To Love Somebody (album)

To Love Somebody
Studio album by Nina Simone
Released	1969
Recorded	1967–69
Studio	RCA (New York City)
Genre	Jazz blues pop folk
Length	32:48
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Danny Davis Andrew Stroud
Nina Simone chronology
Nina Simone and Piano (1969) To Love Somebody (1969) Black Gold (1970)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

To Love Somebody is an album by jazz singer-songwriter/pianist Nina Simone. Primarily a covers album, it was released as quickly as possible to prolong the unexpected success of 'Nuff Said! The title is taken from the Bee Gees song "To Love Somebody"; her cover of the song became her second British hit single after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life".

Tracks

"Revolution" is the only original song written for the album. It was Simone's third subsequent single released in the UK after "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" and "To Love Somebody" both became hits. The song was released around the time of the same titled song by the Beatles and, although it has a similar hook ("Don't you know it's gonna be – all right") and structure, most of the lyrics differ. The song also uses a guitar lick similar to "Old Brown Shoe," which had been recorded by the Beatles the same year. John Lennon commented on the similarities in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone:

I thought it was interesting that Nina Simone did a sort of answer to "Revolution." That was very good–it was sort of like "Revolution," but not quite. That I sort of enjoyed, somebody who reacted immediately to what I had said.[2]

The song is split into two parts as a result of the single release. "Revolution" didn't do well in the UK charts, and only had a mild success in the United States R&B charts. Simone was surprised by this and said to Sylvia Hampton, author of the biography Break Down and Let It All Out about this:

I don't get it. It's about a revolution, man: not just colour, but everything! It's about barriers being broken down, and they sure as hell need getting rid of. [...] We need a revolution to sort it all out and get back to God. You know how lost we are, man – it's sad.[3]

Simone also recorded an alternate version of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" that was (previously) unreleased.

Track listing

1. "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen) – 4:21
2. "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" (Traditional, Pete Seeger) – 3:41
3. "Revolution (Part 1)" (Weldon Irvine, Simone) – 2:53
4. "Revolution (Part 2)" (Weldon Irvine, Simone) – 1:54
5. "To Love Somebody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 2:42
6. "I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan) – 3:55
7. "I Can't See Nobody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 3:10
8. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (Bob Dylan) – 4:52
9. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (Bob Dylan) – 6:00

Personnel

• Nina Simone – vocals, piano, arrangements
• Don Alias – drums
• Weldon J. Irvine – organ
• Al Schackman – guitar
• Gene A. Perla – Fender bass
• Doris Willingham – vocals
• Virdia Crawford – vocals
• Jimmy Wisner – arrangements, conductor on "To Love Somebody" and "I Can't See Nobody"

Technical

• Mike Moran, Ray Hall – recording engineers

References

1. Bush, John. "To Love Somebody Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
2. Wenner, Jann S. (February 4, 1971). "The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part II". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
3. Hampton, Sylvia (2004). Break Down And Let It All Out. London, England: Sanctuary Publishers, Ltd. p. 62. ISBN 978-1860745522.