ghost of miles Posted October 8, 2003 Report Posted October 8, 2003 OK, I bit on a B & N credit card just to get the $50 Rewards Certificate simply for using the damned thing once. Said certificate finally arrived today & I promptly snapped up this Nina Simone box, which I've been waiting for ever since its announcement a couple of years ago. I'm at work and haven't had a chance to open it yet, but anybody else have this? I like her Phillips work quite a lot and am really looking forward to hearing all of it. Quote
chris olivarez Posted October 8, 2003 Report Posted October 8, 2003 No. Hurry! break it out I must know more!!! Quote
DrJ Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 (edited) Yes, I do have it and I think it's excellent overall. I must admit that this was my first detailed exposure to Simone's work, and I find I have to be in the right mood to fully enjoy her music because there is a certain amount of baggage that comes through some of it that can rub me the wrong way sometimes. Not that I "blame" her for telling it like she saw it - in fact, admire her for it - but sometimes I'm just not up to hearing it, you know? However, that's not apparent in all her work, and musically this is uniformly first rate stuff (she had a remarkable gift for stripping away the bullshit and getting to the essence of a great pop song and was accompanied on most of the non-orchestral dates by a really responsive band) and there's a lot more humor and levity than I think she's typically been given credit for by some of her harsher critics. Is she a "jazz" singer? Well, I would actually say "no" if for no other reason than she was far more willfully eclectic than that, well before it was fashionable to be so. Not sure if she's ever mentioned it, but I think Cassandra Wilson owes a lot to Ms. Simone. The booklet is great as so many of the Verve group box booklets are. Sound quality is not the best work they've done - perhaps it's the original session tapes, but much of the music sounds more muffled and dead than I'd prefer - but certainly quite listenable. Edited October 9, 2003 by DrJ Quote
Tjazz Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 This box set is also available thru BMG. Quote
jazzbo Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 I've been eying this and waiting for the right time and price and the flood of reissues to subside somewhat. Thanks for the review Tony, and it sounds like you have good listening ahead David! Quote
Alfred Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 The first disc covers her live recordings - not my favorite one. But the rest is amazing IMO. The book(let) is nice but the CD inserts are worse. It seems to be en vogue to design packagings with useless slots. Stored mine in normal jewel cases. Quote
Adam Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 Pretty much as above. Music is great. Sinnerman, Four Women, etc etc etc. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 I must admit that I have hesitated on this one. I was all pumped up and ready to bite when KCSM ran a special on Simone (I must confess to being totally unfamiliar with her work before that), but everything I've read since then has caused me to wait. Stuff like "hit or miss", "when she's on, she's great, but..." and recommendations that a "Best of" package might be a better place to start. I expect to see a few comments like that on any artist, but it seems to be pretty much unanimous in this case... Quote
DrJ Posted October 9, 2003 Report Posted October 9, 2003 (edited) Jazzmoose, if it helps in clarifying and getting you to spend what money you have left over that HASN'T already been spent on CDs... I would definitely not use "hit or miss" to describe her music, certainly not the stuff in the FOUR WOMEN box. It's uniformly strong, and the majority is outstanding, easily as good a track record as most other major artists I can think of. I was just saying that for me personally, she's one of those musicians whom I really tend to enjoy most when I'm in the right frame of mind. There are some - say, Hank Mobley or Woody Shaw - where it's rare that I'm NOT in the mood. For Simone, it's not like it's once in a blue moon, but on the wrong day her stuff can grate on me a little. There are a lot of other really great musicians who I enjoy that are in the same category, to be honest (although they might grate on me for different reasons than Simone) - for example, even Dexter Gordon, one of my favorites, can on the wrong day can exasperate me ("what, ANOTHER quote?"). Edited October 9, 2003 by DrJ Quote
mikeweil Posted May 3, 2006 Report Posted May 3, 2006 The first disc covers her live recordings - not my favorite one. .... Well, not quite - Philips used 7 live tracks for the first LP and spread 7 more over the subsequent albums. I'm not sure if I would have preferred them all on one disc, although that would have split up the original albums. A look into the discography (Bruyninkckx) shows that except for the first and last LPs they always combined mterial from various sessions. That leads to my only complaint about the booklet - what is missing is a discography in session order. Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted May 3, 2006 Report Posted May 3, 2006 (edited) I had two of her LPs - "I put a spell on you" and "Wild is the wind"- and a 45 or two in the '60s. I, too, found that, although it was superb stuff, there were times I didn't want to know. Which, I suppose, is why I flogged them and never replaced them. The one cut I always regretted not keeping was "Please don't let me be misunderstood". But I might get this box now. Does the set contain EVERYTHING she recorded for Philips? MG Edit - didn't realise this thread was so old, 'til I read the other one. Edited May 3, 2006 by The Magnificent Goldberg Quote
mikeweil Posted May 3, 2006 Report Posted May 3, 2006 (edited) Does the set contain EVERYTHING she recorded for Philips? Yes it does, seven LPs and one track released only on a 45 rpm single. The music is inluded in LP issue order - tracks from each session were spread over several LPs. Edited May 3, 2006 by mikeweil Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted May 3, 2006 Report Posted May 3, 2006 Does the set contain EVERYTHING she recorded for Philips? Yes it does, seven LPs and one track released only on a 45 rpm single. The music is inluded in LP issue order - tracks from each session were spread over several LPs. Thanks very much , Mike MG Quote
MartyJazz Posted May 4, 2006 Report Posted May 4, 2006 This box set is also available thru BMG. Indeed. I picked it up for $24 at yourmusic.com. Uneven, but there's some very good stuff on there. I have a soft spot for Nina as I first saw her when I was a teenager at the Newport JF back around '64 or thereabouts. Quote
GregN Posted May 4, 2006 Report Posted May 4, 2006 This box set is also available thru BMG. Indeed. I picked it up for $24 at yourmusic.com. Uneven, but there's some very good stuff on there. I have a soft spot for Nina as I first saw her when I was a teenager at the Newport JF back around '64 or thereabouts. Nina is awesome! Quote
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