Nina Simone is regarded as one of the most influential recording artists of the 20th century. She was a pioneering musician whose career was characterized by "fits of outrage and improvisational genius". In naming Simone the 29th greatest singer of all time, Rolling Stone wrote that "her honey-coated, slightly adenoidal cry was one of the most affecting voices of the civil rights movement", while making note of her ability to "belt barroom blues, croon cabaret and explore jazz." The first LP in this set presents a selection of Simone's finest studio recordings; LP two features songs from some of the passionate live performances for which Nina Simone was rightly famous.