| | |  | Keyword Search: Cheap Trick | Home » To Be Free | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Nina Simone was one of those controversial figures American pop music puts forward from time to time, with the notable exception that she started her controversy earlier in the 1960s than, say, Bob Dylan. To see this African-American woman get angry about the racial situation in her country, right there on stage, was a shock to people who'd come to hear her sing "I Loves You, Porgy." Not that she cared; she figured that it was the artist's job to deliver the truth, and if the truth hurt, so be it. Of course, events wound up proving her right, but she never stopped being prickly about one thing or another. It was just part of who she was, and part of why her music has endured while that of some of her contemporaries has faded: she's still contemporary. To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story is a 3 CD Career Retrospective (1957-1993) including her work for Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA, CTI and Elektra, PLUS a DVD featuring the 1970 Emmy-nominated never-before-released documentary. This package includes 54 songs, 8 previously unreleased tracks, including some never recorded elsewhere. The box includes all chart hits (U.S. and U.K.) and her most famous signature songs. An added bonus are liner notes which include track-by-track commentary from Simone biographer, David Nathan, and introduction by Ed Ward, NPR's "rock & roll historian", and never-before-seen photos from her family archives, recording sessions and performances. | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| September 30, 2008 | | Studio:
| Sony Legacy | | Number Of Discs:
| 4 | | Format:
| Box set | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 9 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | Disc: 1 | | | 1. | Mood Indigo | | 2. | I Loves You, Porgy | | 3. | My Baby Just Cares For Me | | 4. | Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out | | 5. | You Can Have Him (Live) | | 6. | Wild Is The Wind (Live) | | 7. | Trouble In Mind (Live) | | 8. | When Malindy Sings/Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Live) [previously unreleased] | | 9. | See-Line Woman | | 10. | Pirate Jenny (Live) | | 11. | Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood | | 12. | I Put A Spell On You | | 13. | Ne Me Quitte Pas | | 14. | Feeling Good | | 15. | Four Women | | 16. | My Man's Gone Now | | 17. | I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free | | 18. | To Love Somebody | | 19. | Sunday In Savannah (Live) | | 20. | Backlash Blues (Live) | | | Disc: 2 | | | 1. | Mississippi Goddam (Live) | | 2. | In The Morning | | 3. | Ain't Got No-I Got Life [previously unreleased in the U.S. - alternate version] | | 4. | Do What You Gotta Do | | 5. | Seems I'm Never Tired Loving You | | 6. | Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues | | 7. | The Times They Are A-Changin' | | 8. | Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) | | 9. | The Other Woman (Live) | | 10. | I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Live) | | 11. | Save Me (Live) | | 12. | Revolution (Live) | | 13. | To Be Young, Gifted And Black | | 14. | Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair (Live) | | 15. | Westwind (Live) | | 16. | Who Knows Where The Time Goes (Live) | | 17. | Suzanne (Live) [previously unreleased in the U.S.] | | | Disc: 3 | | | 1. | No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (Live) [previously unreleased] | | 2. | Just Like A Woman | | 3. | Here Comes The Sun | | 4. | Tanywey [previously unreleased] | | 5. | Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter (Live) | | 6. | My Sweet Lord/Today Is A Killer (Live) | | 7. | Let It Be Me (Live) [previously unreleased] | | 8. | Poppies | | 9. | Mr. Bojangles (Live) | | 10. | I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl (Live) | | 11. | Nina (Live) [previously unreleased] | | 12. | Zungo (Live) [previously unreleased] | | 13. | Baltimore | | 14. | A Single Woman | | | Disc: 4 | | | 1. | Ain't Got No-I Got Life (DVD content) | | 2. | Pirate Jenny (DVD content) | | 3. | Don't You Pay Them No Mind (DVD content) | | 4. | Milestones(DVD content) | | 5. | Go To Hell (DVD content) | | 6. | Backlash Blues (DVD content) | | 7. | Percussion/Drums/Clapping/Dancing (DVD content) | | 8. | I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (DVD content) | | 9. | Precious Lord (DVD content) | |
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A Gift For Us AllAug 09, 2009
In writing my latest book "A Failed State In Buckhead" my principle female character Amanda Reardon reflects on the importance of a Nina Simone concert in the transiton of a very white Southern women's transition into adulthood and how Ms. Simone re-introduced he into taking a chance of sensual lovemaking as a widowed single parent opening up to new found love.
As the tunes of Ms. Simone played through my head while I was writing of my character I realized that I have not updates my music collection of Nina Simone from wax to digital. Wow what a treat to have ordered and received the full collection of Nina Simone including a dvd of concert selections and an interview.
I have plans to purchase additional sets to pass on to my two adult children.
Bert
Nina Simone at her bestAug 06, 2009
This was a wonderful set of Nina Simone music. It brought pleasant memories of the sixties and seventies. If you like music from the civil rights era this is the music for you. All Nina Simone fans should get this set. The DVD that came along with the music is good also but much to short.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Nina Simone 'To Be Free'Feb 12, 2009
Wondrous overview of Nina Simone's entire career - most of the truly remarkable performances and interpretations are here across 3 CDs and there's a DVD of a famous documentary about her output, ouvre and other big words.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Nina ShinesJan 11, 2009
Fans of Nina Simone will be thrilled by this masterpiece. This collection captures the essence of Nina in three CDs covering her entire career including both well-known & lesser known material. Beautifully packaged & easily accessible.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A Worthy CollectionJan 06, 2009
I've owned the complete Nina Simone discography for some time, but I wanted this box set specifically for the 8 previously unreleased tracks and the 1970 documentary that I assumed had been lost.
The new material is fantastic. I'd gladly have paid just to hear the new, live recording of "Suzanne" included in this set. It's a brilliant concert piece, equal parts bold and vulnerable. I'd heard Nina sing with her brother Samuel at a 1968 Paris concert on the album Live at the Great Show, but if not for the release of "Let it Be Me" included on this set for the first time, I would never have known how truly talented and soulful he was. Music must have been a familial trait.
The DVD is brief (only about 20 minutes) but packs a punch. Nina is engaging and captivating, especially when she muses with her interviewer that freedom must be the equivalent of having no fear. A rehearsal cut of "Don't You Pay Them No Mind" before a concert is overwhelming. This was always one of my favorite songs on the High Priestess of Soul album and to see her perform it with the accompaniment of her grand piano, her mighty vibrato trembling with emotion, is something to behold. She closes a concert with "I Wish I Knew How (It Would Feel to Be Free)," taking the song in a new and liberating direction, singing along and quoting Bible scripture while her band provides a hypnotic melody.
This could easily pass as an introduction to Nina Simone's work, if that is what you're looking for. I don't agree with all of the choices included here as a career spanning collection, but this is an artist who recorded so many albums on so many different labels, if you took two Nina fans and asked them to assemble her best work, you'd inevitably come up with two completely different collections. It's part of the beauty of her music.
Attached to the set is a booklet with extensive track notes for every song, written by David Nathan, a founder of Nina's British fan club and frequent biographer of her life and career. While strained in some parts, his devotion to the artist is clear.
This is a great collection and I'm thankful to the producers who continue to memorialize this incomparably brilliant, yet often overlooked Diva of song.
Highly recommended.
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