4. Nina SimoneHere Comes The Sun
I stole this from my parents’ collection. It’s probably not an album for Nina Simone purists as it’s a collection of pop songs, but it features my favourite versions of ‘My Way’, ‘Angel Of The Morning’ and ‘Just Like A Woman’. Every time I listen to this record I want to cry… maybe I need to talk to a shrink about this! Here Comes the Sun is not the typical Nina Simone jazz or blues; it’s all covers of pop songs by the Bee Gees, Dylan, Beatles, Sinatra, etc, but radically rearranged. The production is huge, it’s recorded at RCA with a full orchestra. Her phrasing is beautiful – on piano and on vocals. To hear her sing, "It’s been a long cold and lonely winter", in ‘Here Comes The Sun’ – well, you actually believe that she has suffered and this is what the best singers can do. Closing with a dazzling rendition of ‘My Way’ – with a new section added to the end – it just takes me back to happy days, to my ten-year-old self.
