NINA SIMONE SINGS THE BLUES

Sings The Blues (1967) is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone (1933-2003). This was Simone's first album for RCA Records after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and re-packaged in 1991 by RCA/Novus as a 17-track compilation under the title The Blues. Nina's not just singing the blues here – she's completely reinventing the sound of the format – by drawing on a long tradition of vocal expression, and infusing it with the hipper, more personally exploratory mode she forged in the 60s! The album's got a subtle brilliance that means that it's sometimes overlooked next to her more forceful work of the time, but it's every bit essential Simone as some of her other key sides of the decade. The group is a small combo featuring Eric Gale, Bernard Purdie, Buddy Lucas, and Ernest Hayes – and titles include "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", "Do I Move You?", "In The Dark", "Real Real", and "Backlash Blues".  

Sings The Blues Track List:
1. "Do I Move You" (Simone) - 2:46

2. "Day and Night" (Stevenson) - 2:35
3. "(Romance) In the Dark" (Green) - 2:57
4. "Real Real" (Simone) - 2:21
5. "My Man's Gone Now" (Gershwin, Heyward) - 4:16
6. "Backlash Blues" (Hughes, Simone) - 2:31
7. "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" (Simone) - 2:32
8. "Buck" (Stroud) - 1:52
9. "Since I Fell for You" (Johnson) - 2:52
10. "The House of the Rising Sun" (Traditional) - 3:53
11. "Blues for Mama" (Lincoln, Simone) - 4:00

Bonus tracks for 2006 reissue:
1. "Do I Move You" [alternate version] (Simone) - 2:19
2. "Whatever I Am" (Dixon) - 3:02

Additional tracks appended to the 1991 The Blues:
1. "The Pusher" (Axton) – 4:50
2. "Turn Me On" (Loudermilk) – 2:24
3. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" (Simone) – 2:59
4. "Go to Hell" (Bailey) – 2:46
5. "I Shall Be Released" (Dylan) – 3:51
6. "Gin House Blues" (Henderson, Troy) – 3:08

Personnel

Tracks 1-12

· Nina Simone: vocal, piano

· Eric Gale: guitar

· Rudy Stevenson: guitar

· Ernie Hayes: organ

· Bob Bushnell: bass

· Bernard Purdie: drums, timpani

· Buddy Lucas: harmonica, tenor sax

Track 13

· Nina Simone: vocal, piano

· Eric Gale: guitar

· Everett Barksdale: guitar

· Weldon Irvine: organ

· Richard Tee: organ

· Jerry Jemmott: bass

· probably Bernard Purdie: drums

· Gordon Powell: vibes, percussion

· Montego Joe: percussion

· George Devens: percussion

· Joe Shepley, Jimmy Nottingham, Harold Johnson, Wilbur Bascomb: trumpets

· Jimmy Cleveland, Richard Harris: trombones

· Seldon Powell, George Coleman, Norris Turney, Haywood Henry: saxophones

· Ralph H. Fields, Eileen Gilbert, Jerome Graff, Milt Grayson, Hilda Harris, Noah Hopkins, Maeretha Stewart, Barbara Webb: vocals

· Arranged and conducted by Weldon Irvine