Nina Simone Diva

Nina Simone spent time recording with Verve or the associated Philips during the mid-'60s, so her entry in the label's 2003 The Diva Series focuses on that period, when she had an R&B hit with "I Put a Spell on You" and recorded many live albums. Though it is much longer than Verve's previous attempts, it certainly doesn't qualify as a solid compilation of Simone's career. A few career-defining songs like "I Loves You, Porgy" are presented in live versions which, fine as they are, don't rate with the studio recordings. For what it is, The Diva Series is a solid label wrap-up, including rarer material like "Wild Is the Wind" as well as a few classics like "Mississippi Goddam" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Nina Simone - Four Women: The Nina Simone Philips Recordings (1964-1966) {2003 Verve Deluxe 4-CD Set}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.46 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 602 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 218 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1964-66, 2003 Philips / Verve / Universal | 440 065 021-2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Torch Songs / Soul / Blues / American Popular Song / Standards

Nina Simone recorded seven albums for the Philips label between 1964 and 1966. It was the period in her career in which her reputation was cemented as a world-class artist, and one in which she gained fame for her contributions to the civil rights movement as well. Despite the fact that she recorded great albums both before and after her years with Philips (most notably with RCA), her Philips period is easily her most enigmatic. Among her Philips recordings are her live label debut and six studio recordings featuring wildly varying instrumentation, arrangements, and contents. The box contains all seven LPs on four CDs, and includes one bonus track.

Hailed as the ‘High Priestess of Soul’, Nina Simone’s unique style seamlessly fused jazz and R&B with her classical piano roots to accompany her profoundly beautiful voice. From classics such as ‘I Loves You Porgy’ and ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ to dynamic live recordings from her creative heyday, this collection charts her rise to stardom and shows why she remains a hugely inspirational figure to this day.

J’étais célèbre, on me reconnaissait dans la rue, on m’offrait des concerts dans tout le pays, mes disques sortaient en Europe… Les télévisions me demandaient, les stars de cinéma aussi me réclamaient à leur table, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, la minuscule Natalie Wood…

This collection of 25 tracks recorded by legendary blues singer Nina Simone includes some of her best material including "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair." UK compilation featuring 25 tracks from the late jazz-soul diva. Includes 20 page booklet with rare photographs.

Nina Simone was ignited by the civil rights movement, and her fed-up tirade "Mississippi Goddam" ("And I mean every word of it!" she testified before a New York crowd) surfaces on In Concert, an arresting 1964 album that also includes a stunningly theatrical version of Weil-Brecht-Blitzstein's "Pirate Jenny." The second portion of this two-fer presents the folk-jazz-soul diva backed by an orchestra. Not all of it works (less is almost always more where Simone arrangements are concerned, and Hal Mooney's are, often as not, too lush or too clamorous), but her dynamic version of "I Put a Spell on You" and the pensiveness she brings to Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" display the singer's versatility. With the inspired live set that anchors this collection, that's enough.