Skunk Anansie’s Skin very inspired by Nina and Etta
Lead singer of riotous punkrock group Skunk Anansie, Skin OBE, is the latest guest to have taken part in Classic Album Sundays interview video stream and podcast series.
She revealed her life-long love of two of the world’s most brilliant artists, Nina Simone and Etta James, and their stunning recordings on the new The Montreux Years compilation albums.
From listening to her first-ever Simone record to meeting the legendary singer at Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday party, Skin takes a fascinating deep dive into the profound impact and influence that both Nina Simone and Etta James had on her as an artist and Skunk Anansie’s pioneering recordings.
Speaking with Classic Album Sundays host Colleen Cosmo Murphy, Skin discussed highlights from compilation series The Montreux Years, which brings together breath-taking performances by the world’s greatest artists recorded at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, including Nina Simone and Etta James.
During the interview,
Skin picked three tracks from each album including James’ incendiary performance of I’ve Got The Will, taken from her festival appearance at the Casino Montreux on July 12 1989, and Simone’s spine-tingling rendition of Janis Ian’s Stars, which Simone covered for the very first time during her 1976 Montreux performance, illustrating the pair’s unparalleled skill and flair for showmanship.
Nina Simone: The Montreux Years and Etta James: The Montreux Years have just been released. The live albums, available in multiple-format configurations, including double LP and two-disc CD editions, feature sublime collections of the musical icon’s finest Montreux Jazz Festival performances. They include previously unreleased material, all restored to their full glory and more, incorporating MQA to capture the original sound of these special live performances.
Classic Album Sundays
tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture, and in some cases, our lives.
They host worldwide album listening events that dig deep, immersing fans into the album through musical and verbal storytelling followed by an uninterrupted vinyl playback on some of the world’s best sound systems so that listeners can have a brand new experience of the album.
Their website is a hive of classic album activity with artist interview videos, classic album podcasts and features and playlists. Classic Album Sundays also offers memberships to online events and streams via their Patreon subscription at https://classicalbumsundays. com/ site.
Montreux Jazz Festival is a renowned music festival created by Claude Nobs and held annually in Montreux, Switzerland across two weeks in July.
Now in its 55th year, the festival draws 250,000 music lovers from all across the world to the Lake Geneva shoreline, celebrating the industry’s emerging and contemporary acts, while paying homage to music’s legendary acts.
Originally a pure jazz festival since its inception in 1967, Montreux began showcasing other styles of music throughout the decades and today presents artists from across every genre.
Among artists that have graced the stage of Montreux are Bob Dylan, Elton John, Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, James Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Leonard Cohen, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis and many more. Mathieu Jaton serves as CEO of Montreux Jazz Festival.