Nina Simone - Broadway Blues Ballads (1964)

There's a lot more Broadway and a lot more ballads than blues on this, which ranks as one of her weaker mid-'60s albums. Almost half the record features Broadway tunes on the order of Cole Porter and Rodgers & Hammerstein; most of the rest was composed by Bennie Benjamin, author of her first-rate "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which the Animals covered for a hit shortly afterwards (and which leads off this record).

The other Benjamin tunes are modified uptown soul with string arrangements and backup vocals in the vein of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but aren't in the same league, although "How Can I?" is an engaging cha cha. Besides "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," the album is most notable for the great "See-Line Woman," a percolating call-and-response number that ranks as one of her best tracks. The CD reissue includes the strange bonus cut "The Monster," an odd attempt at a soul novelty tune.

1. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus) - 2:48
2. "Night Song" (Lee Adams, Charles Strouse) - 3:06
3. "The Laziest Gal in Town" (Cole Porter) - 2:19
4. "Something Wonderful" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) - 2:46
5. "Don't Take All Night" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 2:54
6. "Nobody" (Alex Rogers, Bert Williams) - 4:18
7. "I Am Blessed" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 2:57
8. "Of This I'm Sure" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 2:37
9. "See-Line Woman" ([traditional] American folk, George Bass, Nina Simone) - 2:38
10. "Our Love (Will See Us Through)" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 3:01
11. "How Can I?" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 2:05
12. "The Last Rose of Summer" (Thomas Moore, Richard Alfred Milliken, Nina Simone) - 3:08
13.  "A Monster" is added as a bonus track. (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus) - 2:47

Nina Simone - Broadway Blues Ballads (1964)
(320 kbps, cover art included)