Simone, Nina - Pastel Blues LP

It's rather slanted toward torch-blues ballads like "Strange Fruit," "Trouble in Mind," Billie Holiday's own composition "Tell Me More and More and Then Some," and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." Simone's then-husband, Andy Stroud, wrote "Be My Husband," an effective adaptation of a traditional blues chant. By far the most impressive track is her frantic ten-minute rendition of the traditional "Sinnerman," an explosive tour de force that dwarfs everything else on the album.

•  Be My Husband
•  Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out
•  End of the Line
•  Trouble in Mind
•  Tell Me More & More & Then Some
•  Chilly Winds Don't Blow
•  Ain't No Use
•  Strange Fruit
•  Sinnerman