Pastel Blues (Vinyl)

On Pastel Blues, leading a stripped-back quintet - and without the orchestral accompaniment of her previous album, “I Put A Spell On You” - Nina Simone presents an intimate and earthy collection of songs.

Tracks like “Trouble In Mind” and “Nobody Knows When You’re Down And Out” put the emphasis on the blues with a good-natured, bar-band feel, while Simone’s version of “Strange Fruit” (made famous by Billie Holiday) is heart-stoppingly stark and mournful. It all leads to the extraordinary finale of “Sinnerman,” her epic, 10-minute interpretation of a traditional spiritual, delivered with passionate intensity.