Rhiannon Giddens's take on "Black Is the Color," from her forthcoming solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is featured on NPR Music's Songs We Love. On the new album, "Giddens takes songs strongly linked to iconic female performers ... and somehow comes out owning them," says World Cafe host David Dye. On "Black Is the Color," often linked to Nina Simone, "Giddens celebrates and soars. She's confident in her instincts and her abundant talent, and she should be."
Rhiannon Giddens's take on the traditional tune "Black Is the Color," from her forthcoming solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is featured on NPR Music's Songs We Love. David Dye, host of NPR's World Cafe, has chosen the song as today's selection.
For the album, which was produced by T Bone Burnett, Giddens chose a broad range of songs from genres as diverse as gospel, jazz, blues, and country, including songs made famous by Nina Simone, Patsy Cline, and Dolly Parton.
On Tomorrow Is My Turn, "Giddens takes songs strongly linked to iconic female performers ... and somehow comes out owning them," says Dye. "This is particularly true of the music of Nina Simone, in both the album's title track and 'Black Is the Color,' the traditional song that was one of Simone's performance staples. Where Simone slowed 'Black Is the Color' down to wring out the emotion, Giddens celebrates and soars. She's confident in her instincts and her abundant talent, and she should be."
Read more and hear "Black Is the Color" at npr.org.
You can download the track, as well as two additional album tracks, "Don’t Let It Trouble Your Mind" and "Shake Sugaree," when you pre-order the album on iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl pre-orders also include an exclusive print autographed by Giddens.
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