To Love Somebody (album)
| To Love Somebody | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1967–69 | |||
| Studio | RCA (New York City) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:48 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer |
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| Nina Simone chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
To Love Somebody is an album by jazz singer-songwriter/pianist Nina Simone. Primarily a covers album, it was released as quickly as possible to prolong the unexpected success of 'Nuff Said! The title is taken from the Bee Gees song "To Love Somebody"; her cover of the song became her second British hit single after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life".
Tracks
"Revolution" is the only original song written for the album. It was Simone's third subsequent single released in the UK after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" and "To Love Somebody" both became hits. The song was released around the time of the same titled song by the Beatles and, although it has a similar hook ("Don't you know it's gonna be – all right") and structure, most of the lyrics differ. The song also uses a guitar lick similar to "Old Brown Shoe," which had been recorded by the Beatles the same year. John Lennon commented on the similarities in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone:
I thought it was interesting that Nina Simone did a sort of answer to "Revolution." That was very good–it was sort of like "Revolution," but not quite. That I sort of enjoyed, somebody who reacted immediately to what I had said.[2]
The song is split into two parts as a result of the single release. "Revolution" didn't do well in the UK charts, and only had a mild success in the United States R&B charts. Simone was surprised by this and said to Sylvia Hampton, author of the biography Break Down and Let It All Out about this:
I don't get it. It's about a revolution, man: not just colour, but everything! It's about barriers being broken down, and they sure as hell need getting rid of. [...] We need a revolution to sort it all out and get back to God. You know how lost we are, man – it's sad.[3]
Simone also recorded an alternate version of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" that was (previously) unreleased.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Suzanne" | Leonard Cohen | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" | Traditional, Pete Seeger | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Revolution (Part 1)" | Weldon Irvine, Simone | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Revolution (Part 2)" | Weldon Irvine, Simone | 1:54 |
| 5. | "To Love Somebody" | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 2:42 |
| 6. | "I Shall Be Released" | Bob Dylan | 3:55 |
| 7. | "I Can't See Nobody" | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | 3:10 |
| 8. | "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" | Bob Dylan | 4:52 |
| 9. | "The Times They Are a-Changin'" | Bob Dylan | 6:00 |
| Total length: | 32:48 | ||
Personnel
- Nina Simone – vocals, piano, arrangements
- Don Alias – drums
- Weldon J. Irvine – organ
- Al Schackman – guitar
- Gene A. Perla – Fender bass
- Doris Willingham – vocals
- Virdia Crawford – vocals
- Jimmy Wisner – arrangements, conductor on "To Love Somebody" and "I Can't See Nobody"
- Technical
- Mike Moran, Ray Hall – recording engineers
References
- ^ Bush, John. "To Love Somebody Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ Wenner, Jann S. (February 4, 1971). "The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part II". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ^ Hampton, Sylvia (2004). Break Down And Let It All Out. London, England: Sanctuary Publishers, Ltd. p. 62. ISBN 978-1860745522.