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The albums might all have the word "Now" in the title, but giving a realistic picture of the popular singles of this time wouldn't be possible without representing at least some of the many old records that were re-released after being used in adverts, usually with a claymation promo video. The practice largely fell into disuse in the late 1990s when singles became too much of a loss-maker, although downloads have have revived it somewhat in the last two years.
Back to 1987, though. I don't really recall the advert this was used in, if indeed I ever saw it, but I do remember the song and video. I was aware even then that it was old, although I'm not sure I realised it was as many as 29 years back, or even that I could have understood how long that actually was. Happily, one advantage of this age is that it still sounds good today, because it never sounded like it was from the 1980s. Even though it's not the most heavyweight song, and she may not have been that keen to record it, it impresses me even more as an adult. Simone's very precise phrasing stands out, but what I really like now is her piano playing, which punctuates the song effectively and distracts you from the shortage of lyrics. Perhaps jazz fans wouldn't appreciate this so much, but for a sceptic like me this is right on the money. I suspect the same might not go for the "extended smooch version" that I saw on a 12" single of this in a charity shop the other week.
One more small historical note: perhaps because it was released by reissue label Charly, who never had that many hit singles to play with, this is one of the few singles to cross the invisible boundary and appear both on a Now album and on the contemporary volume in the rival series The Hits Album.
Available on: The Very Best of Nina Simone
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