76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far from easy listening, but unforgettable & near saddening, February 9, 2002
This review is from: Lady in Satin (Audio CD)
When I buy a CD, most often it's on impulse, just eager to hear what it's like. A very select few are ones I buy because of the acclaim I've heard about them. With LADY IN SATIN, it was the mixed reviews that got my interest peaked. Good, bad, in the middle, I don't care. I had to hear for myself. Needless to say, I'm glad I went with my gut, for I've heard truly one of the most authentically heartbreaking pieces of music ever in my life.
When LADY IN SATIN was recorded, Billie Holiday was definitely at the end of her life. Years of rough living & heroin addiction had all but put her formerly-honey sweet voice to shame. She was still a trooper though, for even as she was approaching yet another trial for drug possession, Billie approached this recording with the best of professionalism & even with her by-now-fading voice, she succeeded triumphantly.
It's safe to say you shouldn't approach this album without a box of tissues close by, for the performances on LADY IN SATIN are so true to life & heartbreaking, you're sure to be moved by hearing a once-great artist sounding like she's clinging to that last shred of life. The titles of songs like "Glad To Be Unhappy", "I Get Along Without You Very Well", "You Don't Know What Love Is" & most notably, "You've Changed" speak volumes. To say this album might be her the story of her life would only be stating the obvious.
But the song that really says the most about this whole album is "The End Of A Love Affair". The version that made it onto LADY IN SATIN is a wonder enough, but the bonus track that has Billie singing a cappella & later saying she doesn't even know how the song goes is the tell-tale sign that as good as this whole album did turn out, it wasn't exactly a labor of love. In fact, in only 17 more months, she'd be dead.
Some say that Ray Ellis's string arrangements are a hinderance to the album more than a help, but they provide the best back-up for Billie's war-weary-yet-still-resonant voice. Both are very beautiful in their own ways, whether they're light or dark. The result is not all that different from Frank Sinatra's influential albums that he was recording at around the same time.
When LADY IN SATIN was released, controversy abounded from many corners. Some said that the album should not have even been released & was an insult to Billie Holiday's once-marvelous talent. But the more open-minded hailed it as a masterpiece, albeit a dark one. Even Billie herself claimed it as her favorite. The fact that she managed to hang on while she recorded this album is truly a work of nature when you consider her state of mind & life at the time. She would record one more album before her death at the age of 44.
However, it's rare that an artist can end their career having known they've recorded their masterwork. But with LADY IN SATIN, maybe Billie was right in singing its praises. Sure, she may not have been in the best of shape & her better days were behind her. Yet some of the best music comes from a lifetime's worth of experience & actually living the life of the music. With LADY IN SATIN, Billie Holiday did that & then some. Of course, listening to an artist at the end of her tether will not be an easy feat. Once you take the plunge, though, you'll feel greatly rewared that you did.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lady In The Rear View Mirror..., April 9, 2000
This review is from: Lady in Satin (Audio CD)
This is not an easy record to warm up to. Have patience...once you've reconciled the tone and manner of Lady Day's fragile, fading, sorrowfull voice with the sweeping elegance of Ray Ellis' orchestrations, you might find yourself in love with this CD...Billie's voice is at once brilliant and shattered, like a broken mirror, especially in the studio cuts added as narrative to the original set. My favorite song, "The End of A Love Affair", is a haunting testimonial to romance gone bad; the music and the lyrics are unforgettable. Lady In Satin is not for the squirmish; not even, perhaps, for alot of Holiday fans. But if you don't mind a front row seat to the closing act of the tragic opera that was Holiday's life; if you can find beauty in sorrow and hope in pain, this CD will unveil a new meaning for the term "soul music"...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handle with care., January 29, 2001
This review is from: Lady in Satin (Audio CD)
This is an unavoidable album, though admittedly not one I'm fond of playing. The line between "art" and "life" has never been so blurred--in fact, the entire album, by combining these classic songs and lush orchestrations with Holiday's frail, fading voice, raises the question about the relationship between art and life, the beautiful and the tragic. Perhaps the most haunting and heartbreaking moment in the history of recorded music occurs when Billie comes in for the second chorus of "But Beautiful." Listen to her voice crack when she gets to the word "heartache," the emotional climax of a song about the paradoxes of life and love. I don't play the record much because I don't need to--Billie inscribes these songs deep in your heart forever, but it requires a painful surgical incision. I'm glad I had it done, but for me it's now simply enough to know the album is in my collection.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
