Pastel Blues
studio
ArtistNina Simone
CoverNinasimonepastelblues.jpg
ReleasedOctober 1, 1965
Recorded1964–1965[1]
Length35:02
LabelPhilips
ProducerHal Mooney
Prev year1965
Next year1966

Pastel Blues is a studio album by American singer Nina Simone, released in October 1, 1965, by Philips Records.

The album was recorded in 1964 and 1965 in New York City[1] and peaked at number 139 on the Billboard 200 chart,[2] as well as number 8 on the Hot R&B LPs chart.[3] The album was re-issued in November 2020 by Verve and Universal Music Enterprises as part of their "audiophile-grade" Acoustic Sounds series.[4]

In 2017, Pitchfork placed the album at number 21 on its list of the best albums of the 1960s.[5]

Music and lyrics

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork explained: "Nina Simone was a Juilliard-trained classical pianist and a preternaturally adroit interpreter of jazz, folk, and pop, but in 1965, she was singing the blues. In January, Simone’s friend Lorraine Hansberry, who wrote A Raisin in the Sun, died from cancer; in February, on Simone’s 32nd birthday, her friend Malcolm X was assassinated. Within weeks, Simone was performing during the Selma-to-Montgomery march and warning Martin Luther King, Jr., 'I’m not nonviolent.' Simone’s pain hangs all over Pastel Blues, which brilliantly reaffirms that the blues isn’t only a music of rural pathos but also of urban protest."[6]

Critical reception

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."[7] 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."[7]

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."[8]

In 2008, Cokemachineglow included it on the "30 'Other' Albums of the 1960s" list.[9] In 2012, Alicia Keys included it on her "25 Favorite Albums" list.[10] In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 21 on the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s" list.[11]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Charts

Chart (1965)Peak
position
US Billboard 200[2][12]139
US Hot R&B LPs (Billboard)[3][12]8
Chart (2020)Peak
position
US Jazz Albums (Billboard)[13][12]18

References

  1. ^ Pastel Blues (booklet). Verve Records. 2006. 0602498887004.
  2. ^ "Nina Simone - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Nina Simone - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Helfet, Gabriela (September 27, 2020). "Nina Simone's I Put A Spell On You and Pastel Blues reissued in "audiophile-grade" editions". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Pitchfork (2017-08-22). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  6. ^ Pitchfork (2017-08-22). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  7. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Pastel Blues - Nina Simone". AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Muggs, Joe (July 21, 2014). "An In-Depth Look at Nina Simone's 'Pastel Blues'". Noisey. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "30 "Other" Albums of the 1960s (page 1 of 3)". Cokemachineglow. July 5, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Kenner, Rob (November 14, 2012). "Alicia Keys' 25 Favorite Albums". Complex. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (page 9 of 10)". Pitchfork. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  12. ^ "Nina Simone - Awards". AllMusic. Archived March 23, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "Nina Simone - Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.