The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.6: 1938

Billie Holiday | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 5, 1990)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026WU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,429 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A year before Strange Fruit . Dues Paid, December 25, 2000

By 

Jahlaune K. Hunt "Jahlaune" (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.6: 1938 (Audio CD)

This is an interesting Holiday album You get a foretaste of her up and coming style in track 1 "You go to my head" She has shedded her Armstrong mannerisms and has made this song all her own. Though most of the songs are song pluggers nightmares Holiday handles them with Aplomp! "Your So Desirable" Etc are basically obscure tunes that even Holiday couln't make into standards. This is a album for die hard Billie Lovers. She had just paid her dues and the best was yet come!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-Sung and Played Holiday Repetoire, February 5, 2001

By 

Peter (East of Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.6: 1938 (Audio CD)

This volume is not as well known as the previous volumes in this Quintessential series, but still they're well-sung and played by Billie and her incredible sidemen. The sound quality of this volume is markedly improved and better. By this time, Billie's repetoire finds slow-paced material compared with the outright "swingers" on her earlier sides, but it's a welcome addition. Billie sounds equally at ease tackling the "slow burners" as well as the swinging fast ones. There are the usual standouts such as "You Go to My Head" "Very Thought of You" and "I Can't Get Started". Some of the material were later sung by Sinatra and Nat King Cole, but Holiday's versions still stick out in my mind. Only Billie can take laughable material like "Moon Looks Down and Laughs" and "Gonna Lock My Heart" and turn them into gems. It's a testimony to her timeless artistry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lesser known Billie Holiday work, December 26, 2000

By 

Sasha "lampic" (at sea...sailing somewhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.6: 1938 (Audio CD)

Of all the collected "Columbia" Quintessential volumes,this one has a biggest ratio of undiscovered repertoire.Its almost like a hearing for the first time "unreleased" tapes,many of these songs were not big succes - there were overshadowed by Lady's much better-known work.Perhaps it has to do something with her then-turmoil period as a black singer in Artie Shaw big band,who knows? Besides "The Very Thought Of You" and "You Go To My Head",other songs are quitte obscure,but still discovery is beautiful as always.Her singing is sensitive as usual,musicians great,its just that this repertoire did not survive the time as good as some of her other music.This CD is a great discovery of Billie's lesser known material,if you want something more universaly recognised (as "God Bless The Child",for example) I reccomend other "Quintessential" volumes.