by John Bush
Her own best accompanist (especially during the crossover-happy '60s), Nina Simone sings and plays on this 1970 LP. With strident vocals and a thoughtful piano backing, Simone makes her own a pair of radically different (though similarly fatalistic) compositions, Blind Willie Johnson's &Nobody's Fault But Mine& and Randy Newman's &I Think It's Going to Rain Today.& Her version of &Everyone's Gone to the Moon& leans dangerously close to avant-garde overkill, but she returns with good performances on &Compensation& and &Who Am I?& A great moment comes when a tambourine finally joins her midway through &Another Spring,& and the lone jazz standard (&I Get Along Without You Very Well&) is given a touching performance. In an era when Simone often veered from crossover to experimental, Nina Simone and Piano! is undeniably difficult, but frequently rewarding.