NIna Simone- Erets Zavat Halav Udvash

No more Nina.

I was sorely disappointed in Tha Carter III when I first skipped through it. The slick pop moves and lack of psychedelic brilliance shocked me. When I dedicated 78 minutes of intense listening to the highly anticipated release, however, I understood that my initial distress was unnecessary. It's a mammoth and undeniably "important" release. I encourage readers without a hip hop orientation to block out ten minutes to take in "Dontgetit", the jaw-dropping album's final track. I won't detail Weezy's rambling analysis in this space, but I'll note that he chatters over a sample of Nina Simone performing "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." The folk song heard here is from an out-of-print collection of live recordings. The liner notes speculate that this might be a Carnegie Hall date from 1963.

---
Fellow roots music lovers will be glad to hear that Amazon is offering free MP3 of classics by Albert King, Odetta, Sonny Terry, Roosevelt Sykes and Lightnin' Hopkins at their download store.

---
"Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer!" Stay Positive, the Hold Steady's lastest salvo, is streaming at MySpace.

---
Kansas City Click: The Record Bar boasts a fine triple bill tonight- Fiery Furnaces, El Ten Eleven and Grand Ole Party.