eMusic Review

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11

The High Priestess of Soul at her very best.

2005 | Label: Tomato Records / The Orchard

The High Priestess of Soul was one of a kind. With a voice that was viscous and smoky, she was a commanding performer who could sing of wanting to camp at the door of her lover ("Porgy" from The Amazing Nina Simone) without losing a speck of dignity. The substance of her formidable talent always shines through, whether Simone is delivering a definitive rendition of a show tune like "I Loves You, Porgy" (found on Nina Simone Live at Ronnie Scott's), essaying lighter fare like "My Baby Just Cares for Me" or belting out the fiery "Mississippi Goddam," which she wrote in response to the deaths of four children in a 1963 Birmingham, Ala., church bombing. And to think that she had stumbled into singing: Back in 1954, the young Eunice Waymon, a Juilliard-trained piano prodigy, took a piano-playing gig at an Atlantic City, N.J., bar to help support her family only to discover that the owner also expected her to sing. So sing she did, and there was no turning back.

A gem

An unusual collection with some alternative recordings of a few favourites. On first listen you'd think it was a poor bootleg or badly recorded live tracks, but give it a proper listen through and tracks like "Hey, Buddy Bolden" and "Black is the colour of my true love's hair" will help you rediscover a singer you already thought you knew inside-out. This album also features one of the few renditions of "I got it bad and that ain't good" that will actually make you sympathise with the singer.

Nina!

Nina Simone was one of the very few vocalists able to hold my attention the entire time she was in any performance space. I found myself asking my friends to shut up even when it was just her and a few friends fooling around with untried ideas. I'm sure she has recorded less than stellar performances. I haven't come across one yet. If this sounds like too much hyperbole for you - get unhappy, then listen to her make your pain go away for a little while. No chemicals needed. Even early in the morning without coffee yet, this is magic.