 Nina Simone What is this, the 80th Nina Simone collection Verve has put out in the past three years? Why don't they just put an awesome two-disc set together and be done with it? They've made it impossible to get all the great songs in one place – though truly, no self-respecting music fan should have fewer than two Nina discs in their collection. This one is a good starting point, though I would recommend bypassing it in favor of the Verve Jazz Masters collections and the incredible After Hours compilation. Ultimate Nina Simone features 16 tracks selected by Diane Reeves – only one track ("Blue on Purpose") is not available on the aforementioned three CDs, making this one attractive mainly to people who don't already own a Nina disc. It's a well-done collection, featuring a lot of the great performances but missing some essentials (Nina's bone-chilling "Strange Fruit" ain't here, neither is "Love Me of Leave Me" nor "My Baby Just Cares For Me"). Reeves focuses on the jazziest side of Nina, kicking off with five of her most militant, defiant songs ("Images," "Four Women," "See-line Woman," "Be My Husband," "Come Ye") and easing into some soul gospel ("Take Me to the Water/I'm Going Back Home") and smoky jazz (Nina's specialty). The run of late-night bluesy ballads offers a pretty amazing view of Nina as a supreme interpreter: "Wild is the Wind," "Don't Smoke in Bed," "The Other Woman," "I Loves You Porgy," "Don't Explain," "Lilac Wine" … yowza. There's really not a wasted track (if anything, the instrumental "Blue on Purpose" is least interesting, but it's a great side of Nina the pianist), and the flow is very good. As with most Nina collections, it's an attempt to define the indefinable, and contain the uncontainable. Nina Simone's career was so scattershot that an honest, full-on retrospective (say, a box set) would be a massively confusing listening experience – blues, pop, jazz, the good and the crap comingled of necessity. Ultimate Nina Simone presents a version of Nina that was always on, Nina's best foot forward – it's not a fully honest account, but it's extremely attractive. It's a bit frustrating in that it duplicates so much from the other good Verve comps, but in and of itself it's a great disc. The problem is you end up having to decide which Verve collection will be obsolete, 'cuz you cain't have all of 'em, son. Or can you? 🤷
Review by Mandy Newman |