Corky & Siegel-Schwall (1971)Before purchasing an original concert poster of the band Siegel-Schwall (from this week’s website pick, Wolfgang’s Vault) I was curious to know more about the unfamiliar band.
I found this phenomenal youtube clip where classical chamber music meets the blues and love it! Sadly it’s not exemplary of all their musical releases which (from a quick browse through iTunes catalog) seem more traditionally blues.
'Nuff Said! was recorded at the Westbury Music Fair in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. days after his devastating assassination; track 6, 'Why? (The King of Love is Dead)', was written by bass player Gene Taylor. His brother remembers the concert in this NPR story:
“We learned that song that (same) day. We didn't have a chance to have two or three days of rehearsal. But when you're feeling compassion and outrage and wanting to express what you know the world is feeling, we did it because that's what we felt.”
Introduced as “The High Priestess of Soul”, the warbly and smooth voiced Nina Simone takes us through a stirring, uplifting set beginning with the soft and beautiful 'In the Morning' and 'Sunday in Savannah' before pulling out all the stops for 'Gin House Blues' and an amazing cover of 'Ain't Got No' from the musical Hair, which you can see here.
It may not be the most well known album of her illustrious career, but it's a great record that's simple and heartfelt.