Album Reviews

Recorded and released during one of the most tumultuous and disturbing periods in contemporary American history, Emergency Ward! is a grand, exasperated plea for peace and understanding by one of the great soul/jazz voices of the 20th century.

Ms. Simone could have sung the Yellow Pages and made it her own but here she chooses to use two George Harrison tunes as vehicles to express her despair with America and the state of the world circa 1971 or 1972 (the year the recording was first issued).

Side one is an elongated, gospel choir backed version of Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” (the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit when first released because of its similarity to The Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” (doodalane, doodalane doo lane), which was settled with Harrison paying a large sum of money for “unconscious plagiarism.”

In any case, Simon and piano plus anonymous electric bassist, backed by the Bethany Baptist Church Junior Choir of South Jamaica, New York, engages in a lengthy (some might say “dragged out”) heartfelt plea, filled with handclapping, tambourines and repeated “ya gotta”s. It goes on for eighteen minutes and despite the repetitiveness of it, Simone doesn’t turn it into a “placeholder.”

Instead the familiar chorus unfolds with numerous variations and improvisations, thanks to the choir and Simone’s endless inventiveness. Whereas Harrison’s original is reverential, Simone’s is challenging and smoldering. “Show yourself Lord,” she implores impatiently, almost sarcastically. There’s one quiet interlude about “crumbling hopes…and destroying wishes” that will take anyone old enough, back to that dark time and give anyone too young to remember a very good idea of what it was like back then, at least on a purely emotionally level.

The song segues into a poem called “Today Is a Killer” and then back to “My Sweet Lord” as Simone, the choir, the handclaps and the tambourine smacking builds to a feverish pitch and then head back down to a cocktail lounge-ish whisper, finally ending with a sudden dagger of a sacrilegious mock that I won’t reveal. Do yourself a favor and don’t read the enclosed full-sized lyric sheet. Let yourself be taken by surprise a the bone-chilling ending!

The recording is far from perfect but it is as brutally honest and direct as the music. Simone’s voice is infused with the tonality of the P.A./monitor system, which is often unavoidable in live recordings, but the slight midband excess helps to project her forward in the mix, while the chorus is way back in the mix, spread across the soundstage. The overall perspectives are conflicting, but it doesn’t matter. If the side doesn’t end giving you the chills, check your VTA (not to mention your Cerebral Cortex).

Side two begins with a far superior widescreen live recording featuring a string section, congas, shimmering percussion and backup singers (some of which smacks of studio overdubs but I could be wrong and it really doesn’t matter) but the message of “Poppies,” (drug addiction) is as bleak and despairing as what’s on side one. The side ends with Simone’s devastating, personalized version of “Isn’t It a Pity,” which alone is worth the price of admission to this disc. Her tactile keyboard work rivals the vocals.

The recording of this tune by RCA veteran engineer Ed Begley, lives up to the label’s rich heritage, though again, the electronica of the stage monitor and the P.A. system intrudes slightly on the vocal purity. Side two is short at only fifteen minutes and change, but the quantity is more than made up for by the quality.

When first issued in 1972, this was pressed on paper thin Dynaflex vinyl, which was usually noisy. Here, it’s dead quiet on 180g virgin vinyl.

Certainly an oddity when first released and I’m sure a commercial failure, Emergency Ward has gained stature over time, providing a moving musical document of both a singular time, and a powerful, utterly original artist expressing herself in her prime. When “Isn’t It a Pity” ends, you will find yourself transported from the then to the now almost without realizing that you’d been taken to the “then” in the first place.

Like all great art and great artists, Ms. Simone had that ability to transport the listener to another time and place. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be playing this one all the time, but when you do, rest assured that you will be moved. Thanks to Speakers Corner for reissuing this unusual gem.