When Lisa Simone told her mother that she wanted to become a professional singer, she reacted rather harshly: 'Why would you want that? People will only compare you to me and I am much better '. That mother was Nina Simone: a brilliant artist, but as a mother she fell seriously short. Lisa suffered for years from her famous mother's depression, tantrums and addiction to alcohol. That difficult
… childhood is one of the themes on All Is Well. She expels her inner demons by singing small as well as 'ringing' out loud. Lisa's elastic soul voice doesn't quite resemble her mother's androgynous blues voice. Also in the musical interpretation (a mix of soul, jazz and blues) some of Nina's influence can be heard sporadically. Lisa Simone, 52 when this album comes out, turns the painfully open-haired lyrics inside out, without turning into self-pity. There are rest points in a light-hearted interpretation of Suzanne by Leonard Cohen (!) And a version of her mother's Ain't Got No I Got Life, which sounds remarkably loving from Lisa's mouth. (PdK)more
