To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story

Nina Simone was one of those controversial figures American pop music puts forward from time to time, with the notable exception that she started her controversy earlier in the 1960s than, say, Bob Dylan. To see this African- American woman get angry about the racial situation in her country, right there on stage, was a shock to people who'd come to hear her sing I Loves You, Porgy. Not that she cared; she figured that it was the artists job to deliver the truth, and if the truth hurt, so be it. of course, events wound up proving her right, but she never stopped being prickly about one thing or another. This release is a 3 CD Career Retrospective (1957-1993) that includes her work for Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA, CTI and Elektra plus a DVD featuring 1970 Emmy-nominated never-before-released documentary. Features 54 songs, 8 previously unreleased tracks including some never recorded elsewhere.