Nina Simone - Forbidden Fruit - 180g 2LP

Product no.: PPANSCP419

Nina Simone - Forbidden Fruit - 180g 2LP
£30.93
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AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Pure Pleasure / Colpix - PPAN SCP419 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

Audiophile Remaster -  Pressed at Pallas Germany - Limited Edition

Mastered at Abbey Road by Sean Magee - Colpix SCP 419

Forbidden Fruit is a must for jazz fans and audiophiles! -  5/5 AudiophileAudition

180-gram double LP set from Pure Pleasure Records featuring the original album plus seven previously unreleased tracks from the Colpix vaults and four tracks from her last album for the label!

To call Nina Simone a jazz singer is to neglect the depth and range of her artistry. A classical pianist, folk singer, protest singer, and songwriter, her arrangements are harmonically rich, varied, and rhythmically experimental, while her voice can go from lounge singer-smooth to raw and exposed in the space of a verse.

The tracks on Sides 1 & 2 comprise 1961's masterful Forbidden Fruit album. While no session information exists to confirm this, Schackman, Hamilton and White were likely accompanying Nina when she recorded the eleven songs that comprise Sides 3 & 4, seven of which are from the small archive of previously unreleased tracks left in the Colpix vaults; and four of which were included on the Nina's final Colpix release, 1963's "Nina Simone With Strings”. 

On Forbidden Fruit, Nina Simone sings of people in love--and of the circumstances that sometimes keep them from it. While some of the songs are conventional--in the sense that their melodies are haunting and in the love song tradition--others are concerned more with the realities of troubled love. In the latter category, for example, are "Rags and Old Iron", "Gin House Blues", "Work Song" and "Forbidden Fruit". This album, more that ever, proves Nina's amazing versatility, and stamps her again as one of the great talents of our time. 

Nina Simone established a special prominence among female jazz singers. Like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, she was admired by fans, critics and jazz musicians. Unlike her counterparts, she was a gifted instrumentalist and accompanied herself on piano. With an innate talent for musical arrangement and theory (from classical training), she commanded respect from labels. Simone was able to exercise artistic freedom over commercial projects. This was unique for a female jazz singer.

After being signed to Colpix Records, her stature began to expand, and her catalogue reflected   confidence and focus.  Pure Pleasure Records has re-issued Forbidden Fruit(1961) on two discs. The first LP is the original recording. Simone explores an interesting range of love songs. Side One kicks off with a trio of blues interpretations. “Rags And Old Iron” introduces Simone’s impeccable contralto in a deeply shaded blues format. Gritty lyrics and soulful vocal essence meshes with the unconventional waltz time. The album has a “live” feel to it. “No Good Man” is jazzier with some vampy piano riffs and throaty singing. Simone gets down and dirty on the up tempo “Gin House Blues”. Shifting to melancholic balladry, she is not shy about taking on a Billie Holiday number (“I’ll Look Around”) with an instinctive, nuanced phrasing (and vocal note sustain). The backup instruments are minimal, but frame the songs effectively.

Side Two opens with a forceful rendition of Nat Adderley’s “Work Song”. Simone is a rare singer whose voice is essentially an instrument. On the Peggy Lee co-written ballad, “Where Can I Go Without You”, she uses a slight vibrato and an emotional lilt. Taking on the laconic, Southern vibe, “Memphis In June” (another Hoagy Carmichael gem) has a laid back elegance. Two tracks underscore Simone’s piano versatility. “Just Say I Love Him” utilizes a classical piano introduction to transform an Italian “crooner” tune. The final cut is a rollicking gospel-flavored rendition of the title track. Muscular piano chords with a call and response chorus produce a wild ride.

The second LP is anything but filler. Delving into both traditional and eclectic songbooks, a generous collection of eleven songs are given new life. Among these include an update of the previously recorded, “Porgy I Is Your Woman Now” which expresses the Gershwin eloquence with nimble flourishes on piano. Whether it’s Broadway (“Spring Is Here”, “Baubles, Bangles And Beads”) or purer traditional pieces (“Lonesome Valley”, Od Yesh Homa”) Simone resurrects the essence of the composition. She stretches out on vocals with higher-register (including some falsetto) in a haunting adaptation of Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”. Her swing cover of “Try A Little Tenderness” reshapes the ballad arrangement that future stars like Otis Redding would pursue.

Pure Pleasure Records has re-mastered this recording with artistic commitment. The mix is balanced and vocals are centered. The “raw” sound of the instruments is captured. Also, the glossy packaging and gatefold sleeves are first-rate, with informative liner notes (David Nathan).

Forbidden Fruit is a must for jazz fans and audiophiles! -  5/5 AudiophileAudition

Musicians:
Nina Simone, piano, vocals
Al Schackman, guitar
Chris White, bass
Bob Hamilton, drums

Selections:
LP1 - Side One:

1. Rags and Old Iron
2. No Good Man
3. Gin House Blues
4. I'll Look Around
5. I Love to Love
LP1 - Side Two:
1. Work Song
2. Where Can I Go Without You
3. Just Say I Love Him (English Version)
4. Memphis In June
5. Forbidden Fruit
LP2 - Side Three:
1. Porgy I Is Your Woman Now
2. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
3. Gimme A Pigfoot
4. Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye
5. Spring Is Here
6. Lonesome Valley
LP2 - Side Four:
1. Golden Earrings
2. My Ship
3. 'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do
4. Try A Little Tenderness
5. Od Yesh Homa

Nina Simone - Forbidden Fruit - 180g 2LP

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