New Release: Nina Simone, THE COLPIX SINGLES

Nina Simone is remembered as a true musical legend, making her impending induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year an event that’s long overdue, but it’s arguable that the era which first set the stage for her eventual legendary status came during her stint with the Colpix label. When she signed to the label, she did so with a surprising caveat offered to her efforts: they effectively gave her carte blanche to select her own material. 

"I played what I wanted and nothing else," Simone wrote of her Colpix days in her autobiography, I Put A Spell On You. "Hell, they weren't paying me well enough to tell me what to play. There was no proper producer on my records - just an engineer to set everything up, an orchestrator to write out the arrangements, and the rest I did myself."

You can discover just what sort of selections Simone made by checking out her new compilation, THE COLPIX SINGLES, which is in stores now and bears a title that pretty well sums up its contents. It’s available on both CD and LP, with the CD offering both the A-sides and B-sides of these singles, spreading them across two discs. The LP, meanwhile, is strictly an A-side affair, but make no mistake: either format will provide you with an education about a period in Simone’s career which hasn’t gotten nearly enough appreciation over the years.

You can check out the track listings for both the CD and LP versions below.

CD TRACK LISTING:

CD 1
1.    Chilly Winds Don't Blow
2.    Solitaire
3.    Children Go Where I Send You
4.    Willow Weep For Me
5.    The Other Woman
6.    It Might As Well Be Spring
7.    Summertime
8.    Fine And Mellow
9.    Since My Love Has Gone
10.  Tomorrow (We Will Meet Once More)
11.  Under The Lowest (Short Version)
12.  If Only For Tonight
13.  Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
14.  Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair
 
CD 2
1.    Trouble In Mind
2.    Cotton-Eyed Joe
3.    Work Song
4.    Memphis In June
5.    You Can Have Him
6.    Gin House Blues
7.    Come On Back Jack
8.    You've Been Gone Too Long
9.    In The Evening By The Moonlight
10.  I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
11.  I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
12.  Little Liza Jane
13.  Blackbird   

LP TRACK LISTING:

Side 1
1.   Chilly Winds Don't Blow
2.   Children Go Where I Send You
3.   The Other Woman
4.   Summertime
6.   Since My Love Has Gone
6.   Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
7.   If Only For Tonight

Side 2
1.   Trouble In Mind
2.   Work Song
3.   Gin House Blues
4.   Come On Back Jack
5.   In The Evening By The Moonlight
6.   I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
7.   Little Liza Jane