Maps of Music

Fodder on My Wings (1982)

Where the lyrics of Fodder on My Wings take you, and where it was really made.

This late Nina Simone album is so obscure that even its title is spelled three different ways.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1982)

Recording site Studio Davout — The album was recorded at Studio Davout in Paris in January 1982. The session was credited to this studio on the album's discography page. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fodder on My Wings: album by singer, pianist and songwriter Nina Simone
• Part of her later works; can be regarded alongside Baltimore (1978) as one of her better achievements of that period
• A rather obscure album, not widely distributed
• One of Simone's most introspective and personal works
• Songs about her father's death and her not always pleasant stay in Liberia, Trinidad, and Switzerland

Background

• Worldbeat album reflecting the "cultural dislocation" of Simone's time living in Liberia, Trinidad, Switzerland and Barbados
• Title confusion: "Fodder on My Wings", "Fodder in My Wings" and "Fodder in Her Wings" are used interchangeably
• "Le peuple en Suisse" recalls a period Simone found unhappy, with Swiss people she called very empty and unloving

Recording

• Recorded at Studio Davout in Paris, January 1982
• Released on Carrere, 1982, catalog number 67.885
• Nina Simone: vocals, piano, tambourine, harmony vocals, arrangements, conductor
• Sylvin Marc on bass and vocals, Paco Sery on percussion, Sydney Thaim on congas, bells and wood block
• Engineer Daniel Abraham; producers Yves Chamberlan and Giancarlo Cerri

Cover

• The album cover shows a painting by Gabriel Jarnier

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina; the sixth of eight children.
• Began playing piano at age three or four and gave a classical debut recital at age 12.
• Failed to gain admission to the Curtis Institute of Music, which she attributed to racism.
• Played piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City and adopted the stage name "Nina Simone" in 1954, after which she began singing as well.

Career

• Debut album Little Girl Blue (1958) included "I Loves You, Porgy", her only Billboard top 20 single in the US.
• Recorded more than 40 albums up to 1974; her 1960s protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" tied her to the civil rights movement.
• Left the US in 1970 and settled in Europe, later living in Liberia, Barbados, the Netherlands, and France.
• Autobiography I Put a Spell on You was published in 1991; she continued performing until her death on April 21, 2003.
• Known as the "High Priestess of Soul"; Rolling Stone ranked her No. 21 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Members

• Solo artist; she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist Al Schackman throughout most of her career.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• John Lewis of Uncut calls it Simone's last decent studio LP, with her tentatively entering '80s worldbeat territory
• Lewis hears Afro-Cuban horn blasts, African drums and intense Caribbean rhythms, along with 1980s-sounding digital synths and slap bass
• Lewis describes a re-recording of the old hymn "There Is No Balm in Gilead", first sung on Baltimore (1978), as a slow, dubby waltz in French
• Lewis describes "I Was Just a Stupid Dog to Them" as a funky, minor-key calypso

Records

• Rather obscure and not widely distributed on release
• 2015: CD reissue in the US by Sunnyside
• April 2020: reissued on vinyl, CD and digital by Verve/UMe/Universal
• The 2020 reissue used an alternative track listing and new album artwork

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title is written in at least three ways: "Fodder on My Wings", "Fodder in My Wings" and "Fodder in Her Wings".
• The cover painting is by Gabriel Jarnier.
• The album reflects the cultural dislocation of Simone's years in Liberia, Trinidad, Switzerland and Barbados.
• "Le peuple en Suisse" recalls a period Simone found unhappy, when she found the Swiss people very empty and unloving.
• The 2020 reissue came with an alternative track listing and new artwork.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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