Nina Simone — 'Nuff Said! [Vinyl LP]

Nina Simone — 'Nuff Said! [Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Live, Reissue, 180 Gram, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: MOVLP1028
• Barcode: 8718469535248
• Genre: Jazz / Soul / Blues
• Label: Music On Vinyl / RCA Victor
• Originally Released: 1968
• Reissue Released: 13 April 2015
• Pressing: 180 Gram Black Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

'Nuff Said! is a live album by Nina Simone, recorded on 7 April 1968 at the Westbury Music Fair in New York — just three days after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Every song that night was performed in his memory, and the result is one of the most emotionally charged and historically significant recordings of Simone's entire career. The weight of the moment is audible throughout — in the force of her piano, in the barely contained grief in her voice, and in her words to the audience between songs. It is a document of an artist and a community in pain, transformed into something transcendent.

The programme draws together blues standards, gospel and original material. "Why? (The King of Love Is Dead)" — written for the occasion by Simone's bass player Gene Taylor and performed in its entirety for the first time that night — is the centrepiece: a long, slow, devastating piece that moves from quiet sorrow to barely controlled rage. The set also includes "Ain't Got No / I Got Life" from the musical Hair, which would become one of Simone's biggest European hits, "The Backlash Blues" — written for her by the great poet Langston Hughes — and the traditional "Gin House Blues". The album received an Emmy nomination and reached number 44 on the US R&B Albums Chart in 1969.

This Music On Vinyl reissue presents the album on 180-gram black vinyl, including a bonus studio track recorded at RCA Studio B, New York.

Tracklist

Side A

1. In the Morning
2. Sunday in Savannah
3. The Backlash Blues
4. Please Read Me
5. Gin House Blues

Side B

1. Why? (The King of Love Is Dead)
2. Peace of Mind
3. I Loves You Porgy
4. Ain't Got No / I Got Life
5. Take My Hand, Precious Lord
6. How Long Must I Wander (Bonus Track)

Credits

• Nina Simone – Vocals, Piano
• Gene Taylor – Bass, Songwriter (Why?)
• Horace Ott – Arranger, Conductor
• Recorded live at Westbury Music Fair, New York, 7 April 1968
• Label – Music On Vinyl / RCA Victor