Great Ladies Sing the Blues

Various Artists - Blues | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1995)
• Original Release Date: May 20, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Umvd Special Markets
• ASIN: B0000047S8
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,463 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #49 in Music > Blues > Vocal Blues
  • #99 in Music > Blues > Traditional Blues

Track Listings

1. Good Morning Heartache

2. Love for Sale

3. Trouble in Mind

4. Summertime

5. My Man

6. Cry Me a River

7. I Know How It Feels to Be Lonely [*]

8. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

10. No 'Count Blues

11. The Man I Love [*]

12. God Bless the Child

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ladies sing the blues..., April 25, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Great Ladies Sing the Blues (Audio CD)

Great Ladies Sing the Blues is a very strong CD that features some of the best songbirds ever singing timeless blues songs. The sound quality is very good and the artwork impresses me also.

The CD opens with Billie Holiday singing "Good Morning Heartache." Billie's more mature voice is able to covey her pain so clearly; and her voice is still clear as a bell. Her excellent diction and her uncanny sense of timing enhance Billie's performance all the more. Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady Of Song, also does a smashing job on "Love For Sale." "Love For Sale" features Ella at her very best and she never misses a beat! Ella's voice is very distinctive and "Love For Sale" is easily a major highlight of this album.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong team up for a stunning rendition of "Summertime" from Porgy And Bess; and the strings are used to great advantage! I love how Louis Armstrong rally plays that horn--it's incredible. He could sing well, too! Billie Holiday then returns to sing a whoppingly awesome version of "My Man." "My Man" sounds better than ever when Billie sings it; she is able to use her vocal talents to make this number shine brighter than gold!

In addition, Dina Washington performs "Cry Me A River;" I always loved this song and when Dinah Washington sings it it's all very pretty. The strings sound great and Dinah sings this very professionally. Julie London, who sang this song often, would be proud! Nina Simone also sings "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" to perfection--and beyond! The title is so true I can't tell you how true it really is. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" is a brilliant blues tune that Nina Simone enhances even further with her excellent interpretation of this classic song.

Shirley Horn performs "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good;" "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good" has an elegant piano arrangement that complements Shirley's vocals flawlessly. Shirley Horn was always a great songbird and just one listen to this proves it! Sarah Vaughan also weighs in with a sublime rendition of "The Man I Love." Sarah sings this with great sensitivity and I am very impressed. The CD also ends very well with Anita O'Day singing "God Bless The Child." "God Bless The Child" makes a strong ending; Anita sings this with a guitar arrangement that can't be any better than this!

Great Ladies Sing The Blues is an excellent album of the blues sung by some of the greatest songbirds ever. I highly recommend this album for fans of those timeless blues songs. You won't be disappointed.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is not the blues, August 21, 2002

By 

Blues Rev (Ridgefield Park, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Great Ladies Sing the Blues (Audio CD)

Yes, these are great ladies but they are not singing the Blues. They are singing Jazz. As far as a Jazz album goes, I rate this 5 STARS.
As a Blues musician, I was truely disappointed that the producer of this CD listed it as a Blues album. There's not a Blues lick on this album.
If you're looking for great ladies to sing the Blues, don't look here. If you're looking for great ladies to sing slow sad Jazz, you found it.
There are those people that will disagree with me on this CD. I have read the previous reviews. I'll state again, as far as a Jazz CD, absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend. As far as a Blues CD, no way.
Seeing as I am not a big fan of Jazz, I have listed my copy of this CD on Amazon.com to sell as "Like new." Someone out there will enjoy this CD.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars these ladies are indeed great, February 17, 2000

By 

queen (richmond,va) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Ladies Sing the Blues (Audio CD)

my favs would have to be "cry a river" and "i know how it feels to be lonely". this cd is packed with the best voices and puts you in another place...there are an abunance of other songs that coul dhave been included or substituted, but because there was a vast selection, the ones presented made an overall statement. if you have never explored this genre then this is a good one to get your feet wet