Customer Reviews

Billie Holiday: The Complete Decca Recordings

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard my first Billie Holiday recording in college in the 60s. It was a double LP called "The Billie Holiday Story" on the Decca label, in "enhanced stereo". I fell in love with her voice and bought the album, which I proceeded to play so often that the grooves wore down. So it was with extreme pleasure and anticipation that I read of this CD set, which contains all of the tracks from the LPs, as well as all of Billie's other recordings for Decca. The digital remastering is superb, and to hear the songs in their original monaural sound instead of the "re-channeled" stereo of the LPs is a revelation.

At first, I was tempted to program around the numerous alternate tracks, but as time went on, I was very glad that the producers included everything. Listen to the alternate of "No More", rescued from the MCA Japan vaults; despite substandard sound, the power of Billie's voice comes through, with nuances which make it quite different from the recording which was released. It's fascinating to hear the four takes of "Big Stuff", a show tune by Leonard Bernstein, as Billie finally manages to make it her own.

And of course all her truly great recordings from this era are here: "Lover Man," "Solitude", "My Man", and more. The package includes extensive notes and recording information. This is an outstanding and loving tribute to one of the greatest singers of the 20th century.

No arguments here with any of the other reviewers. I give this set 5 stars because they don't have 6.

This box set truly captures Billie Holliday at the peak of her craft. Her voice never sounds better. Secondly, the arrangements are fantastic and rarely have I heard musical accompaniment that so masterfully compliments and highlights a singer's voice. Finally, the tracks are impeccably mastered and recorded. The original recordings are wonderful and they don't use modern sound technology to clean up the recordings to the point they sound stale and sanitized. The sound quality is rich and truthful; yet no annoying hiss or other imperfections.

I believe Billie was at the height of her popularity during the Decca era and she never gets better musicians to work with or a better selection of songs to "interpret." This is after the "tin pan alley" era and before Billie gets strung out and jazzed out with sparse arrangements and accompaniments.

Simply put, this is the best music ever recorded, by one of the 20th Century's greatest artists.

This is a wonderful 2cd box set which does exactly what box sets should do. There is a wealth of alternate takes and previously unreleased songs. We even get to hear the great Louis Armstrong duet "My sweet hunk o' trash", in which he sings the "f" word, as in "F... 'em, baby". It was later withdrawn and "sanitized", but we get to hear the original. Also we get some breakdowns and studio chatter, always a curiosity for true fans of any artist, as it makes them seem more human. The 40 page booklet is great, and includes loads of photos, and 2 essays, one by Milt Gabler (Billie's Decca producer), and the other by Steve Lasker, the producer of this set. Also there are interesting comments on the source materials and a Bibliography. This is one box set that no fan of Billie's should be without.

I agree during this period (1940s) Billie Holiday was at her vocal peak. I feel critics have overrated this collection mostly due to the fact Billie Holiday's voice was still in good shape and the effects of her drug addiction hadn't yet taken effect. When she switched labels, the folks over at Decca were trying to mold and shape her into the next Peggy Lee or Doris Day, making her into a more mainstream model than what she had been in the 1930s. The arrangements (full size orchestras, syrupy strings, background vocals, etc.) don't always work. Sometimes they clash w/ Billie's delicate voice. Billie is still best suited by a trio combo or just a piano. At least the new label was going for a different sound and approach than what she was getting at Columbia. It just didn't work for her. Fortunately for Billie, she overcomes the arrangements w/ wondrous phrasing and choice of great songs, some of them indeliby linked w/ her--God Bless the Child, Good Morning Heartache, Loverman, Ain't Nobody's Business, That Ol Devil Called Love.....

This is Lady Day at her peak and is probably the definitive collection showcasing how phenomenal a talent she was as a vocalist. As the title implies these are pretty much all her surviving tracks cut for the Decca label from 1944 to 1950 when she was in her peak vocal form and the songs here are a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride of emotions. There weren't many other vocalists anywhere near Billie's prowess at this time and her delivery runs the gamut of emotions from wistful sadness, to savage beauty, to a warm embrace. Many of her signature songs are here: "Lover Man," "Don't Explain," "'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do," "God Bless The Child," and "Good Morning Heartache." Some have complained that it is not a truly "complete" recordings package, but many of the original recordings were lost or destroyed years ago. If I had to chose a starting point for Billie Holiday you'd be hard pressed to pick a better choice than this set.

Mahalia Jackson once said "If you don't like Louis(Armstrong) you aint human," well the same goes for Lady Day, and this is her at her very peak. Here Holiday is sometimes backed by srings and choir, which surprisingly isn't vomitious, but refreshingly beautiful. Holiday never recorded a bad record therefore anything she did is worth picking up, however this double CD which contains all of her wondefully juicy Decca sides(including some rare alternate takes) is packaged so well that you just have to pick it up. This CD is a good indroduction to Holiday, and it should also be acquired by all serious jazz and or music lovers.

This is my favorite Billie Holiday of them all. It captures the "film noir" feel of the 40's best of dark, smoke-filled rooms, blinking neon signs over cheap hotels. I expect to see Bogie coming thru the fog any moment. Everyone talks about her earlier Columbia work with small groups, which has more of a swing feel. This one is more dramatic with the 40's type orchestra painting a dark picture on great cuts like: Big Stuff, No More, Don't Explain and of course God Bless The Child. There are many fascinating outtakes as well, each one with a different interpretation.The box is classy with detailed dates, personnel, great photos and Billie's life. A wonderful box set. Ideal for overcast days. This is Billie at her emotional best. Definitely a keeper for life.

This must really have a label with a warning: this is really heavy stuff. Dont think because this is mostly Billie with her orchestra this would be a conventional pop record. By this time in her career, Billie had transformed the art of singing, she was in a category all by her own. Good morning heartache may be my all time favourite Bilie recording. Essential listening for anyone interested in vocal jazz.

Billie Holiday's great talent and music has been adequately reviewed elsewhere. My comments are directed at the packaging of the songs. First, I give the music and performances 5 stars. The sound quality is excellent considering the vintage, especially on the originally released tracks. However, I have a suggestion for track sequencing and disc packagaging, thus the 4 star rating. My preference is that this set be repackaged as a 3 disc set, but remain priced as a 2 disc set with the 3rd disc listed as a bonus disc. I'd rather have a 3rd disc that comprises the early and unreleased versions of the songs.

I followed my own suggestion and re-sequenced the 2 discs into a 3 disc set by burning new copies on my computer. I am much happier with the outcome, and love listening to the original released versions of songs without experiencing a duplication of titles. This presents the music in a way I think the artist would have preferred and greatly enhances the experience for me. When I'm in the mood for the additional material, the 3rd disc I created includes the early versions and previously unreleased tracks to give me the illusion of being present at the recording sessions. I find this a much more satisfying way to experience this great music.

From the first aching strains of Lover Man to the bittersweet This Is Heaven To Me, Billie creates the ultimate statement of intimate longing with these two CD's. Her material is more torch than her previous Columbia recordings, finding her at the height of her powers: the voice still sweet, the material that she was destined to painfully and longfully present to a world --all too happy to judge her-- on these discs. The alternate recordings are of interest, without question. It is always mesmerizing to hear an artist of this stature steadily take a song and make it her own, as she does with Big Stuff. But that is not the story here, just a happy bonus. The story is you being welcomed to the absolute finest torch and mood music you will ever come across. Hear Good Morning Heartache, Deep Song (a personal favorite) or Crazy He Calls Me and try not to think of that love of your life where everything could have been so right, if only. . . Such was the talent of this artist with the heroin problem and the ghosts that tormented her, so effortlessly conveyed to us. The Complete Decca Recordings of Billie Holiday most generously provides us with this sexy/sad mix without apology. Indispensible.