One of the lesser-known 70s albums by Nikki Giovanni – a wonderful selection of material from her book Cotton Candy On A Rainy Day – read in a spare setting, without any musical accompaniment! In some ways, this album's even better than the more famous Giovanni albums on Atlantic – as Nikki's vocals really come across beautifully without any music – strong and expressive, but without any overdone moments – and clearly no attempt to commercialize her words by turning them into songs. Titles include "Gus", "Habits", "Boxes", "Crutches", "The New Yorkers", and "Winter". CD

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An amazing setting for the righteous words and message of Nikki Giovanni – as the set has the poet working with backing vocals by the New York Community Choir, who also recorded a great soul album on RCA around the same time – and an overall approach that elevates Nikki's poetry into a very spiritual realm! There's definitely some gospel currents to the music, but Givoanni's words and spoken passages have much more down to earth concerns – the mix of political and personal themes that made her one of the most important young black poets of her generation. The whole thing is fantastic – very powerful throughout, with titles that include "My Tower", "Poem For A Lady Of Leisure Now Retired", "Second Rapp Poem", "Great Pax Whitey", "Poem For Aretha", and "Ego Tripping". CD