Maps of Music
Nina Simone and Piano! (1969)
Where the lyrics of Nina Simone and Piano! take you, and where it was really made.
Nina Simone recorded this album alone at the piano, yet some tracks were later layered with organ, handclaps and tambourine.
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Recorded at RCA Studios, New York City (1969)
Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album was recorded at RCA Studios in New York City in September and October 1968. The point sits at city level, not at the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Album story
Overview
- Nina Simone and Piano!: album by American jazz singer, songwriter and pianist Nina Simone
- Simone accompanies herself on piano throughout
- Released January 1969 on RCA, catalog number LSP-4102
- Ten original tracks, five on each side
- Tracks include Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You, Nobody's Fault but Mine, I Think It's Going to Rain Today, Who Am I and The Desperate Ones
Background
- The Desperate Ones was originally a Jacques Brel song from 1965
- Its English lyrics were written for a 1968 off-Broadway musical
- Compensation quotes a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Simone worked as a jazz singer, songwriter and pianist
Recording
- Sessions held 16 September and 1 October 1968 at RCA Studios, New York City
- Ray Hall engineered the album, Joseph Dylewski took the photography, Tom Reed wrote the liner notes
- Mostly voice and piano performance
- Organ, Simone's own backing vocals, handclaps and tambourine were partly overdubbed
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ja.wikipedia.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
At release
- Released January 1969, according to Italian Wikipedia
- Japanese Wikipedia also gives 1969 as the release year
- AllMusic reviewer John Bush gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars
- Bush placed the record in a period when Simone moved between crossover and experimental directions
- He wrote that the album is hard to take in but has many highlights
- Japanese Wikipedia describes it as a piano-and-voice work by Simone
- Italian Wikipedia lists the ten original tracks on two sides, A and B
- The label was RCA
Records
- RCA catalog number LSP-4102
- Liner notes by Tom Reed, per Discogs
- Recording sessions held on 16 September and 1 October 1968 in New York City
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Compensation borrows its text from a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Simone is credited alongside him.
- The Desperate Ones started as a 1965 Jacques Brel song and was translated into English for a 1968 off-Broadway musical.
- Italian Wikipedia credits Simone with voice, piano, organ and tambourine on the album.
- The album's overdubs are limited to some tracks, so most performances are solo piano and voice.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
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