at last comes an opportunity for some artists to be themselves again This album wholly concentrates on Nina Simone and demonstrates that she does not need help from anyone else in order to bring her strikingly expressive voice into the limelight. Accompanying her in her songs about loneliness, identity crises and desires is her faithful friend, the piano, which she masters equally as well as her voice. The piano parts are far more than just casual accompaniments. Varying from number to number, they range from a classical, bluesy sound, to late-Romantic fervor, right up to avant-garde aggression. And yet all these pieces have something in common: filled with bizarre beauty, they portray a complex personality with all its ups and downs. Track Listing 1. Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You 2. Nobody's Fault But Mine 3. I Think It's Going To Rain Today 4. Everyone's Gone To The Moon 5. Compensation 6. Who Am I 7. Another Spring 8. The Human Touch 9. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) 10. The Desperate Ones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars breathtaking and intense, February 16, 2003

By 

aliled "aliled" (Austin, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: And Piano! (Audio CD)

Judging by the other reviews, this is a love-it-or-hate-it recording. Place me squarely in the "love it" crowd, this is a great album. Although she is perhaps better known for the show tunes and standards of the first stage of her career, I tend to prefer the slightly later RCA records (this is one of them) and their more experimental / modern references. "Nina Simone And Piano!" is a great combination of the two - not quite as steeped in contemporaneous covers as her other RCA records, but still "current", while the music is stripped down from both (earlier) jazz and (later) rock-styled arrangements. The song selection is fabulous and includes selections by both younger writers such as Randy Newman and old legends like Hoagy Carmichael. The four bonus tracks and superb, and there's really only one weak song in the bunch, an oddball cover of Jonathan King's "Everyone's Gone To The Moon".

If you're not sure about Nina Simone, the most important thing to know is that - wonderful musical and vocal accomplishments aside - she's not about aesthetic beauty or instrumental perfection. More than any other artist, Simone sees to it that soul and feeling come first. So yeah, her voice can get a little out of control, occasionally she'll do something utterly bizarre in the middle of an otherwise radio-friendly song. She expects as much from a listener as you can expect from her. She is a confrontational artist in many ways, and to me it's a great testament to her artistry that she creates so many moments of great beauty without losing her fire and passion.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misunderstanding?, February 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: And Piano! (Audio CD)

I am absolutely blown away by the terrible reviews!
There is has been no mistake nor has anyone been tricked
into buying something subpar.
This is Nina Simone and she is brillant!
In addition, so many of her records were so overproduced at
this time (1969) that it is a great pleasure to hear her so
plain and simple.
At the risk of reviewing the reviews, please keep the
naysayers away from the following: Billie Holliday, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Neil Young

or anyone else whose genius is not always pretty.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Nina Simone Album, January 15, 2002

By 

monsieurpeanut (New York, NY

New York ,NYUSA New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Piano! (Audio CD)

This album was my introduction to Nina Simone. I heard it one night on a local radio station many years ago and determined right away that I wanted a copy for my music collection. I soon learned however that the album was out of print, so for many years I unsuccessfully scoured used record stores looking for an old fashioned vinyl copy of the album, and I also looked fruitlessly for a cd reissue ( in the meanwhile I bought several of her other albums that were in print, but none of them really did anything for me...). I'll avoid the pop music critical analysis thing and simply urge you to buy the album-- it is wonderful!, yet I can't resist saying that my favorite pieces are 'I Get Along Well Without You Very Well', and 'The Desperate Ones'...