Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Billie Holiday

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 2001
• Number of Discs: 10
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005Q47M
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,057 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This box set earns the "deluxe" designation not only because of its handsome packaging, insightful essays by Holiday scholars, and testimonials from the likes of Tony Bennett, Sonny Rollins, and Etta James, but also because of the vastly improved remastered sound that makes Lady Day the definitive issue of Billie Holiday's pivotal 1930s and '40s Columbia/Vocalion/Brunswick/OKeh oeuvre. The sides here include epochal collaborations with Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, and others. Six-plus discs chronologically present 151 masters, with the rest of the 10 CDs' space given to alternate takes and radio air checks.

It was during the early years of this period, of course, that Holiday quickly developed into one of the 20th century's vocal monuments. Her incisive way with lyric and melody, often deploying playfulness, wit, and pain in a single song, became a model for both many a female singer, as well as Frank Sinatra and Marvin Gaye. These are records to be endlessly replayed for many kinds of appreciation. Played end to end, they introduce ideals of groove and emotional expression that remain fresh and even startling many years on. Lady Day is not only a perfect example of how to reissue key material, but is an album that will stand as a beacon for veteran Holiday fans and for the new ones it will no doubt attract. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great music, but..., November 5, 2001

By	M. Zuckerman (Bath, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These John Hammond-organized sessions are, together with the Louis Armstrong Hot Five And Seven recordings, my very favorite, and I very much wanted to love this set. The sound quality of the previous Columbia releases (Quintessential Billie Holiday, vols. 1-9) was dismal (all the hiss and crackle hamfistedly removed so that it sounded like the stereo had been stuffed under a pillow) and I was looking forward to a breakthaking upgrade. Well, the sound is a lot better, and they have not been afraid of leaving in some of the hiss, but the fact is, there are better sounding transfers out there, and at this price, there shouldn't be. I compared one track, "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," with a transfer made by John R.T. Davies, who is the master of this kind of work. On all counts -- warmth of tone, clarity, full bodied bass, realistic ambiance, and even lack of hiss -- the John R.T. transfer was better. (His transfers of the Armstrong Hot 5s and 7s for JSP was much better than Columbia's, too.) The packaging looks great, the music is great, and it costs a great deal of money. SOund quality is just good though, and that's a great shame.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lady sings..., December 29, 2001

By	Jeffrey Harris (South San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the most lavish(and exhaustive, in good way)box sets to be released is "Lady Day-The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944)". Consisting of 230 tracks spread over 10 CD's, this set contains Lady Day's collaborations with Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, and Benny Goodman's Orchestras. Though some of the material is lackluster(which is to be expected on a compilation of this size)all of the standards that she cut for Columbia, Brunswick, Okeh, and Vocalion are included("All Of Me", "God Bless The Child", "Them There Eyes", "The Man I Love, "I Cried For You", etc...). The packaging is beautiful, with the box resembling a 78 record storage booklet. Housed inside the cover is a 120 page booklet with rare photos, reproductions of original 78 RPM labels, and essays from Gary Giddins, Farah Jasmine Griffin, and Michael Brooks. Though the essays don't really shed any new light on Billie Holiday, they're well written and are an enjoyable read. The CD's themselves are packaged in heavy paper slip cases similar to what 78 records came packaged in. In theory it was a creative design idea but not a real practical one. You have to be very careful removing and putting the CD's back to avoid scratching them(like the Armstrong Hot Fives & Sevens box), which for me is my only beef with this box set. Lining the pockets with felt or some other soft material could have avoided this and it's a move I hope Legacy considers in the future. Sonically this is by far the best I've ever heard this material sound. The Quintessential Billie Holiday CD's suffered from heavy handed use of noise reduction, sounding muffled and dull. The songs on the box have much more presence and dynamic range. Like the Louis Armstrong box issued last year, this release has Grammy winner written all over it. For those who want, need, and must have every note Lady Day recorded during this eleven year period this box is a must have and comes highly recommended. The 2 CD set culled from this box is fine for more casual fans.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word...WOW, October 4, 2001

By	BRIAN J WEAVER (SCOTTSVILLE, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I have never been able to appreciate Lady Day's Columbia years because of the bad quality and age of the existing sources...UNTIL NOW. Recordings that used to be a challenge to this listener are now remastered to a quality that surpasses what would be typically expected from recordings of this vintage. You can now fully appreciate Holiday's delicacy in her phrasing, the arrangements, all brought back to life. This may be considered a pricey set for some, and one may decide on the highlight disc instead. But to have this whole set and have the songs all in their recorded order is Holiday heaven. You really won't know what you're been missing, some real gems, until you own this set. One track flows so nicely into the next. Repeated takes are all saved for the last discs so there is no disruption in the flow. And the packaging and book are lush and handsomely packaged, most aesthetically pleasing. A most prized and eagerly awaited complete addition to the Holiday catalogue. A treasure.