Have long loved Sings The Blues and a few other songs but been delving a bit deeper lately, and then seeing her in Summer Of Soul and watching What Happened Miss Simone this evening has really stoked the fires of a bit of an obsession. Seems to me one of the greatest, truest artists ever to do it. A kind of mythic figure who won’t ever be replicated. No-one even sings anything like her!
Slight shame that her albums often feel like collections of great songs rather than cohesive works but holy hell what songs. I’m thinking live albums might be the way to go for more cohesion.
Anyway, post your favourite deep cuts/general agreement/tumbleweed below
I’ve been listening to last year’s Montreux Years release a lot recently, it’s incredible (most/all of it was previously released, but this is the best collection of it all I’ve heard).
This performance of Janis Ian’s Stars always stops me in my tracks. The way she stops right at the beginning to chastise an audience member for standing up then goes straight back into playing the song shows she was clearly a formidable person, dedicated to her art, but then the emotion in her performance straight after that is incredible.
I bought this with pocket money as an 11 year old. Loved it at the time and still do. As a young kid, that was the time that I’d heard her. Brilliant song.
Final nail in the coffin for my parents music taste came at Christmas when I mentioned her and they said they went to see her live in the 70s. I was briefly impressed until they said she was “rubbish”. Much more likely that you are “rubbish” tbf guys.
I bought a box set of the albums she recorded while signed to RCA which I’ve enjoyed working through, I’d just echo the other people in this thread who’ve recommended Wild Is The Wind (which isn’t in there) as a good place to start, I think that one’s pretty consistent and the title track is one of my favourite songs by anyone.
It’s not a song I thought I could stomach but this is a pretty wild version, quite life affirming in an over the top, slightly kitsch sort of way and crucially not smug.
This still sounds so fresh to me
Heard this on a really good compilation of the music Jarvis used to play on his 6 music show of all places, not heard the record it came from and I think Nina hated it but the title track is a beauty
It’s a bit early for this yet, really lovely though
From the biography of hers I read her live performances, especially in her later years, could be very hit and miss depending on the mood she was in at the time, and she would react against audiences who had just turned up to hear the hits rather than appreciate her piano playing
