by Richie Unterberger
This album was apparently a bit of a pastiche of leftovers from sessions for Nina Simone's four previous albums on Philips. But you'd never guess from listening; the material is certainly as strong and consistent as it is on her other mid-'60s LPs. As is the case with most of her albums of the time, the selections are almost unnervingly diverse, ranging from jazz ballads to traditional folk tunes (&Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair&) to the near calypso of &Why Keep on Breaking My Heart& to the somber, almost chilling title track. Highlights are two outstanding pop-soul numbers written by the pre-disco Van McCoy (&Either Way I Lose,& &Break Down and Let It All Out&) and &Four Women,& a string of searing vignettes about the hardships of four African-American women that ranks as one of Simone's finest compositions.