NINA SIMONE: I SHALL BE RELEASED

NINA SIMONE: I SHALL BE RELEASED

NINA SIMONE: I SHALL BE RELEASED [2008]

“THEY SAY EVERYTHING CAN’T BE REPLACED.
THEY SAY EVERY DISTANCE IS NOT NEAR.
SO I REMEMBER EVERY FACE
OF EVERY MAN WHO’S PUT ME HERE.
I SEE THE LIGHT COME SHINING THROUGH
FROM THE WEST UNTO THE EAST.
ANY DAY NOW
ANY DAY NOW
I SHALL BE RELEASED…”- NINA SIMONE-“I Shall be Released”

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THE NINA SIMONE STANDARDS

Throughout her career, Simone gathered a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire (apart from the civil rights songs) and for which she is still remembered, even though most of these songs didn’t do well on the charts at the time. These songs were self-written tunes, cover versions (usually with a new arrangement by Simone), or songs written especially for Simone. Her first hit song in America was a cover of George Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy” (1958). It peaked at number 18 in the pop singles chart and number 2 on the black singles chart. In that same period Simone recorded “My Baby Just Cares for Me”, which would become her biggest hit years later in 1987, when it featured in a Chanel no. 5 perfume commercial. A music video was then created by Aardman Studios.

Well known songs from her Philips albums include “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” on Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), “I Put a Spell on You”, “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (a Jacques Brel cover) and “Feeling Good” on I Put A Spell On You (1965), “Lilac Wine” and “Wild Is the Wind” on Wild is the Wind (1966). Especially the songs “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “Feeling Good” and “Sinnerman” (Pastel Blues, 1965) have great popularity today in terms of cover versions (most notably The Animals’s version of the former song), sample usage and its use on various movie-, TV-series- and videogame soundtracks. “Sinnerman” in particular has been featured on movies like The Thomas Crown Affair and sampled by artists like Talib Kweli and Timbaland. The song “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” was sampled by Kanye West on “Misunderstood” from Common’s 2007 album “Finding Forever.”

Simone’s years at RCA-Victor spawned a number of singles and album songs that were popular, particularly in Europe. In 1968 it was “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life”, a medley from the musical Hair from the album Nuff Said (1968) that became a surprise hit for Simone, reaching number 2 on the UK pop charts and introducing her to a younger audience. In 2006, it returned to the UK Top 30 in a remixed version by Groovefinder. The following single, the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody” also reached the UK top 10 in 1969. “House of the Rising Sun” featured on Nina Simone Sings The Blues in 1967, but Simone had recorded the song earlier in 1961 (featuring on Nina At The Village Gate, 1962), predating versions by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan. It was later picked up by The Animals and became their signature hit. [Wikipedia]

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