Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You ( 180g vinyl LP )

Release date:14-07-2016(originally released in 1965)

 

2016 EU reissue( 180g vinyl LP )

with "Tomorrow Is My Turn', 'Ne Me Quitte Pas', 'Feeling Good'. IPut a Spell on You (1965) features some of her best-known songs. 'I Put a Spell on You', a song originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The original version gave the song an ironic theme, but Simone transformed it into a thrilling love song, complete with horns and strings. It had become one of her most well-known songs. She used the title for her autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992).'Tomorrow Is My Turn', is an English translation of a French song by Charles Aznavour. 'Ne Me Quitte Pas', is a rendition of the song by Jacques Brel; it became one of her live repertoire standards. 'Feeling Good' is Simone's version of the Broadway song, which has since been covered by many artists famously including Muse and Michael Bublé.

 

One of her most pop-oriented albums, but also one of her best and most consistent. Most of the songs feature dramatic, swinging large-band orchestration, with the accent on the brass and strings. Simone didn't write any of the material, turning to popular European songsmiths Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, and Anthony Newley, as well as her husband, Andy Stroud, and her guitarist, Rudy Stevenson, for bluesier fare. There are really fine tunes and interpretations, on which Simone gives an edge to the potentially fey pop songs, taking a sudden (but not uncharacteristic) break for a straight jazz instrumental with "Blues on Purpose." The title track, a jazzy string ballad version of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic, gave the Beatles the inspiration for the phrasing on the bridge of "Michelle."

 

 

Original copies of 1965's 'I Put A Spell On You' fetch prices up to 200 euros if seen in good condition. Thank goodness there is this excellent reissue now so the kids can take a listen to the real thing. It is a typical effort for Mrs. Simone in that era who is at home in so many genres giving all songs - self penned or cover tunes - a piece of her own due to her distinctive voice and the way she performs.

 

A1 I Put A Spell On You

A2 Tomorrow Is My Turn

A3 Ne Me Quitte Pas

A4 Marriage Is For Old Folks

A5 July Tree

A6 Gimme Some

 

B1 Feeling Good

B2 One September Day

B3 Blues On Purpose

B4 Beautiful Land

B5 You've Got To Learn

B6 Take Care Of Business

 

In 1964, Nina Simone embarked on new stage of her career. Her rejection by the Philadelphia-based Curtis Institute Of Music; time spent as a pianist in an Atlantic City nightclub; her jazz, gospel, pop and classical influences – all these had fused to make her one of the most complex, fascinating and talented artists of the decade. Simone released her debut album in 1958, but when she signed to Philips, in 1964, her creative output was about to dovetail with the Civil Rights movement – notably coinciding with the Civil Rights Act Of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, gender, religious affiliation or nationality.

 

In Simone's hands, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was as much a demand as it was a plea, and on I Put A Spell On You she continued to record songs with a deep personal resonance. Her version of the title track remains as mesmerizing as its name suggests, while covers of Charles Aznavour's "Tomorrow Is My Turn" and Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" are equally strong declarations. Meanwhile, Simone once again turned to musical theatre for "Feeling Good" (lifted from the 1964 stage show The Roar Of The Greasepaint – The Smell Of The Crowd), instantly owning the song with her definitive version. Artists as varied as Billy Paul, Muse and Michael Bublé have since covered it, but none with as much dedication – and spine-tingling effect – as Simone.