What Are You Listening To?

[SteveO]

One of my favs...thanks for the clips CH ! Forbidden Fruit is one of her famous standards that she wrote!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arve5_dTO1g

nina simone "lady blue" cd,1987

part of a 2cd set, i did the best of studio disc some time ago, this is the bonus live disc that accompanied that best of set....
wasnt too keen on the studio one, from memory it was a borderline like/dislike album, but this one fares a bit better probably because i feel blues and jazz seems to work better in a live setting than in the sterile environment of a studio...you see, blues and jazz is all about 'feel and emotion' IMO, something that rarely comes across unless it is live.
this one has fifteen tracks, sounds as though they are tracks from several decades of recordings rather than a complete concert experience...a couple of the early tracks on the disc sound ore like b-grade bootleg recordings, sure they have their charm but the quality of the sound isnt there, it gets better as the disc rolls along thus the better marks towards the end...
i like this disc, great music for playing whilst driving the car, good relaxing material IMO showing what a great talented artist Nina actually was, on one of the tracks she actually mentions Michael Jackson in a passing comment,so im assuming this to have been recorded around his 'thriller' days when he ruled the pop world without peer, so if that is the case, she could still sing the blues really well right into the latter stages of her great career...
i could only find a couple of live performances of these tracks, i cannot post studio versions as it is,afterall, a live set...and at least my favourite track is one of those to be linked to youtube!

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: aint got no/i got life
best track: mississippi goddam

tracks:

1. house of the rising sun **
2. dont let me be missunderstood **
3. aint got no/i got life *
4. no opportunity neccessary,no experience needed **
5. young gifted and black ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XyEvMpFLrE live
6. aint no use **
7. after youve gone **
8. the assignment song **
9. gin house blues **
10. do what you gotta do **
11.mississippi goddam ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiaSXO9--OA live
12.seeline woman ***
13.the other woman ***
14.four women **
15.i sing just to know im alive **

3s=4
2s=9
1s=2

rating: 2.1 or 7/10