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d i s s i d e n t
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a r t i s t : Nina Simone
t i t l e : Anthology
d a t e : 2003
l a b e l : RCA/BMG Heritage
g e n r e : Jazz/Blues/Soul
r l s. d a t e : Oct/2003
t r a c k s : 31
b i t r a t e : 192kbps
s i z e : 165,10 MB
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In appearance, this two-disc anthology would seem to be an exercise in
hearse chasing, issued just months after the great singer's death. In
reality, no matter what the intention of the record label, this
anthology accomplishes what virtually every other attempt failed
miserably to do: definitively represent all the stages of Simone's
career. While RCA has done a number of fine Simone collections,
including The Very Best of Nina Simone: Sugar in My Bowl 1967-1972,
which featured a number of unreleased tracks, even they haven't
accomplished this: a double-disc set that encompasses her entire
career with recordings from every label she recorded for, including
Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA, CTI, and Elektra. The lion's share of
the material may come from RCA, but she spent the longest part of her
career there. The obvious beginning is with "I Loves You Porgy," from
her Bethlehem album Little Girl Blue (or, as it was originally titled,
Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club). Also from this
session is the definitive version of the Gus Kahn/Walter Donaldson
classic "My Baby Just Cares for Me." While there are a couple of cuts
from Colpix's Nina Simone at Town Hall, such as "The Other Woman" and
"Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair," there is also the Colpix
single "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." Also, there is a
slew of tracks from the Philips albums, including Live at Newport,
Nina Simone in Concert (featuring the infamous version of "Mississippi
Goddam"), Broadway-Blues-Ballads (with her scorching version of
"Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), I Put a Spell on You, Pastel
Blues, and Wild Is the Wind (which featured the tracks "Four Women,"
"Strange Fruit," and "Sinnerman"). From the RCA years there is
something from virtually every album, most notably "I Want a Little
Sugar in My Bowl," "To Love Somebody," Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta
Do," her own "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," "Here Comes the Sun,"
Dylan's "Just Like a Woman," and more. The set also features the Daryl
Hall cover "Rich Girl" from Baltimore, her lone CTI album, and Rod
McKuen's title track from A Single Woman, her last album released in
1993 from Elektra. There are 31 tracks in all, and virtually every one
of them essential Simone. The sheer breadth and depth of her phrasing
and delivery when revealed in this way are nothing short of
astonishing. Simone was virtually limitless in her abilities to cover
almost any genre in her way, which transformed all the songs into hers
alone. While there are other collections that address different parts
of Simone's career more completely, and sometimes - as in the case of
the Verve box Four Women - exhaustively, this is the only one most
fans and curiosity seekers will ever need. - Thom Jurek
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CD1
01-I Loves You, Porgy [04:09]
02-My Baby Just Cares For Me [03:36]
03-The Other Woman [02:58]
04-Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair [03:34]
05-Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out [02:41]
06-Trouble In Mind [05:29]
07-Mississippi Goddam [04:54]
08-See Line Woman [02:37]
09-Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood [02:45]
10-I Put A Spell On You [02:34]
11-Ne Me Quitte Pas [03:37]
12-Strange Fruit [03:30]
13-Four Women [04:25]
14-Sinnerman [10:20]
15-Do I Move You [02:44]
CD2
01-I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl [02:32]
02-I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free [03:08]
03-The Glory Of Love (previously unreleased) [02:10]
04-To Love Somebody [02:40]
05-Do What You Gotta Do [03:00]
06-Ain't Go No - I Got Life [02:10]
07-Why (The King Of Love Is Dead) [05:47]
08-Everyone's Gone To The Moon [03:08]
09-Revolution [04:41]
10-To Be Young, Gifted And Black [02:48]
11-Who Knows Where The Time Goes [08:12]
12-Here Comes The Sun [03:34]
13-Just Like A Woman [04:51]
14-Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter [05:17]
15-Rich Girl [03:14]
16-A Single Woman [03:32]
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