A Single Woman (album)

A Single Woman is the final studio album by the singer Nina Simone, released in 1993 via Elektra Records.[9][10]

A Single Woman
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1993
RecordedAugust–December 1992
VenueHollywood, Los Angeles, California
StudioOceanway Studios, Mad Hatter Studio
GenreVocal, soul, jazz, pop
Length39:06
LabelElektra
ProducerAndré Fischer[1]
Nina Simone chronology
Live at Ronnie Scott's
(1987)
A Single Woman
(1993)
The Soul of Nina Simone
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(dud)[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Music Week[5]
New York Daily News[6]
The Observer[7]
Rolling Stone[8]

Critical reception

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The Times wrote: "Despite the strings, the woodwinds, the French accordions or the 'My Way' overtones of many of these songs, [Simone] speaks with bleak honesty and unashamed recalcitrance to many people who value such qualities above sham professionalism or artifice."[11]

Reviewing a reissue, Clash wrote that Simone's "voice is richer and deeper; her phrasing resembles more than ever the tender voicing of a jazz trumpet."[12]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Single Woman"Rod McKuen3:33
2."Lonesome Cities"Rod McKuen3:08
3."If I Should Lose You"Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin3:59
4."The Folks Who Live on the Hill"Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern3:39
5."Love's Been Good to Me"Rod McKuen3:57
6."Papa, Can You Hear Me?"Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand4:22
7."Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux"Louis Aragon, Georges Brassens6:26
8."Just Say I Love Him"Jimmy Dale, Martin Kalmanoff, Jack Val, Sam Ward4:29
9."The More I See You"Mack Gordon, Harry Warren2:42
10."Marry Me"Nina Simone2:51
Expanded version (2008)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."The Long and Winding Road"John Lennon, Paul McCartney3:32
12."I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young2:30
13."Baseball Boogie"Nina Simone0:55
14."No Woman, No Cry"Bob Marley3:13
15."Do I Move You"Nina Simone3:16
16."The Times They Are a-Changin'"Bob Dylan0:56
17."Sign o' the Times"Prince5:37

Personnel

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  • Nina Simone – vocals, piano
  • John Chiodini, Al Schackman – guitar
  • John Clayton, Buell Neidlinger, Christopher Hanulik, David Young, Jim Hughart, John Peña, Margaret Storer, Steve Edelman, Susan Ranney – bass
  • Mike Melvoin – piano
  • Jeff Hamilton, Paul Robinson, Andre Fischer – drums
  • Bill Summers, Larry Bunker, Darryl Munyungo Jackson – percussion
  • Gerald Albright – tenor saxophone
  • Jack Sheldon – trumpet
  • Frank Marocco – accordion
  • Ann Stockton, Carol Robbins – harp
  • Assa Drori, Connie Kupka, Gina Kronstadt, Gordon Marron, Henry Ferber, Irving Geller, Isabelle Daskoff, Israel Baker, Jay Rosen, Joel Derouin, Kathleen Lenski, Mari Tsumura, Mark Cargill, Shari Zippert, Yvette Devereaux – violin
  • Evan Wilson, Herschel Wise, Margot MacLaine, Marilyn Baker, Rollice Dale – viola
  • David Speltz, Frederick Seykora, Igor Horoshevsky, Marie Fera, Melissa Hasin, Suzie Katayama – cello
  • Bob Tricarico, Earl Dumler, Gary Foster, Jack Nimitz, Jeff Clayton, Jon Kip, Valerie King – woodwind, reeds
  • Brad Warnaar, Jeff DeRosa, Marilyn Johnson, Richard Todd – French horn
  • Gerald Vinci – concertmaster, violin
  • Jeremy Lubbock, John Clayton, Richard Evans, Nina Simone, Andre Fischer – arrangements

Technical

  • Andre Fischer – Producer
  • Al Schmitt – mixing, recording
  • Michael Alago – executive producer
  • Carol Friedman – photography

Charts

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Chart (1993) Peak position
US Jazz Albums 19[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. 105 (34): 52. Aug 21, 1993.
  2. ^ A Single Woman at AllMusic
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "CG Book '90s: S". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan. ISBN 0312245602. Retrieved March 30, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 470.
  5. ^ Jones, Alan (August 14, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 15. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  6. ^ Hinkley, David (July 30, 1993). "Record Reviews: Pop". New York Daily News. p. 65. ProQuest 2323316081.
  7. ^ "Reviews 26–40". the Guardian. June 15, 2008.
  8. ^ Berger, Arion (November 11, 1993). "Nina Simone A Single Woman Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Nina Simone | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. ^ "Natural Fact: Exploring the essence of Nina Simone". wax-poetics.
  11. ^ Toop, David (13 Aug 1993). "The old ones are the best". The Times. Features.
  12. ^ "Nina Simone – A Single Woman". Clash Magazine.
  13. ^ "Nina Simone – Chart History (Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.