Where Nina Simone’s previous albums were fiercely and unapologetically political, Broadway-Blues-Ballads is distinctly lighter and more playful; it's heavily weighted in the Broadway and ballads categories. Inspired covers are bountiful—see Cole Porter’s “The Laziest Gal in Town” and Rodgers & Hammerstein's “Something Wonderful”—while the vibe is mellowed by a handful of repertoire standards (the deeply felt “The Last Rose of Summer” and the catchy call-and-response “See-Line Woman”), plus “How Can I?”, with its gently Parisian cha-cha beat.