No slouch as a songwriter herself, Nina Simone ably picked a variety of compositional classics from the new rock era for her 1969 LP To Love Somebody.
Opening with a beautiful, introspective version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," Simone shows an obvious affinity for social statements with the Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" and a trio of Dylan standards: "I Shall Be Released," "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," plus a dramatic, meditative "The Times They Are A-Changin'." The title track, originally a 1967 hit for the Bee Gees and one year later for the Sweet Inspirations, suffers slightly from a weak, commercial-slanted arrangement, but her lone original, the two-part "Revolution," is a great blend of blues-rock and soul testifying.
Among a rut of jazz vocalists making the worst of a bad situation during the late '60s, To Love Somebody is a rare success.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SuzanneLeonard Cohen | Nina Simone | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | To Love SomebodyBarry Gibb, Robin Gibb | Nina Simone | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | I Shall Be ReleasedBob Dylan | Nina Simone | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | I Can't See NobodyBarry Gibb, Robin Gibb | Nina Simone | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 5 | Turn! Turn! Turn! | Nina Simone | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | Revolution (part 1) | Nina Simone | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Revolution (part 2) | Nina Simone | Play | 01:53 | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| 8 | Just Like Tom Thumb Blues | Nina Simone | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | The Times They Are-A-Changing | Nina Simone | Play | 05:55 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 33 mins | 76 MB | |||||
| 33 mins | 210 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Alias | Drums |
| 2 | Leonard Cohen | Composer |
| 3 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 4 | Barry Gibb | Composer |
| 5 | Robin Gibb | Composer |
| 6 | Ray Hall | Engineer |
| 7 | Weldon Irvine | Composer |
| 8 | Mike Moran | Engineer |
| 9 | Pete Seeger | Composer |
| 10 | Nina Simone | Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Primary Artist |
| 11 | Doris Willingham | Vocals |
| 12 | Jimmy Wisner | Arranger, Conductor |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |