Pastel Blues
{{Infobox album
| name = Pastel Blues
| type = studio
| artist = Nina Simone
| cover = Ninasimonepastelblues.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|1965|10|01}}
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 35:02
| label = Philips
| producer = Hal Mooney
| prev_title = I Put a Spell on You
| prev_year = 1965
| next_title = Let It All Out
| next_year = 1966
}}
Pastel Blues is a studio album by American singer Nina Simone, released in October 1st, 1965, by Philips Records.
The album was recorded in 1964 and 1965 in New York City{{cite AV media notes|title=Pastel Blues|others=Nina Simone|publisher=Verve Records|year=2006|type=booklet|id=0602498887004}} and peaked at number 139 on the Billboard 200 chart, as well as number 8 on the Hot R&B LPs chart. The album was re-issued in November 2020 by Verve and Universal Music Enterprises as part of their "audiophile-grade" Acoustic Sounds series.{{cite web|url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/nina-simone-i-put-a-spell-on-you-pastel-blues-vinyl-audiophile/|title=Nina Simone's I Put A Spell On You and Pastel Blues reissued in "audiophile-grade" editions|last=Helfet|first=Gabriela|website=The Vinyl Factory|date=September 27, 2020|accessdate=March 14, 2021}}
Critical reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/pastel-blues-mw0000691463|title=Pastel Blues - Nina Simone|work=AllMusic|accessdate=January 25, 2018}}
| rev2 = Pitchfork
| rev2score = 8.7/10{{cite web|first=Carvell|last=Wallace|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22159-the-philips-years/|title=Nina Simone: Pastel Blues|work=Pitchfork|date=July 30, 2016|accessdate=July 30, 2016}}
| rev3 = Record Mirror
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Jones (journalist) |last2= Jopling |first2= Norman |date=22 January 1966 |title=Nina Goes Back To Blues |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-01-22.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror |issue=254 |page=8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401225608/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-01-22.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2022|access-date=22 August 2022}}
| rev4 = Tom Hull
}}
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and called it "one of Nina Simone's more subdued mid-'60s LPs, putting the emphasis on her piano rather than band arrangements." He added, "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."
Joe Muggs of Noisey said, "This is the blues as both urban and urbane, delivered with full knowledge of and passion for its history, and with all the guts and power that white rockers could ever muster, but with all the finesse, sophistication and abstraction that her Juilliard classical training could bring to bear on it."{{cite web|first=Joe|last=Muggs|url=http://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/article/rqy4wr/an-in-depth-look-at-nina-simones-pastel-blues|title=An In-Depth Look at Nina Simone's 'Pastel Blues'|work=Noisey|date=July 21, 2014|accessdate=January 25, 2018}}
In 2008, Cokemachineglow included it on the "30 'Other' Albums of the 1960s" list.{{cite web|url=http://cokemachineglow.com/category/30-other-albums-of-the-1960s/|title=30 "Other" Albums of the 1960s (page 1 of 3)|work=Cokemachineglow|date=July 5, 2008|accessdate=January 25, 2018}} In 2012, Alicia Keys included it on her "25 Favorite Albums" list.{{cite web|first=Rob|last=Kenner|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2012/11/alicia-keys-25-favorite-albums/|title=Alicia Keys' 25 Favorite Albums|work=Complex|date=November 14, 2012|accessdate=January 25, 2018}} In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 21 on the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s" list.{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=9|title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (page 9 of 10)|work=Pitchfork|date=August 22, 2017|accessdate=August 22, 2017}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Be My Husband
| writer1 = Andy Stroud
| length1 = 3:19
| title2 = Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
| writer2 = Jimmy Cox
| length2 = 2:35
| title3 = End of the Line
| writer3 = John Edmondson, Cynthia Medley
| length3 = 2:51
| title4 = Trouble in Mind
| writer4 = Richard Jones
| length4 = 2:37
| title5 = Tell Me More and More and Then Some
| writer5 = Billie Holiday
| length5 = 3:05
| title6 = Chilly Winds Don't Blow
| writer6 = Hermann Krasnow, William Lovelock
| length6 = 3:59
| title7 = Ain't No Use
| writer7 = Rudy Stevenson
| length7 = 2:55
| title8 = Strange Fruit
| writer8 = Lewis Allan
| length8 = 3:26
| title9 = Sinnerman
| writer9 = Traditional; arranged by Nina Simone
| length9 = 10:15
| total_length = 35:02
}}
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Nina Simone – piano, vocals, arrangement
- Al Schackman – guitar, harmonica
- Rudy Stevenson – guitar, flute
- Lisle Atkinson – double bass
- Bobby Hamilton – drums
Charts
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|122277|Pastel Blues}}
{{Nina Simone}}
{{Authority control}}