Wild Is The Wind

This album makes me want to buy a record player, buy this record, and play it. Listening feels like watching the clear night sky in a warm summer night.

Maschine: Nectar Bee Mische: natürlich wie Live-Aufnahme in der Bar, Stimme fantastisch zentral, Bass zupft locker vor sich hin, teils erhebliches Rauschen Mukke: "I Love Your Lovin' Ways" unerwartet Upbeat für Nina Simone, "Four Women" und "Wild is the Wind" könnten gerne nie enden.. <3, Songauswahl nicht 100% kohärent Meinung: 4/5

a lovely, jazzy album that feels like a calm spring evening at home

An astounding range of wit, soul, and polemicizing wrapped in Simone’s phenomenal voice. Too few songs truly pierce my ears but almost every one takes hold of my attention.

easy morning soundtrack; very jazzy & great for cooking

Beautiful

Soul and jazz are not some of my favorite genres but Nina Simone had some great tracks here. Overall the album was pretty good and had some impactful lyrics. Favorite Song(s): "I Love Your Lovin' Ways", "Four Women", "Break Down and Let It All Out"

Wonderful l!

Beautiful album, exceptional vocalist.

The first song was my least favorite but the rest were amazing. I love her voice and the feeling she's able to carry through music.

Beautiful voice. need to listen again (and again.. and again).

I felt very close to Nina's expressions of love, her writing, her expressions, while listening to this record. It felt tangible, something I could reach out and feel as she sang. I think a lot of that has to do with her voice. It feels accessible, amateurish to the untrained or unlistened ear. It almost sounds regular at times, normal. I'm positive that's one aspect as to why so many can connect to Nina as an artist. It sounds like the voice of you and I. The piano playing on display is unbelievable as well. The way it swells and crescendos in some of these tracks left me speechless.

Mögnuð.

Passions, Pain and Power. All these things make Nina Simone great.

This was my formal introduction to Nina Simone and I think this was an album! Her voice is hauntingly beautiful, especially with the vibrato. I'm not big into soul music and generally enjoy a faster tempo so the album did feel slow at times but I know that's just the genre.

I do not know what to think about this album. At first I thought it was going to be a Soul record when I heard the song I Love Your Lovin' Ways. Then it slowly takes you in a totally different direction. Wild is the Wind truly showed the depth and range of voice that Nina Simone had. It went from a soul record to a jazz record within a few songs . I am glad that I took the time to listen to this album. I was always under the impression that Wild Is the Wind was a song that was not only performed by Bowie but was written by him too.

Classic. Four Women is intense

Got a bit heavy in the back half, but this is a gorgeous album. Works great on a rainy day.

Classic. Not my bag

Nina is great as always, but I prefer her later funkier albums. Some songs have her singing in a weird almost unrecognizable voice which I'm not a huge fan of. Wild is the Wind and Four Women are the stand outs.

Nicht das, was ich von Nina Simone erwartet hätte. Kenne ihre Musik aber kaum. Das ist so klassischer Rocknroll, würde ich sagen?! Wikipedia sagt (u.a.) RnB und ich schwöre, dass ich das auch sagen wollte. Zweites Lied dann eher so, wie ich erwartet hätte, soulig, erinner an Amy Winehouse, langsam. Irgendwann dann sehr jazzig, sehr zurückhaltend mit einer tollen Stimme im Vordergrund. Sehr schönes Album.

Bleedin excellent. Only giving a 3 rather than 4 cos it's more a 3.5 and after giving that dark side of the moon yoke 5 and rounding down I'll do the same. Increddibllee soul. Brilliant. 4 women, lilac wine, last 3 tracks straight. Excellency. Yk what this is a 4 too. Only brought down by blues-adjacent tracks but that's a preference thing. So much passion

Very good album. Full of heartbreak, longing, unrequited love. I’ll go to this album if I get broken up with again. Her voice is so soulful and so full of emotion, giving the song such energy despite, or perhaps because of, the very simple instrumentals

Lilac Wine is devastating

What a great album. That voice is dreamy. Si powerful. I had chills more than one time listening to this album. Nina Simone is one of the best jazz singer of all times. 4 stars

Enjoyed it.

Interesting album. Would definitely define as early jazz/R&B.

Some really compelling and powerful vocals, and it's clear that she's setting a precedent that will be emulated for decades to come. However, her voice does bug me a little in some of the songs.

Haunting and beak

Simone is impeccable. This is not my go-to album, though.

A stunning album. Really great. Sad and loving at parts, but all simple and haunting. Would be a 5 if not for the replay factor.

Every Nina Simone album is great.

Nina Simone will put a spell on your ass

This was a really nice album to listen to in the morning. Slow but with movement and didn't interrupt work.

Breakdown & Let It All Out - This song is so good

Awesome vibe, enjoyed it thoroughly!

some of the lyrics and tropes from this album were jaw-dropping, Lee, intense, but so descriptive, setting an incredible imagery. I really enjoyed the overall sound.

Really love her vocal style and heart. It comes through really well in this album.

Solid album, lovely voice and well written. Most of them aren't very upbeat, but still good.

Classics on this album. Plus this era is everything with the backup girl singers!

Pretty good

Classic by a Black legend. Blue period, melancholic and poetic.

Love the subtle guitar flourishes on That’s All I Ask Beautiful guitar on Why Keep On Breaking My Heart

A mighty singer, a mighty woman. At turns raw and beautiful, I was spellbound

Legend.

I feel like this album would make me fall in love with whomever I simply look at while it's playing. Favorite track: What More Can I Say?

Always amazing, though I think later work rose to greater heights.

Sort of 60s poppy, but some jazzy numbers too. 3.9

4.1

проницательно прям

Amazing deep lyrics, a bit too blues-y for my taste.

Chillig. Gute Stimme jazzig.

Nina Simone is always great. Not my favorite record of here but I feel her best recordings are love recordings

She can do it

bello

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Real nice way to start the week this album tbf“ - Woolham, N (Sept, 2023)

Nina Simone is fantastic! Great listen!

Raw und emotional. Sehr dramatisch auf ne gute Weise.

Extrem dramatisch, große Songaufbau Galore. Klavier sehr sophisticated, starke klassische Einflüsse

Beautiful

Heel mooi, in sommige nummers is de vibrato in dr stem iets te om relaxed te luisteren. Meeste nummers heel mooi voor bij romantisch dinertje

Un 4 porque es la Simone, pero demasiadas canciones lentas.

She’s very direct. Just about every emotion is expressed on this album from adoration to indignation. Not a fan of the blues but she even makes those tracks sound good.

Nina Simone GOAT, jättebra låtar, jättebra album Bästa låtar: What more can I say? Lilac Wine, Wild is the wind

Four Women // What More Can I Say? // That’s All I Ask // Break Down and Let It All Out // Wild Is The Wind // Either Way I Lose 4-4.5/5

Achei fantástica.

Very talented and powerful but I just don’t love her tone of voice, which holds this back to 4 stars.

Shmooth

4/5. A beautiful, heart wrenching album. Some songs are happy which are needed to not be sad throughout the whole thing. The only downside is the song by the same name as the album, very forgettable. And some songs are just good but not awesome. Overall though, an honest and direct album from a black woman who is tired of putting on an act and decides to be herself instead.

Enjoyed

Lovely stuff

The fact that this has Four Women and Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair makes this a must listen.

Nina Simone is a singular talent, that is clear. No one has sounded like her before or since. Other than the opening track, this is filled with such melancholy sadness. Four Women is a heavy song. Lilac Wine and Wild as the Wind are both excellent, although I would say I prefer the Jeff Buckley and David Bowie versions, respectively. Does that make me sexist? Album closes out with the great Either Way I Lose. Could use a few more listens, but this feels like a 4.

I thought i wrote a review. But it turns out it was notes.

Her voice is near perfect which makes it hard not to give a 5 but there are a lot of songs on this album that are mediocre except for her. Four Woman, the only song she wrote, is quite good. So much so that I'm surprised she didn't write more songs but she did write new arrangements for many songs so displayed her creative talents that way. She is so good at singing that her excellent piano playing doesn't get as much praise as it would if she didn't sing so darn well. Funny story: I listened to Bowie's up tempo version of the title song so much more, when I hear her cover I expect the words to come before they do.

The one song that Nina composed on the LP, “Four Women”, is great. I like her versions of “Lilac Wine” & “Wild is the Wind”, though comparing these standards to the other versions out there highlights the fact that Nina’s voice is not her greatest asset. Yet on this album she keeps it in check, hitting a lot of highs and lows, as in “Either Way I Lose” without “yelling” as my co-judge refers to it. Nina was a talented pianist and the sparse accompaniments on this LP bring that to the fore. She was an artist who, through her songs and activism contributed to the civil rights movement, and since her death, her music have been kept alive by a growing number of remixes and samples.

Great album, love the vocals, not something I'd normally listen to.

1/2 known by heart

Thats some good food right there

I was given "Wild is the Wind" to listen to back at the end of June, played it a couple of times and found it pleasant but wasn't particularly overwhelmed. So I set it aside to review later, left it alone for several months and didn't come back to it until this week (in mid-October). What on earth was I thinking? How was I not blown away by the depth of feeling here? "Wild is the Wind" is a stunning album which, at its best, presents Nina Simone as a peerless talent, unlike almost anyone else in her field. There's an unassuming start, as "I Love Your Loving Ways" is straight-lace enough. It's a rootsy, smoky 12-bar-blues, showcasing a lighter side of Simone… but the rug-pull moments are just around the corner. Few songs I've heard are as affecting as "Four Women", Simone's only self-penned song on this record and one which addresses the ghost of slavery haunting four different African American women. At the end, as Simone screeched out "My name is Peaches" and the band rattled to a crescendo underneath her, I had growing goosebumps for the whole of the last thirty seconds. From there, the album rarely lets up. "Lilac Wine", which I first heard in Jeff Buckley's melismatic diva stylings, is smooth and measured here, but no less beautiful. Next, "That's All I Ask" is absolutely sublime, no notes. "Break Down and Let It All Out" is searing, scorched rage, cathartic in Simone's vocal delivery. And, of course, the title track is stirring, haunting, ethereal. I've long been familiar with David Bowie's coked up version, but this is something else. Even in what we might call the "lesser tracks", there are no egregious offences, just less compelling songs. "Why Keep On Breaking My Heart" is easy to write off as a bit of a misstep- it's a diversion into shuffling, traditional pop- but it's so elegantly performed (and boasts a lovely string section) that it's hard to feel too cheated. Later, "Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair" and "If I Should Lose You" are back-to-back introspective jazz ballads, and both feel slightly less captivating than the material leading up to them. Finally, "Either Way I Lose" is a lovely ending track, distinguished by a nice touch of vocal bass. I'm so sorry, Ms. Simone. I will never leave your albums unreviewed and unappreciated for so long again.

amazing voice, very powerful

She is amazing. Very enjoyable album. She has some better records tough.

Beautiful voice for a classy album: one of the best of the genre of that period for sure.

Uit de categorie 'artiesten die je nou eenmaal goed moet vinden want iedereen vindt het goed'. Bij vlagen heeft Nina Simone wel iconische nummers gemaakt, maar vooral wanneer de gekte echt op z'n plaats was (Sinnerman, nog gebruikt in een verbluffende kunstroofscène in The Thomas Crown affair). Verder kan ik niet altijd wat met dat unieke maar mallotige stemgeluid. Desondanks vind ik deze plaat nog best sfeervol. Mooie arrangementen, ingetogen uitvoering. Dus vooruit.

Het is misschien het tijdstip, thuis op een zomerochtend, rustig wakker worden met een bakkie koffie. Het eerste nummer stemt me gelijk vrolijk, fijne blues. En vervolgens pakt nina (al is ze ietwat aanstellerig) je beet en laat ze niet meer los. Het is ruw, gevoelig, ongepolijst, en toch elegant. Waar frank sinatra me totaal onberoerd liet met zijn neppe mr perfect geluid, grijpt me dit wel. Heerlijk. Het zal niet voor elk moment zijn, dus geen 5 sterren dit keer, maar een hele dikke 4.

Incredibly haunting and beautiful voice. Not an album I would have ever thought to listen to myself, but its so heavy, downbeat and wonderfully orchestrated. The title tract is incredible, powerful, worth every single of its longer length.

good old tunes

En voiture Simone

j'adore le printemps

Nice, but too placid sometimes

listened

4.5

Four Woman is written so excellently.

Compelling and affecting – it's alternately classy and raw. The accompaniments and arrangements are great, too. She's a voice like no other and one understands those that might find it an acquired taste, especially given her occasional flirtation with overwhelming the songs.

I love how haunting some of the songs are.

Great voice, good album!

Beautiful and way less dated sounding than I was expecting.

What a voice.

This is great. And not just because it contains Lilac Wine and Wild Is The Wind! A rich and diverse record that improves on every listen.

Loved it, new gender for me!!

Wild is the Wind es una canción excepcional

Sonic Alchemy. Also, Bowie's greatest cover.

Heat

Nina don’t miss

Klassikko

This is such a good collection of songs. Classic 60s rnb/blues collections, but Ninas voice just pushes this into the heights. There are a few jams on here which are your traditional love / wedding fair, but there are some epic jams. Four women is the standout, it's amazing in its message and themeing. The last vocal is out of this world.

4.5

Nina was never afraid to go to the dark corners and see what was unleashed. My favourite of hers is Nina Sings the Blues and the brilliant co write with Langston Hughes Backlash Blues, powerful stuff. Four Women takes a different path but is equally powerful. As a musician you get a sense of her struggle to work across genres and keep it simple, when she could of course go anywhere her astonishing talent called for. I love the provenance of Lilac Wine, Elke Brooks must have got it from Nina, who of course got it from Eartha...but where did Jeff pick it up from? Anyway, the way she plays those chords, so simple yet so perfect, letting that voice fly with just the right sense of restraint, where so many would have let rip. A beautiful record.

I remember when I first heard Nina Simone. It was her version of Ain’t Got No/ I Got Life from the Broadway musical of the moment, Hair. It was 1968 & it was the first of a long list of songs from Hair that were hits. And the reason I remember well hearing it for the first time on radio is that when the dee-jay back-announced it as being by a woman, my jaw dropped, because to me it had sounded like a man’s voice. I also remember when I first heard the song Wild Is The Wind - it was in the early 80’s when I first saw the black & white clip of Bowie miming his 1976 recording of the song. I then heard the Johnny Mathis version & eventually Nina Simone’s cover. I love all three versions but Simone’s is particularly emotional, & longer than the other 2 versions combined. The other well-known cover on the album is the beautiful Lilac Wine, written for a Broadway musical in 1949, first recorded by the great Eartha Kitt in 1952 but now best remembered as a track on Jeff Buckley’s album, Grace. Simone’s version is a as good as any. There are 2 songs on the album written by black ongwriter Horace Ott, who had written the classic Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood for Simone in 1964, and 2 songs written by Van McCoy, who had alreadyvwritten Baby I’m Yours for Barbara Lewis & Getting Mighty Crowded for Betty Everett & would go on to have a huge disco hit with The Hustle in the mid-70’s. When you add the 2 songs written by Bennie Benjamin, including the opener, the wonderful I Love Your Lovin’ Ways, and Simone’s own extraordinary composition, Four Women, it means that 7 of the 11 songs here were written by black American composers - no coincidence, because Simone was an important figure in the civil rights movement & she no doubt fostered black talent when she had the opportunity. This is not the greatest collection of songs she ever gathered on one disc, but the highlights shine.

Loved it

11th April 2023 Listened during the day in the living room working with Jen. Chilled evening watching city Bayern. Simply divine. 4.5 if I could.

L'émotion est si puissante dans la voix que j'en ai des frissons. Textes vraiment poignants. Belle liberté dans les accompagnements musicaux, qui ne se laissent pas dominer entièrement par la voix.

Beautiful, powerful music. A bit slow for me personally.

Je me réjouissais d'avance d'écrire ma critique expliquant point par point en quoi Nina Simone était surcotée, elle qui détient jusqu'à ce jour la version la plus charabiesque de Ne Me Quitte Pas. Malheureusement, les premières pistes de l'album ont installé une énorme climatisation chez moi, si bien que je me dois d'admettre que Simone est une sacrée cliente.

Quelle belle manière de débuter la semaine, merci Nina

Nina Simone is a treasure. She captures the deep pain and longing of a broken relationship in this album, like no one else can. I felt that while listening. I'm not crying. You're crying.

Beautiful album, lots of pain in her voice.

It was decent. Not really my thing but it was good

She blew me away in the Summer of Soul doc, and while losing the visuals does take away some of her charisma there's still a ton of power in that voice.

Nina Simone is regarded as one of the finest vocalists of our time and this album highlights her strong and powerful voice. I hadn't listened to much Simone, it captivated me, but lost a bit of my attention towards the end. Overall, well worth the listen, but it requires you to be in the proper mood and mindset to enjoy it to the maximum.

loved. if i should lose you was my favorite

Beautiful powerful voice

Abyssal, fantastic. Four Women and the title track jump out immediately. All the songs have this spotlight effect on you and her, transfixing you like you're being subjected to the most dramatic monologues. The band is sensitive, knows its place, set dressing. All songs at least good due to incredible delivery, and at least four bangers.

Nina Simone is one of my favorite vocalists of all time. Her voice is so rich and beautiful and can convey such a wide range of emotion. I had heard some of these songs already, but hadn't listened to this album in its entirety. Although I didn't love every single song, I loved her voice on every song, and that was enough to make this a great listen. Besides her voice, the instrumentals, particularly the piano (if I'm not mistaken, Nina herself is the pianist), are gorgeous throughout. Her voice and the piano blend so well together, and there were many moments that gave me goosebumps. I will certainly be listening to this album again. Standout Tracks: "Four Women," "Lilac Wine," "Either Way I Lose," "Break Down And Let It All Out"

One of the most important voices of modern music, period. Musically, the album is... a bit of all over the place? Either way, the strongest parts of it are a joy to listen to.

Best Song: Lilac Wine. Quiet, poetic, and powerful. Worst Song: Wild is the Wind. Despite being the title track, it felt too mournful, and the vocal warble (vibrato?) was too much for me. Overall: Haunting, thoughtful music. Feels so personal and subdued, making it difficult to listen in all contexts, but good for quiet afternoons and reading by a rainy window.

Very good album! However felt like it was missing something… can’t put my finger on what though.

While I can't personally relate to a lot of what Nina songs about, she has an unbelievable ability to make me feel what SHE is going through. The empathy she's able to elicit is matched by no other artist I've listened to in my lifetime. I can physically hear her pain and sorrow as she sings with her beautiful voice.

It's alright.

I just love Nina Simone! Normally this time and genre of music would not illicit much response from me, but she just raises things.

What a voice. What a performer. The way her voice trembles and shakes. There’s so much pain and longing in her singing. This is a great collection of songs and performances from her. The song “Four Women” is a standout. Very powerful. I love that jazzy piano. I know this song from being sampled in the recent Jay-Z song “The Story of O.J.” — it was great to hear the original and sit with the lyrics. "Either Way I Lose" was cool too. Love the deep backing vocals.

Nina set me right in the world.

Nina Simone - Wild is the Wind (1966) I have no idea how to review a Jazz album. I have listened to Nina Simone here and there, but I never really “listened”, until now. And…. now I am sad. The only Nina album I own is “Sings the Blues”. When she sings the blues, I am tapping my foot along with the beat, and I kind of let the music sink into the background. On ‘Wild’, her voice is haunting. So, so, haunting. I don’t really “get” jazz. My brain doesn’t know what to do with it. Sometime I can say “I like this”, but that is about as far as I can go. I don’t know why I like it or dislike it. It bounces around in my head and makes me feel things. This album makes me feel sad. 
My favorite track is: Wild Is The Wind (Live). I am not a huge fan of long songs, but this one is done so seamlessly, I love it. 4 stars.

So good. I need to listen to more Nina Simone.

Great stuff

Pretty great. Especially four women

A troubled but beautiful soul. Who also happened to be a virtuoso pianist.

Late night jazz

What a heavy album.... She conveys a life experience that is raw and rough. Incredible.

Some good songs

Remarkable, but misaligned with my general tastes. 4/5

What a powerful, otherworldly voice.

I wanted to go 5, but a couple tracks in the back half were just not for me.

First four songs are amazing. Title track is the weak point of the album

Well this was glorious. Half of the songs should be exposed in museums, that’s how good they’re. My good Nina is just amazing.

Buen álbum!

Liked

One of the best voices of the 20th century, carrying even weaker songs with it. Some less interesting tracks coupled with powerful songs. Tracks I liked: Four Women Lilac Wine

Beautiful. voice and arrangements. Either Way I Lose chilling end of album, gives me goosebump like Anthony Now I Am A Birds masterpiece.

Such a recognisable voice. Brilliant songs

I don't know loads but I feel this isn't her best. Still what a voice.

Nina Simone is a stupendous singer. There are some amazingly beautiful songs on here. A masterclass in musical minimalism. However, it’s not something I want to listen to with any regularity. Life is already hard enough and as much as I don’t mind ordinarily being sucked into a vortex of misery, this is not my bubbling tar pit of choice.

Damn. I knew her name, but this was my introduction to Nina Simone, and she's intense in all the best ways. There's a sadness and depth to her voice that gives every note added weight. Anger and vulnerability. I don't know if those are the right descriptors, but in the same way Billie Holiday infuses every song with significance just because she's singing it, Nina Simone has that same effect. "Four Women" is powerful, "Lilac Wine" sounds like it could have been in Twin Peaks, but "Wild Is The Wind" was something else. I was familiar with Bowie's take on the song, which I always liked, but all those descriptors — sadness, depth, vulnerability — were on hyperdrive in her performance, buttressed by the manic piano. Crazy that the wind is howling outside as I write. Her voice, that piano, the wind chimes outside my window... it's all coalescing. My head just exploded. Happy now?

Very slow, quiet and powerful album. Nina Simone’s voice is absolutely amazing Saved songs: I Love Your Lovin’ Ways, Black Is The Color Of My True Loves Hair

That is a lovely album I can see going back to to experience again

Very nice

Good singing, good to finally listen to this album. Would listen again.

What a powerful album. The range on Nina's voice is awe inspiring and the songs are saturated with verbose, heavy content.

I don’t think there’s any doubting how incredible Nina Simone is. Apparently this album was made up of songs that didn’t make previous albums! Quite amazing. I’m a big passing fan of Nina Simone, if that exists. Like I’ve listened to her a lot but mainly her bigger songs and albums, rather than a proper listen like this. Even the songs that sometimes don’t hit like others still have this pain in her voice. Kinda forces you to stop and listen. Her voice is like no other I’ve ever heard, and for use of a better term, she’s versatile as fuck. She covers blues, soul, jazz, pop… chuck in her gospel roots and it just works so well. I Love Your Lovin Ways, Break Down and Let it All Out, and Black is the Colour of my True Loves hair were my favourites, but I think most songs caught my attention in different ways.

Starts very strong but begins to dwindle toward the end. What a fucking voice though.

Ms. Nina sure can wail.

What an amazing voice and really unique, well-written songs. I've heard lots of Nina Simone but never sat with a full album, I'm glad I did. This album has a great mix of genres and all work well with Nina Simone's vocals. Standout Tracks: I Love Your Lovin' Ways, Four Women, Lilac Wine, That's All I Ask, Break Down And Let It All Out, Either Way I Lose

Very good record.

1959 Really! That voice though inflection and warmth.

Nina always delivers

A very strong album. Her voice is just amazing. The sparce arrangements take the while thing even more powerful. Overwhelming at times. 4.5

Beautiful poignant vocal jazz

What a legend. Not a perfect album, but certainly worth a listen.

nice album. adding it to my library. nina's voice is amazing. four women is the song i was most familiar with going into it coz of story of oj and adidon

bem bom o sonzinho calmo e pa, jazz(?) das antiga

Stunning

Really nice album. The jazz instrumentals are on point and Nina’s voice over the top sets a nice vibe to the whole thing. 7/10

Favourite songs: Four women, Lilac wine, That’s all I ask, Break down and let it all out, either way I lose Phenomenal talent 4/5

Marvellous album, some absolute classics including the title track, Lilac Wine and Four Women. I particularly liked I like your lovin ways, the most upbeat and R&B number on the album

Amazing voice and interesting material.

Surprised by this one. Would give 4.25 if I could.

Such passion in her singing and her framing of songs.

Jay Z should take notes

Mooie rustige Jazz

Love her voice. Best track: Break Down and Let it All Out

I wasn't too shocked to read that this is a kind of compilation album as each song is in different style. Luckily, Nina Simone's range is incredible enough that this doesn't matter too much. Superb vocals saves songs that are slightly lacking.

Some excellent songs on here - classic Nina

Soul, Grand, Emotional, Passionate, Poetic, R&B

Love Nina. Love the album. Did not miss. Experimental. Moving in a new direction both lyrically and musically. 4/5

A very good jazz album, and not always what you'd expect from Nina Simone.

Quite alright. Good pacing, and strong vocals, had some bangers, but not really my thing

Such an amazing voice

Beautiful, heartfelt, a tour de force. But also a little spare and even a bit languid at times.

Nudey good and easy to listen to, some songs were a little too poetic

really interesting album, especially for the time period I don't know how often I want to come back but it leaves an impact

She sits in a weird spot of power and smooth. I dig it.

Gorgeous album, incredibly complex voice that just adds to the intensity of the lyrics

Very sad. Is she okay?

her voice is one of a kind, it was an album that isn’t easy to listen to but thats what makes it beautiful

Soulful

Brilliant album, what a voice.

Pretty great, I love her voice, and the lyrics.

Weer zo'n artiest waarvan je meer kent dan je denkt, maar nooit de moeite hebt genomen om een heel plaatje te draaien. Ten onrechte, zo blijkt, want dit was echt prachtig.

ikkje da besta av nina simone men fortsatt bra

Some chilling vocal/piano sections Mostly slow and sparse, made the faster/orchestral parts more impactful Liked second half in particular (starting at Break Down)

Very good. Beautiful album. Great voice. Liked lilac wine a lot.

Solid album throughout with some real classics on there. Always love some Nina.

me likey vocal jazz :)

Wow. What range, both vocally and in song selection.

Great

Found a few of the transitions between songs a bit jarring, but otherwise so good.

Hell yes! I absolutely adore her voice so much, and this album did not disappoint. Just the right amount of tenderness and edge all rolled into one expressive voice. I loved "Four Women" and "Ether Way I Lose".

Ah mitä upeita valitusvirsiä tähän maanantaityöaamuun <3

No one brings a song to a climax quite like Nina. Fun fact, she attended the Juiliard for piano NOT singing!

There are three Nina Simone songs that are all-timers for me - Feeling Good, Strange Fruit, and Mississippi Goddam. I've never done a deep dive of her stuff, but I know that I've heard plenty through samples in other people's music - Four Women, for instance. But she is one performer who always sounds like the truth and every song she sings is an experience. It's a world to itself. And this album is a great example of that. First time I've heard this one, and I'll call this five stars.

The source material here is a bit variable in quality, but no matter - Nina Simone is such a compelling presence that she can spin gold from yarn. As an aside, has there been a more arresting vocalist who worked within the popular genres? Perhaps Billie Holiday, maybe Scott Walker, and there's a case to be made for early Elvis. Simone is top of the tree. Highlights here are 'Lilac Wine' and the brutal, stark 'Four Women'.

Amazing. Standout: "Four Women" is a great song. The rest of the album is incredible. Love it. 4/5

Very interesting voice. I liked it

This album is really, really, really good! I love how dark and melancholy Nina's voice is. Also, can we talk about the piano on this album??! Amazing. My favorite songs on this album were Four Women and Lilac Wine.

Nina Simone is a fascinating artist and this is a fascinating album. The album has the seeds if Simone's political activism which would flower later in her career. With Four Women being the obvious example. But the album also has pretty effective blues songs that show off her powerful voice and unique delivery. A compelling listen that is a good cross section of styles. 4 stars

Moody Piano work beautiful Incredibly distinctive voice

She has an incredible voice. Her pitch seems to be effortlessly perfect.

Absolutely incredible vocals. A lot of feeling in so many songs some of them I didn't love but this is one of the greatest voices in recorded music history

There is a darker tinge to this album than there was to Pastel Blue. "Four Women," "Lilac Wine," and "That's All I Ask" are definitely highlights.

Really liked this. Haven't listened to Nina before but some good stuff on here.

Wonderful

Solid jazz sound

Zo'n unieke stem, één van de beste in soul

Very enjoyable listen. Unique styling and some powerful songs.

Powerful and haunting. The straight-up blues of the opener is great, followed by the harrowing and novelistic. “Four Women.” “That’s All I Ask” and “Either Way I Lose” are both very strong. Much comes down to how one feels about her voice. This is a tour de force of singing, with believable and compelling performances ranging from deep vulnerability and tenderness to outright rage and despair and bitterness.

Wonderful enigmatic voice that rises above the accompanying music, sometimes obviously so. I prefer Nina Simone when she's angrier but I do love this album and her voice and arrangements.

perfect om de dag mee te starten

It feels nice to sit down with a Nina album. Certainly some great stuff on here but Lilac Wine stands out for me today.

What an amazing woman. Just seeped into my mind and body, her voice and her piano. Four classics but only one song written by her which is a suprise. Those were the days I guess.

Listened to on 4/29/22 4/5 Favorite song: wild is the wind, why keep on breaking my heart Nina is incredibly soulful and sings absolutely beautifully and so passionately in this album. It’s soulful and the perfect vibes for a rainy day

A nice, enjoyable, and relaxing album all the way through. Would definitely throw on again, even though it doesn’t necessarily have any of the hits that I know.

7/10 very cool listen.

There are some solid tunes on here. 7/10

A strong voice and a great singer!

Nina Simone's unique voice and fusion of jazz piano with more maybe Blues? Inspireret sound makes for a quite delightful album. She has a way of drawing you in with her voice and the it definitely grew on me (initially her deeper voice almost sounds manlike). Standouts are Four Women, describing how women with different skin colours at different times have been oppressed, and the sad Lilac Wine

Amazing voice that pulls you into the songs and music

I’ve never listened to Nina Simone before but liked this album.

Everything is peereless except some of the songwriting is a bit basic

Un 4 porque es la Simone, pero demasiadas canciones lentas.

A phenomenal vocal performance

Nina's got such a haunting voice

Overall I liked this, but honestly I am shocked that a) Nina Simone has only one album in the top 1000, and b) that album is not Pastel Blues. I mean, if only for Sinnerman....or Strange Fruit. I think there are a few albums could be cut from the list and make for this and Pastel Blues. Both albums, recorded in the 60s still resonate and sound fresh today.

A classic album by a great songstress.

I have yet to find a Nina Simone album that I haven't liked. And yet, with a nod to Alan Partridge and his favourite Beatles album, I tend to find myself just going back to "The Best of Nina Simone"

Nina's leftovers are way better than many others' first-choice albums.

I own plenty of soul records, but I somehow have yet to buy any Nina Simone. Should really rectify that. This would be a good one to start with, since it has some of her best performances. I can understand how her husky voice is not for everyone, but I admire how raw and commanding she sounds. Not every song is a banger, and some parts drag, but this is still damn fine stuff. B

Simone’s utterly fascinating vocals had me completely ignoring the instrumentals, which, on subsequent listens really came to fruition as a powerful complement. The soft touch of the keys behind her vibrato on “If I Should Lose You” into the climax is *chefs kiss*. Combined with Simone’s interesting lyrics? We got a stew goin’ here… The arrangements are also really great, from the orchestral to the jazzy to the pop, Wild is the Wind resides in an interesting overlap of styles without feeling incoherent or lacking. 4

Puro sufrimiento puro. Gran voz de Nina que transmite dolor en cada palabra que canta. Songs: Four Women, If I Should Lose You, Lilac Wine

Este disco es una obra de arte en muchos niveles, que aunque no lo tendría en mi rotación frecuente, sí reconozco que es una chulada: las canciones por sí mismas son muy muy buenas y los arreglos que se aventaron son impecables. La voz de Nina Simone es siempre atinada al montón de feeling y de intención que las canciones necesitan y en general el disco se va como agua. Me atrevo a ponerle dos peros: prácticamanete no tiene ni una canción que sea "alegre" o al menos un poco menos nostálgica que todo el disco, y la que tiene es tantito más positiva es confusa porque parece una oda al complejo de Electra: "What More Can I Say?"

Ahh Nina Simone. What a godly voice. This album proves she is one of the best. Powerful songs and a powerful voice. 4.5/5

J’aime beaucoup sa voix. Elle est particulièrement bonne dans les balades avec les passages très doux. J’aime moins son trémolo, mais elle n’en abuse pas (sauf peut-être dans If I Should lose you). C’est pas un album à écouter n’importe quand, mais le matin avec une paire d’écouteurs, ça passe vraiment bien. Le piano dans Wild is the Wind est vraiment intéressant. Pièce favorite: Four Women et mention aussi pour Break Down And Let it out

Замечательная музыка на все времена. Нина Симон - однозначно, классика, которую стоит порекомендовать, чтобы провести задумчивый вечер.

This album is magical. I guess it's jazz adjacent, but it sounds like its own thing. Her vocals are strong, real, and passionate. Four Women, especially is a stand out example of Simone's talent, ability, and presence. Break Down and Let it All Out is also great!

- Não tem uma música ruim - Um perigo ouvir essa de coração partido - O cover do Bowie ficou maravilhoso

A pianist. A vocalist. The song Four Women is impactful. Looking forward to hearing more of her music.

Wonderful. Beautiful voice and piano. 4 women really stuck out to me lyrically

There are very few wonders of the world that can match Nina Simone's all-encompassing voice. Full of melancholy beauty from the lyrics brought to life by her stellar performance, Wild Is The Wind is likely her definitive work, and it deserves that title. The accompanying piano on most of these spare, stripped-down tracks perfectly matches her. A great album with some slight filler.

she's very impressive, both as an artist, and as an activist. my problem is that i've just never liked her style of music, which makes it hard to love this album. still, i'm trying to.

Classic voice. Had not heard this album before, loved the variety of moods. 4.5/5

Critically, a very good album. I just don't think I'll ever listen to it again.

Stunning voice, great variety!

would not listen again did nothing for me good music but boring

Pretty nice. Good music, great voice. Couldn't see this as much more than background music though.

Overall great! 5 songs out of 11 I really liked. All are solid, but the other 6 either blended together or just built up and don’t go anywhere or have any noticeable distinctions throughout the whole songs

Really good stuff

She is excellent

Love Nina Simone! She has such a rich, unique, haunting voice!

Beautiful, stark and at times confronting album. A surprise for me, knowing only Nina Simone's more popular work as I was expecting smooth jazz

Wow. Them vocals. Those feels. Loved.

Very good, I liked this a lot. Nina Simone never disappoints.

Pretty solid! I'd only heard small snippets of Nina Simone before this album, and I didn't think I'd like it much, because I expected it to all sound like the title track. But I was pleasantly surprised. Dips towards the end, but very good!

Nina's control over her voice and ability to push emotion is amazing. The arrangements behind her only compliment the songs. Favorite tracks: "Four Women", "Why Keep On Breaking My Heart", "If I Should Lose You"

3.5 beautiful

Second Listen. Love it. Four Women is amazing. 4/5

True Rating: 75/100

Great album. Never listened to Simone before, but now I'm more curious about her other work. Favorites: Four Women, What More Can I Say?, Wild is The Wind

Fabulous voice and wonderful songwriting.

Ero partito un po' prevenuto con questo disco avendo visto l'anno e sentendo il primo pezzo. Conoscevo Nina Simone solo di nome (sicuramente avrò sentito qualche suo pezzo in giro). Mi sono sicuramente dovuto ricredere, questo album mi è arrivato molto e l'ho trovato molto autentico. Questo jazz '60 malinconico alla Julie London mi conquista abbastanza in generale ma la voce di Nina Simone è davvero particolare, molto espressiva ed estremamente tecnica (come spesso era all'epoca). I pezzi hanno tutti un qualche elemento che li caratterizza a livello compositivo o di arrangiamento e devo dire che i 38 minuti sono volati. Un 4 pieno.

The begging is intensive and interesting

Mediocre jazz

MY NAME IS PEACHES

A surprising range of styles and there's always that voice...

"But boy I want you to know I wouldn't ask you to hold back the light of dawn baby That's too much to ask to anyone" (That's all I ask) "You touch me I hear the sound of mandolins" (Wild is the wind) Reina <3

Her voice grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go until she’s finished saying what she needs to say. And what she has to say is overwhelming. A beautiful album, heartbreaking and wonderful.

Maravillosa Nina Simone. Buen álbum para un sábado 💚

This is my first time ever listening to Nina Simone. Her voice was certainly not what I was expecting, though it is compelling. This is not particularly my thing (I'm not enamored with jazz vocalists overall), but I think it's good. There's something ineffable about her voice and the lyrics she conveys. I also felt like the album got stronger as it went 4/5

Groovy, superb and above all Nina Simone’s impeccable voice makes Wild Is The Wind a beautiful album

Wonderful lyrics and a supreme singer. An authentic voice expressing the social frustrations of black America whilst remaining bound with the personal.

Big fan of Nina Simone's style. I first heard of her back in the late 1980s. She had a hit song, "My Baby Just Cares for Me" when I was living in Europe. I had no idea it was an "old" song at the time. I never heard of her. Then I realized that I had an LP of her's that I got in a box of LPs I found at a garage sale. The Album was "Baltimore". Not one of her best, but had a couple of very good, likable songs. I started listening more to her, but had never really listened to this album until now. Stand Outs: Four Women Wild is the Wind

4.5

First listen for me, some epic crescendos. Love the bass voices on Either way I lose.

This is nice. Great vocal performance, stand out. Faves: Lilac Wine, Break Down, Wild, If I Should Lose You

Awesome! Nina is under appreciated appreciated

very good, classic.

Had no idea she sang Lilac Wine. Very cool.

A classic.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Four women, Lilac wine, Break down and let it all out

Beautiful music, amazing voice.

Algunas se parecen mucho, pero en general es un disco hermoso

A truly talented singer. Her voice is unique & powerful. It’s what makes her sound so great. Her lyrics paint a vivid picture in every song