Nina Simone – To Love Somebody, RCA Victor LSP-4152, VG++/VG+, 1969
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30
$ 30
Sold For
Sep 11, 2026
Sold Date
Sep 1, 2026
Start Date
1
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USA
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Description
Musical critics and historians view Nina Simone’s To Love Somebody (1969) as a groundbreaking early foray into jazz-rock and soul fusion. Recorded in the late 1960s—a period of massive cultural upheaval—the album is notable because Simone intentionally bypassed standard jazz numbers to cover contemporary folk, pop, and rock songs. The thematic structure of the record centers on a few distinct musical elements: 1. Re-imagining the Folk Icons Simone took classic, melancholic songs from the era's definitive folk songwriters and injected them with heavy gospel and soul elements:
- Bob Dylan Covers: The album features three distinct Dylan tracks: Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, The Times They Are A-Changin', and a deeply intense version of I Shall Be Released. Reviewers note that under her direction, I Shall Be Released is transformed into pure, unadulterated gospel thundering with organ and piano.
- Leonard Cohen: The record opens with an upbeat, gospel-influenced arrangement of Cohen's Suzanne that stands in sharp contrast to the starkly quiet original.
- The Bee Gees Title Tracks: The album borrows its title from the Bee Gees' hit To Love Somebody, and also features their track I Can't See Nobody. Critics point out that Simone strips away the rigid pop structure of the originals, replacing it with a Motown-esque drum groove, flexible intimacy, and a soulful swagger that ebbs and flows.
- Revolution (Parts I & II): This two-part piece is the only original composition on the record written by Simone alongside her organist, Weldon Irvine. Entirely separate from the Beatles track of the same name, it acts as a fierce, blues-rock anthem. Part I acts as an aggressive blues call-to-action, while Part II dissolves into an intense, church-style "praise break" and vocal testimony reflecting the civil rights tensions of 1969.
Track listings and information:
A1 Suzanne Written-By – Cohen
4:16
A2 Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
Adapted By, Music By – Pete Seeger
3:37
A3 Revolution (Part I)
Written-By – Nina Simone, Irvine
2:48
A4 Revolution (Part II)
Written-By – Nina Simone, Irvine
1:48
A5 To Love Somebody
Written-By – B. Gibb, R. Gibb
2:38
B1 I Shall Be Released
Written-By – Dylan
4:00
B2 I Can't See Nobody
Written-By – B. Gibb, R. Gibb
3:06
B3 Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Written-By – Dylan
4:48
B4 The Times They Are A Changin'
Written-By – Dylan
5:59
Recorded At – RCA Victor Studios, New York
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Hollywood
Arranged By, Conductor – Jimmy Wisner (tracks: A5, B2), Nina Simone (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B3, B4)
Bass – Gene A. Perla
Drums – Charles D. Alias
Engineer – Mike Moran (7), Ray Hall
Guitar – Al Schackman
Organ – Weldon J. Irvine
Sleeve Notes – Claude Hall
Vocals – Doris Willingham, Virdia Crawford
Dynagroove logo and description at bottom right of rear cover distinguishes this release from To Love Somebody; this release also includes "Printed in U.S.A." in last line of text on bottom of rear cover.
H in runout denotes RCA Records Pressing Plant, Hollywood.
Jacket fabrication number 3 on lower left back cover.
Pressing Plant ID: H
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): XPRS -4311--3S H
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): XPRS -4312--3S H
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