Mood indigo : the complete Bethlehem singles

"Nina Simone is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April. Hardly a rock 'n roller, Simone's influence stretches across multiple genres and awareness of her work is probably as strong today as it ever was given some recent highly acclaimed documentaries. For this occasion, and to mark the 6oth anniversary of her first album recording, Little Girl Blue, Omnivore Records is issuing Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles, comprised of selections from the original Bethlehem album and three singles that were left off the original. As with any Omnivore release, the liner notes are especially rich and revealing ... These sessions initiated Simone's storied career, one that seems as relevant today as ever".

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"The sum of Nina Simone's Bethlehem Sessions is powerful but perhaps peculiar. This was the first flowering of a unique and gigantic talent, and a sometimes problematic one. We can hear it as a snapshot of what she loved, what she was influenced by, and what she aspired to in 1958. Her classical and political aspirations sit side by side with her reverence for a jazz tradition that she would go on to significantly abandon. A few caveats about quality and coherence, however, can't change the fact that each track on The Complete Bethlehem Singles is a classic, the first sighting of a hugely influential artist whose music continues to haunt listeners 60 years after it was first recorded".

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"Mood Indigo documents the first steps in a long and remarkable career, but it delivers with the skill, assurance, and invention of a seasoned veteran, and 60 years after it was recorded, this music is as deeply rewarding and pleasurable as ever".

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