Nina Simone at the Village Gate | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | January 15, 1962 | |||
Recorded | March 1961 | |||
Venue | The Village Gate, New York City | |||
Genre | Vocal, jazz, blues, folk | |||
Length | 44:47 | |||
Label | Colpix CP 421 (mono), SCP 421 (stereo) | |||
Producer | Cal Lampey | |||
Nina Simone chronology | ||||
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Nina Simone at the Village Gate is a live album by singer Nina Simone. Released in early 1962, it was her third live album for Colpix (and sixth album overall). The album was recorded at The Village Gate, a nightclub in Greenwich Village, New York in late March 1961, nearly a year before it saw release. [1] The original release featured eight of the twelve songs performed at the gig. In 2005, an extended version of the album was released with the four remaining tracks. [2] [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Gaslight Records | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Record Mirror | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
It is particularly notable for the number of folk songs and African related songs on the album early in Simone's career. Richard Pryor had one of his first nights as a comedian opening for her. [7]
The record received a glowing response when reviewed in 2012 by Gaslight Records, being given a rating of 9.5/10. The reviewer highlighted the "rawness of the recording technique", stating that it catches the "incredible atmosphere" of the nightclub and succeeds in presenting "a young Nina Simone in her most real and free flowing state yet and this is perhaps most apparent in the way that her flawless vocal along with her innovative and dynamic piano playing shine through as effortless and unrivalled abilities without any need for recording studio gloss or trickery." [5] AllMusic's reviewer stated that "Nina Simone, who was always in a category by herself, is heard throughout in her early prime," and that she "has the rare ability of really being able to dig into material and bring out unexpected meaning in familiar lyrics." [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Just in Time" | 6:34 | |
2. | "He Was Too Good to Me" | 4:52 | |
3. | "House of the Rising Sun" |
| 4:37 |
4. | "Bye Bye Blackbird" (instrumental) | 8:15 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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5. | "Brown Baby" | Oscar Brown | 5:46 |
6. | "Zungo" | Babatunde Olatunji | 3:00 |
7. | "If He Changed My Name" | Robert MacGimsey | 3:58 |
8. | "Children Go Where I Send You" | Traditional; arranged by Nina Simone | 7:45 |
Total length: | 44:47 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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9. | "Eretz Zavat Chalav U'dvash" | Eliahu Gamiel | 7:10 |
10. | "Vaynikehu" | Gil Aldema | 2:18 |
11. | "Sinnerman" | Traditional; arranged by Nina Simone | 7:57 |
12. | "You'll Never Walk Alone" |
| 5:30 |
Total length: | 67:42 |
Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. In 2023 Rolling Stone ranked Simone at No. 21 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. Johnny Mathis recorded the song for the film and released it as a single in November 1957. Mathis' version reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1958, but lost to "All the Way" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn from The Joker is Wild.
Wild Is the Wind is the sixth studio album by American singer and pianist Nina Simone released by Philips Records in 1966. The album was compiled from several recordings that were left over from sessions for previous Philips albums.
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and recorded by "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins. The selection became a classic cult song, covered by a variety of artists. It was Hawkins' greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, even though it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.
"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is an African American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers and has been incorporated in many other media and arts. The lyrics describe a sinner attempting to hide from divine justice on Judgment Day. It was recorded in the 1950s by Les Baxter, the Swan Silvertones, the Weavers and others, before Nina Simone recorded an extended version in 1965.
Barbed Wire Sandwich is a heavy blues rock studio album by British band Black Cat Bones, released on 13 February 1970 by Decca on its Nova label. It is the only record by the band.
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour.
Baltimore is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, released in January 1978 by CTI Records. Due to a lack of promotion, and Simone's dissatisfaction with the record, It became a commercial failure, failed to chart, and also received mixed reviews from critics. It would also become her first and only album released under her contract with CTI Records. The title track was originally written and recorded by Randy Newman in 1977.
Sings the Blues is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. 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.
The Amazing Nina Simone is the second studio album by Nina Simone, released in July 1959. It was her second album, and her first recording for Colpix Records. The album contains a variety of material, including jazz, gospel, and folk songs. Compared to her debut, which showcased Simone's piano playing ability in addition to her singing, the piano was downplayed on Amazing in favor of string arrangements.
Nina Simone and Her Friends is an album released by the Bethlehem Records label that compiled songs by jazz singers Nina Simone, Carmen McRae and Chris Connor. All three artists had left the label and signed with other companies by the time Bethlehem released this album. The numbers by Simone - with the exception of her 1959 hit single 'I Loves You, Porgy' were "left overs" from the recording sessions for her debut album Little Girl Blue (1959) and released without her knowledge. The tracks by Chris Connor and Carmen McRae were already issued together this way as Bethlehem's Girlfriends in 1956 accompanied by the debut recording session of Julie London.
Nina Simone at Town Hall is the first live album by Nina Simone, released in December 1959. It was her third album of that year, her second album for Colpix Records, and her first live album. The basis for the record was Simone's performance at the Town Hall, New York, on 12 September 1959. All of the songs performed at the concert are on the album; however, three of the tracks are studio versions cut the following month.
I Put a Spell on You is a studio album by American jazz singer, songwriter, and pianist Nina Simone. Recorded in 1964 and 1965 in New York City, it was released by Philips Records in 1965. It peaked at number 99 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. The title track "I Put a Spell on You" peaked at number 23 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 28 on the UK Singles Chart.
Little Girl Blue: Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club is the debut studio album by Nina Simone. Recorded in late 1957, it was eventually released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959. Due to the length of time the album had taken to be released and the lack of any promotional single either immediately before or alongside the album, Simone would become disillusioned with Bethlehem and sign with Colpix Records in April 1959. She recorded the tracks for her second album - what would become The Amazing Nina Simone - the same month. However, in May Bethlehem finally released a single, "I Loves You, Porgy" and gave Simone her first hit later that year, peaking at number 18 on the pop charts, and number 2 on the R&B charts. Helped by the profile of the single, the album too went on to become a chart success.
Here Comes the Sun is the thirteenth studio album by American singer Nina Simone, consisting of cover versions of songs by pop and rock musicians, released by RCA in April 1971.
"Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". The song was released on her album Nina Simone in Concert in 1964, which was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall earlier that year. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took during this period.
"Four Women" is a song written by jazz singer, composer, pianist and arranger Nina Simone, released on the 1966 album Wild Is the Wind. It tells the story of four African American women. Each of the four characters represents an African-American stereotype in society. Thulani Davis of The Village Voice called the song "an instantly accessible analysis of the damning legacy of slavery, that made iconographic the real women we knew and would become."
"Trouble in Mind" is a vaudeville blues-style song written by jazz pianist Richard M. Jones. Singer Thelma La Vizzo with Jones on piano first recorded it in 1924 and in 1926, Bertha "Chippie" Hill popularized the tune with her recording with Jones and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The song became an early blues standard, with numerous renditions by a variety of musicians in a variety of styles.
Nina is a Nina Simone tribute album by Xiu Xiu. It was released on Graveface Records on December 3, 2013, to generally favorable reviews.
Gifted & Black is an unofficial studio album from jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter Nina Simone. It was originally released in 1970 by Canyon Records. However, it is thought to be a demo tape made by Simone in the spring of 1957 some months before the recording of Little Girl Blue, her first official album, in December of the same year. For the release in 1970, the original recording had strings added.