Silk & Soul

Album Review

After moving from the blues to soul for her second RCA album, Nina Simone's extroverted, confident delivery proved a natural match with the ranks of soul shouters working the crowds during the late '60s. A plane ticket to Memphis or Muscle Shoals could've resulted in one of Simone's best works; unfortunately, this set was recorded in New York, and it shows. Simone does well taking on Dusty Springfield for "The Look of Love," though the sedate supper-club backing doesn't quite jive with her smooth, studied performance. Better are the less-familiar tunes, like the highlight "It Be's That Way Sometimes" (written by Simone's brother Samuel Waymon), "Go to Hell," and "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," a trio of songs Nina Simone has no trouble making her own. In early 2006, Legacy remastered Silk & Soul, and added a pair of bonus tracks; "Why Must Your Love Well Be So Dry," issued as a single in 1969, and "Save Me" (co-written by Aretha Franklin and her father the Rev. C.L. Franklin), released as a 45 RPM the same year. There is a fine, lively, and authoritative liner essay by Laura Shallop. ~ John Bush & Thom Jurek, Rovi