bad Nina Simone songs - are there any?

How weird, I was going to start a Nina Simone thread today. Basically (and slightly ashamed to admit this) having heard a version of 'Aint Got No... I got Life' on the film 'The Parole Officer'. I bought the 1968 RCA single off eBay. However it appears to be a live take. The recent compilations 'Sugar In My Bowl' and 'Saga Of The Good Life And Hard Times' appear to have original studio versions on them. Are these superior to my live version, which is certainly weaker than it came across in the film?

She sounds really out of her element covering Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl" on the 1978 album Baltimore. It was too bouncy for her to keep up and sounds forced.

I'm sure there are many more clinkers in the catalogue -- Nina's willingness to risk it all on wack pop songs is one of those endearing qualities that keeps her seriousness in check.

The version of "Ain't got no I got life" on the single IS actually a studio take, doctored with fake applause so that it fitted in with the other tracks on the live album it was taken from ("Nuff said", which is fantastic). The two studio versions you mention are the original take from which the "live" version was made, and an out take from the same session.

As for bad songs, Nina was forced to record many middle of the road show tunes during her tenure at Phillips in the mid '60's, but her performances were always faultless. There are, however some terrible live versions of "My baby just cares for me" from the later part of her career, a song she grew to hate as much of her audience in those days only came along for that song.

There is some terrible late-period "funk" stuff, but as above, the fault is more in the production than her vocal performances.

Everything on Nina's Back! and Private Collection.

Sorry, Nina.