Live At Berkley / Young Gifted & Black

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 01:10:21
Liner Note Author: Clive Anderson. Recording information: RPM Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Uiversity Of California, Berkeley, CA. Arranger: Nina Simone. This 2009 Snapper two-fer combines two ultra-rare Nina Simone LPs from the early '70s, GIFTED & BLACK and LIVE AT BERKELEY, originally released on the private Stroud imprint, which was run by her then-husband Andrew Stroud. Whether these recordings were an attempt to circumvent Simone's obligations to RCA Records, her label at the time, or were themselves bootlegs unauthorized even by the artist herself is still unclear. Add the fact that the sound on both albums is decidedly lo-fi, and the question of their actual value within the larger Nina Simone discography looms large. No matter since 1971's GIFTED & BLACK is something of a lost cabaret masterpiece. Here the singer revisits some of her signature tunes like "Black Is The Color Of My True Love" and "I Loves You, Porgy" with a small string section as accompaniment in addition her piano and extra percussion. Simone also sings songs like Gordon Jenkin's "Blue Prelude," Rodgers & Hart's "Spring Is Here," and Jerome Kern's "Remind Me" as if she was channeling the great cabaret artist Mabel Mercer, reminding us that apart from her deserved reputation as a socially significant African-American artist, Nina Simone was also an outstanding interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Lest we forget, the 1970 album LIVE AT BERKELEY brings us straight back to the blunt and familiar politically minded artist. How could it not, since the Berkeley campus in the early '70s was such a hotbed of anti-Vietnam sentiment and the songs performed here, including "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" from HAIR, "Four Women," and the soon-to-be classic "To Be Young, Gifted & Black," partake of the political ferment that was in the air. They are not screeds, however; the band plays with a funky conga-propelled ease, and Simone is thoroughly in her element, relaxed and having fun as she gets her message across.
エディション : Reissue
録音 : ステレオ (Live)