“Forbidden Fruit” by Nina Simone - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1960Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s

TJR says

“Rags And Old Iron” makes for a soulful starter – lady got the love poverty blues, a double whammy. The melancholic and tedious “No Good Man” immediately follows and I’m reminded just why Nina’s albums struggle for a decent rebel rating. The heart on the sleeve R n B rouser “Gin House Blues” immediately follows this, and I’m reminded just why Nina’s always worth hanging in for – she’s often dynamite. This pattern repeats; we go from the finger-clicking snazzy goodness of “Work Song” to the mind-numbing boredom of “Memphis In June”. The constant pull towards this type of low-light jazz café croon is wearisome in the Simone catalogue.

The Jukebox Rebel
25–Aug–2009

Tracklist
A1 [04:08] 5.8.png Nina Simone - Rags And Old Iron (Norman Curtis, Oscar Brown Jr.) Soul
A2 [03:30] 3.7.png Nina Simone - No Good Man (Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham, Sammy Gallop) Jazz
A3 [03:06] 8.7.png Nina Simone - Gin House Blues (Fletcher Henderson, Henry Troy) Blues / Rhythm n Blues
A4 [05:08] 4.6.png Nina Simone - I’ll Look Around (Douglas Cross, George Cory) Songwriter
A5 [03:27] 4.8.png Nina Simone - I Love To Love (Herbert Baker, Lennie Hayton) Jazz
B1 [02:36] 7.3.png Nina Simone - Work Song (Oscar Brown Jr., Nat Adderley) Jazz
B2 [02:51] 5.2.png Nina Simone - Where Can I Go Without You (Peggy Lee, Victor Young) Songwriter
B3 [06:39] 4.1.png Nina Simone - Just Say I Love Him (Jack Val, Jimmy Dale, Martin Kalmanoff, Sam Ward, Enzo Fusco, Rodolfo Falvo) Songwriter
B4 [02:39] 3.3.png Nina Simone - Memphis In June (Paul Francis Webster, Hoagy Carmichael) Jazz
B5 [03:50] 4.4.png Nina Simone - Forbidden Fruit (Oscar Brown Jr.) Pop

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