Nina Simone - 'Nuff Said

Its hard to imagine a limit on the amount of praise one could shower upon the high priestess of soul and I won't feign any attempt to do so.

Recorded three days after the death of Martin Luthor King at a concert performance as part of the Westborough music festival this recording is my favourite of Nina Simones (and one of my favourite records of all time).

As with many of Ninas live shows she darts between humour, good will, passionate longing and straight up righteous anger in an obviously inspired set

The record begins by lulling you into a false sense of security with the laid back 'In The Morning' which continues through 'Sunday In Savannah' until the latter half of the song as she wails Don't you dare go fishing son hinting at the parralels between the injustices in Africa and those happening in the US and sets the scene for one of the standouts on the album 'Bachlash Blues' - an uncompromising civil rights song written for her by African American poet Langston Hughes who had also died a few months prior.

Its hard not to be reduced to tears of inspiration as she screams When Langston Hughes died many months before / he said Nina keep on workin' 'til they open up the door / one of these days when ya made it and the doors are open wide / make sure you tell 'em exactly where its at so they'll have no place to hide.

Other stand outs include the moving tribute to MLK in the song 'Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)', 'Peace Of Mind' and her incredible reinterpretation of 'Ain't Got No / I got Life' from the musical 'Hair'.

I can't recommend this album enough and am surprised at myself for not including it on the blog sooner. It is beautiful, brilliant and inspiring, a true classic in all the right ways.