Reflexive reach for Simone is certainly
explicable. That woman had a voice that seemed thrown from a titanic
collision of heartbreak and defiance. Her recordings were a tapestry
of hurt and inner fortitude, strung with threads of insight, woven
from a habit of scathing appraisal without and within. And she
possessed a killer wit, but not one so self-protective it ever muted
her frank expression. Who could blame Fonda & Co. for wanting to
pay homage to the glorious Nina Simone, and possibly inject just a
smidgen of such substance into the project at hand?
Caution, however, is called for. Simone
made herself a study of contrasts. Anyone who willingly strikes a
pose beneath Simone's large shadow runs the risk of drawing
unintended contrasts of their own, and standing out as what Simone
was not: a pretender, looking ridiculous. Most tributes to Nina
Simone, however earnest and well-intentioned, contain traces of
vanilla — or Fonda-ness.
No such worries for Meshell
Ndegeocello, who is no small study in contrasts herself. Her many releases chart a vast domain of
heartbreak, defiance and insight all her own. For the past five
years, Ndegeocello has cultivated a particularly fertile field, with
Devil's Halo and the Joe Henry-produced Weather standing
as outstanding sonic and lyrical achievements. Now, with Pour
une âme souveraine, Ndegeocello's
tribute to Nina Simone, she invites a cast of other singers
(including Sinéad
O'Connor, Cody Chesnutt
and Valerie June)
to join her in a shared exploration of what drew Simone to particular
material. The combined strength of character and smarts, teamed to
Ndegeocello's restless depth of perception brings new light, not just
to the current performers, but to the work of Simone as well.
Pour une âme souveraine
is the first tribute to Nina Simone I recommend without
reservation.
Meshell Ndegeocello.
Meshell Ndegeocello.
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