The Very Best Of Nina Simone, 1967-1972 : Sugar In My Bowl

Nina Simone

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 28, 1998
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000009HRC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,209 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
With characteristic willfulness, Nina Simone plunged into a range of songbooks and styles between 1966 and 1973, when she recorded nine LPs for RCA. This two-disc overview demonstrates just how unpredictable and headstrong the seething songstress was during a period that was tumultuous for Simone personally and for society in general. Top 40 covers ("Mr. Bojangles," "To Love Somebody") mix with rock (Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun") and pop standards ("Since I Fell for You," "My Man's Gone Now"). An increasingly politicized perspective informed Simone's late-'60s work. Her friends included Black Power firebrands H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael, and she made no attempt to disguise her militancy. "The King of Peace is dead. I ain't about to be nonviolent, honey!" she announces on this collection's "Martin Luther King Suite," which was recorded live one day after the civil rights leader's assassination. While a number of selections included here can also be found on RCA's two volumes of Essentials, this lovingly assembled survey (which includes five previously unreleased recordings) captures the High Priestess of Soul in all her unshackled glory. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than an album, it's a friend of mine, April 8, 1999

By	Mette Marie [e-mail] (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

I bought this album only because of the words that Lauryn Hill rapped on the last Fugees-album: "While you imitating Al Capone, I be Nina Simone..." And when I put on the two CD's I only had one problem: not being able to listen to all of my favourites at one time!!! Nina Simone picks songs that tell a story, whether it's being old, sad and alone or young, gifted and black. Her voice shows you emotion whether it's happiness, hope, self-love, heartbreak or pain (aka: the blues). When you're sad she tells you: ooh, child, things are getting a little easier - and best of all: you believe her. Her voice is unique and her piano-playing is breathtaking. It's one of those CD's that I will always cherish.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eyes closed, holding your hands up to the sky..., August 7, 1998

By	[e-mail] (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

Nina Simone's voice can carry you on a journey of spiritual healing...you'll find your roots and put your soul to rest with her voice. She does more than sing, she howls, humms, skats, and sighs. She'll get your hands slapping together and singing ah-men! To own this CD is a treasure (although my favorite Simone song is not among them...there exists enough "shake your head, you can't believe the power of her voice" songs in its place.) Simone is a Billy Holiday and Sara Vaughn rolled together with more bass, and pain and heart than you think is possible.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SHE DOES EVERYTHING WELL!, January 7, 2001

By	MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I was in Washington DC and heard this recording playing in a book & music shop. I immediately purchased it and could not be happier with it. I'd listened to a few Nina Simone classics while I was in college. The one that stays freshest in my memory is "My Man's Gone Now" from "Porgy & Bess" which Simone sings with so much pain and soul and sadness that one listens to the lyrics the way one almost never can when an opera singer does this number. The most surprising thing about this double cd album (which includes several never-before released songs and a bit of dialogue)is how well Simone sings every style of music: R&B, Jazz, Pop, Gospel, etc. You name it---it is on this album. My personal favorites are the more familiar songs which in Simone's hands become fresh and new: "I Get Along Without You Very Well," "Here Comes The Sun," "Mr. Bojangles" "Since I Fell For You" and, believe it or not, "Bacharach and David's "The Look of Love." Many of the songs are accompanied by full orchestra, but even when it's only her voice and her piano, she fills the room.