Nina Simone - At The Village Gate LP

The breath-taking originality of the second half of the show is what makes this album great. Opening with Oscar Brown, Jr.’s Brown Baby and then Michael Olatunji’s Zungo and delivering a long version of another traditional song Children, Go Where I Send You, Simone makes a profound stand on the black musical tradition, drawing on her deep reading in Frantz Fanon’s auto-theory and Leopold Senghor’s ideas on negritude to create a body of work that transcends jazz styles and critical pigeonholes. She was unique, but only because she drew on multitudes.

The line-up on this recording is Nina Simone, vocals and piano (on all tracks), with Al Shackman on guitar; Chris White on bass; and Rob Hamilton on drums.

Tracklist:

1. Just in Time
2. He Was Too Good To Me
3. House of the Rising Sun [The Animals cover]
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
5. Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair
6. Brown Baby
7. Zungo
8. If He Changed My Name
9. Children, Go Where I Send You
10. Summer Me (Parts 1 & 2)

About this product: this is pressed on 180g blue vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve with alternative artwork.