This 2x12 inch LP set from Vinyl Passion collects remastered editions of the two Nina Simone albums Nina Simone At Newport (1960) and Forbidden Fruit (1961).
When Nina Simone At Newport was recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960, the 'High Priestess of Soul' had just produced her first Top 20 hit with “I Loves You, Porgy,” but the “Porgy” found here (written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields) is actually a continuation of Gershwin’s original version of the story. Other highlights include the African work chant “Flo Me La,” and the African American folk song “Little Liza Jane.”
When Nina Simone signed to Colpix in 1959 she was granted complete creative control over her music. This new freedom gave her the ability to explore new subject areas, particularly themes dealing with Civil Rights. Songs like “Work Song” on 1961’s Forbidden Fruit gave an inkling of the maelstrom that was to come, when she would become a veritable force to be reckoned with, making white audiences squirm in their seats with her harsh condemnation of American apartheid.