Wild Is the Wind (album)

Wild Is the Wind
Studio album by Nina Simone
Released 1966
Recorded New York City, 1964 1965
Genre Jazz
Blues
Pop
Folk
R&B
Length 39:08
Label Philips
Producer Hal Mooney
Nina Simone chronology
Let It All Out
(1966)		 Wild Is the Wind
(1966)		 High Priestess of Soul
(1967)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Pitchfork9.5/10[2]

Wild Is the Wind is jazz singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone's sixth album for Philips Records. The album was compiled from several recordings that were left over from sessions for previous Philips albums.[3]

Response

The album was a Billboard magazine "special merit pick" on release, with the reviewer commenting: "Simone ... sets up an exceptional romantic mood that offers top listening delight".[4]

The song "Four Women" was released as a single, and gained attention when banned by the New York jazz focused radio station WLIB due to concern over the lyrics.[5]

Simone first recorded "Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair" in 1955, in Philadelphia with a strings arrangement and was not intended for release at the time. (In 1970 that version appeared on the album Gifted & Black.) In April 1964 she went into a New York Studio with her band, and on the second day in the studio, she recorded the version of "Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair" that would appear on Wild Is The Wind. For the song, Simone only wanted a minimal accompaniment with her playing the piano and a bass drone. Lisle Atkinson [describes] what he was asked to do during his time in Nina Simone’s band: “She wanted the least amount of complication as possible—roots and 5’s, nothing too slick. I have to give Nina credit for being aware that I could bow, and she utilized it a lot. She had me playing a lot of arco in performances.”[6]

"Wild Is The Wind" was covered by David Bowie on his 1976 studio recording Station to Station.

"Lilac Wine" was covered by Jeff Buckley on his album Grace (1994).

The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[7]

Track listing

  1. "I Love Your Lovin' Ways" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) – 2:35
  2. "Four Women" (Nina Simone) – 4:24
  3. "What More Can I Say" (Horace Ott, Made Brown, Jr.) – 2:48
  4. "Lilac Wine" (James Shelton) – 4:13
  5. "That's All I Ask" (Horace Ott) – 2:28
  6. "Break Down and Let It All Out" (Van McCoy) – 2:37
  7. "Why Keep On Breaking My Heart" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) – 2:34
  8. "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 6:56
  9. "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" (Traditional) – 3:24
  10. "If I Should Lose You" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) – 3:56
  11. "Either Way I Lose" (Van McCoy) – 2:43

Charts

Chart 1966 Peak position
Billboard 200 110[8]
Billboard R&B Chart 12[8]

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Wallace, Carvell (30 July 2016). "Nina Simone : Wild Is the Wind". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Richie Unterberger. "Wild Is the Wind - Nina Simone". allmusic.com. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Album Reviews - Special Merit Picks". Billboard: 38. 2 Jul 1966. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  5. ↑ George Brown (14 Dec 1966). "San Juan Entertainment". The Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  6. ↑ https://musicaficionado.wordpress.com/2016/09/19/black-is-the-color-of-my-true-loves-hair-by-nina-simone/
  7. ↑ ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  8. 1 2 "Nina Simone". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
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