No slouch as a songwriter herself,
Nina Simone
ably picked a variety of compositional classics from the new
rock
era for her 1969 LP
To Love Somebody
. Opening with a beautiful, introspective version of
Leonard Cohen
's
"Suzanne,"
Simone
shows an obvious affinity for social statements with
the Byrds
'
"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)"
and a trio of
Dylan
standards:
"I Shall Be Released,"
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues,"
plus a dramatic, meditative
"The Times They Are A-Changin'."
The title track, originally a 1967 hit for
the Bee Gees
and one year later for
the Sweet Inspirations
, suffers slightly from a weak, commercial-slanted arrangement, but her lone original, the two-part
"Revolution,"
is a great blend of
blues-rock
and
soul
testifying. Among a rut of
jazz
vocalists making the worst of a bad situation during the late '60s,
is a rare success. ~ John Bush