Billie Holiday Songbook

Billie Holiday, Terence Blanchard | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000046VD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,891 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars There's Better, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Billie Holiday Songbook (Audio CD)

Everyone has their own fave Billie Holiday, I guess - this ain't mine. It's mostly remakes made in the 50's, and they sound antiseptic compared with the originals. In particular "Strange fruit" a song about lynching, is undercut by an amateur, theatrical piano. It's not that Billie lost her touch (aircheck recordings from the 50's reveal brilliance), but Verve really undercut her voice here. Too bad.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential, December 13, 2001

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Billie Holiday Songbook (Audio CD)

The usual controversy continues: was Billie better earlier or later in her career? Many will tell you that the ravages of time and hard-living destroyed her voice, and that her late recordings are sad listening; an equal number will tell you that her early voice, although charming, never possessed the depth of emotion communicated in her later recordings.

If you prefer the young Holiday, you may not like this particular collection. If you have never heard the later recordings and would like to, this particular collection would be an excellent choice. And if you are already a fan of the later recordings, you will find that every single track in the collection is essential.