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Just in case you're wondering, Nina Simone isn't exactly releasing a new album, some five years after her death. A Single Woman was in fact the last album she released, but here it is reissued and with a tagged-on set of previously unreleased cover versions taken from the same recording sessions.
The album as it originally stood is full of the lavish torch songs of the sort readily associated with Simone. Apart from the self-written Marry Me, it's comprised of standards, but don't expect to recognise them all.
Standout tracks include the charming Lonesome Cities, the epic French language glory of Il N'y A Pas D'Amour Heureux and a really nice laid-back jazzy take on The More I See You. It's also worth listening out for her ridiculously over-the-top take on Papa Can You Hear Me.
But those songs are all in the public arena already. Really, this reissue is about the "new" material. And frankly, it's all over-shadowed by an astonishing version of Prince's Sign ‘O' The Times. Words can't quite do justice to this trainwreck with Simone having a go at rapping in her North Carolina accent over a lush David Arnold-esque orchestral arrangement. It's pretty hard to listen all the way through, but it's worth it just for the experience!
The other tracks are more conventional. While Baseball Boogie and the Dylan track The Times They Are A-Changing are just one minute snippets, she gives solid performances on The Long And Winding Road and No Woman No Cry.
However, the joy here is her version of I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, which is essentially mashed up with her all-time classic track My Baby Just Cares For Me. Applying the melody of the former song to the piano-heavy backing track of the latter will delight any fan of the commercial side of Nina Simone.
If you like this great-aunty of jazz, and don't already have a copy of the album as it was originally released, it's worth getting hold of. The extra tracks make it a bigger, broader album, and while they don't really fit with the extravagance of the album proper, they certainly add something to the mix.
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