Nina Simone

[Late]

Has anyone checked these out? The full batch is:

• Wild is the Wind

• Pastel Blues

• Nina Simone in Concert

• Broadway - Blues - Ballads

• High Priestess of Soul

• Let it All Out

• I Put a Spell on You

These were remastered by one Jeff Willens at Universal, and the one I have (I Put a Spell on You) sounds great. Anyone care to comment or recommend the others?

[mikeweil]

Aren't these all in the box set Universal put out some years ago?

This is available from CD Universe for $ 35.09 and contains 8 complete LPs - the single CD purchases will probably cost you more.

[jazzbo]

Yes, I have a few of the single ones, and the box set. I haven't compared remasterings but they all sound great. Excellent stuff.

I sometimes think I like the Colpix stuff best, then I think I like the Phillips stuff best, then I think I like the RCA stuff best, then. . . . Well, the woman was a FORCE.

I haven't heard the new "Remixed" but. . . I might.

Edited February 11, 2007 by jazzbo

[Chuck Nessa]

The box pictured above (issued in 2003) was mastered by Jeff Willens so I'd guess the same masters were used for the single issues.

[JSngry]

Yes, I have a few of the single ones, and the box set. I haven't compared remasterings but they all sound great. Excellent stuff.

I sometimes think I like the Roulette stuff best, then I think I like the Phillips stuff best, then I think I like the RCA stuff best, then. . . . Well, the woman was a FORCE.

I haven't heard the new "Remixed" but. . . I might.

Up front, let me say that I've never been all that much of a Simone fan. BuI I like the "Remixed" thing just fine. On a 1-10 scale, I'll give it a 7.5. A few are "strictly for the dancefloor", but by and large it rewards listening as well as dancing, and maybe it's the recontextualization of the vocals that appeals to me.

Definitely not for "purists", but I gave up on that quite a while ago...

[jlhoots]

I bought In Concert because when I had vinyl it was my favorite Simone album.

Sounds fine to me.

[Late]

Oops. Totally slept on the fact that there was a box set.

I have a friend that goes "clubbing," and she loves the Nina remixed set. She'd never even heard of Nina until that package was released.

[mikeweil]

Just had a look at the box set credits - all remastered by the same Jeff Willens.

[ghost of miles]

I invite anybody not acquainted with the Phillips or RCA recordings to check out this show and this show. The Phillips program (drawn from the 2003 box-set) is under September 4, 2004 in the archives; the RCA show is under April 29, 2006. Probably my two favorite periods of Nina recordings, though I like a lot of the Colpix material as well.

[Chuck Nessa]

Just had a look at the box set credits - all remastered by the same Jeff Willens.

Is there an echo in here?

[Larry Kart]

I have a good friend who used to be (and I'm sure still is) ga-ga over Nina Simone. To me, she was and is kind of like a humorless Eartha Kitt.

[marcello]

This one is a real expierience from start to finish:

[ghost of miles]

Late, I just remembered there were at least two previous threads devoted to this particular period of Simone:

Four Women #1

Four Women #2

I find myself only liking her more & more as I get older...perhaps as iconic a jazz singer for her time as Billie Holiday was for hers. When I play the Phillips or RCA material for friends of mine in their twenties, they generally tend to fall for her right away.

[Late]

Thanks David.

Funny -- today I listened to "Tomorrow is My Turn" no less than seven times! Something strangely engrossing about that tune. And so many words crammed into a fairly short melodic line.

I agree -- something about Simone's singing actually wears well with age. I find that, on the very contrary, the opposite is true (for me) with Fitzgerald. Ella always sings perfectly in tune ... and the content often falls amazingly flat. Others are sure to disagree, which is fair enough, but I just don't find much in Ella's singing any more.