Eventually, even that falls into place.
Once she begins playing — wow. I’m not sure that I can think of another woman that was so able to convey the darker yearnings and hungers that resided either in her belly, her heart, or her soul. Armed with a brutally delicate touch at the piano and a voice that seems made of equal parts temptation and damnation, she is amazing.
And yet, throughout, she seems haunted by something that appears to be self-doubt. Whenever a song would end, you see, she would instantly stand up and stare into the crowd, as if defying them to deny how immediate and real the song was.
It was as if she were afraid that she was all alone and that nobody else was able to see the broad sweeping strokes she was making on the canvas of her performance — and was angry with herself for being mortal enough to even care.
More than once she would declare that the crowd wasn’t worthy of hearing the music that she was doing then. Hell, they probably weren’t, as I know that I’m not worthy of it these decades after the performance.
“Backlash Blues,” for instance, grabbed ahold of my throat and just choked me into submission with its visceral beauty. I love every minute of that song, despite it making me feel so damned lonely and angry for all the injustice that inspired it.
It makes me regret that our world is not as good as it should be.
The rest of the DVD contains two songs from a 1987 performance and four songs from one in 1990. Older, less physically vibrant than the Nina from 1976, the voice and the songs are just as strong as ever.
When Nina sings “Four Women / Mississippi Goddam,” I just about cried in acknowledgment of the fierce pride that was still evident in her voice. When I sit back and realize that these four final songs on this DVD were recorded just three years before Simone passed away… I can only hope that my soul still runs that deep near the end of my own life.
Hell, I hope it just gets to 1/10th the depth of Nina’s, really.
At the end of it all, I have no hesitation at all about recommending this DVD to anyone and anybody who loves music, especially blues, jazz, or soul. Deep, dark, and inviting, the music of Nina Simone is only enhanced by seeing the fierceness of the woman on stage.
I am grateful for being given the chance to review this.
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1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites.