Customer Reviews

Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 9

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There are MANY box sets, of Lady Day that do NOT include this material. Many stop with 1940. Many. This one start where those leave off, and besides is probably one of the most played single CD of Billie that I play, and I have 58! "In A Low Down Groove" will take you places you've never been, as it completely engulfs you with all her magic, "Jim" so perfectly suited for her voice, "Love Me or Leave Me" with the rarely sung verse, is an incredible find. All the songs are remastered incredibly, and again, for the most part not on box sets! Get this CD for a Billie Lover, they will LOVE it. Even if they have lots, they probably don't have these, as after '42, the recording ban was on. So these are true gems, for a first CD, or a great one to a fan, this one is pure gold!

I have been in love with the sound of Billie HolidayÕs voice for decades, and own several now out-of-print collections of her work on vinyl. But I put off buying anything by her on CD, mainly because I wasnÕt sure where to begin. I knew I would be wasting my money on any one or two disk "best of" collection, because Holiday simply made many more brilliant recordings than you can squeeze into a couple of disks.

Then I discovered this series Ð nine volumes of songs she recorded between 1933 and 1942, from her first record, with Benny GoodmanÕs Orchestra, to the peak of her powers. Of course, nine CDs is a lot of music, and a lot of money Ð too much for a one-time purchase. So IÕm buying the whole series bit by bit over time. I started with this one, and having now bought four of the nine volumes, I still think this is one of the best, and a great place to begin exploring HolidayÕs work.

I donÕt think you can choose a "best" CD in the series, but this one is fabulous. Of its eighteen tracks, at least a dozen are classic, must-have performances. "Georgia On My Mind," "God Bless The Child," "Am I Blue?" "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" Ð these are some of the best recordings Billie Holiday made, some of the best performances any singer has ever given.

Of course, two of the worst songs she ever recorded are also on this disk. "Wherever You Are" is a piece of World War II patriotism better suited to Kate Smith than Billie Holiday. Historically interesting, but still a lousy song. And "Mandy Is Two" is so sappy and sweet it could give you diabetes. But with a singer of HolidayÕs caliber, even dreadful songs are interesting to listen to.

And the good ones (or even the mediocre ones Ð Billie Holiday could get more out of a so-so song that most singers could out of brilliant ones) are stunners. Someone once said that the worse Billie Holiday felt, the better she sang. ThereÕs a lot of truth in that, and this CD has several of her most beautiful heartbreakers. But I think sheÕs even better on songs where she seems to be singing two emotions at the same time, or at cross-purposes to the spirit of the lyrics. "Romance In The Dark," for example, is a cheerful little love song, but thereÕs a touch of sadness in BillieÕs voice that tells you she does not believe for an instant that the romance is going to last. On the other hand, she sings all the sadness in the old torch song "Am I Blue?Õ but like the best blues singers, sheÕs got anger and determination in her voice, too. She may be blue, but you hear her pulling herself out of it as she sings.

Every half-decent female singer who comes along gets compared to Billie Holiday, but few have sung with either the intensity or the emotional complexity she did. This album is a great sample of her artistry.

This CD no doubt has found its way to many homes because of the classic tracks "God Bless the Child", "I Cover the Waterfront", and "Solitude", the first time Billie waxes these, even before she recorded definitive versions for Decca. Yet I find her versions here more fresh and moving compared to her 1940's version. Her voice sounds fresh, still undeterred by her drug habit, which would unfortunately pick up in a few years. Throughout Billie's recording career, nowhere have I found her more soulful, moving, warm and soothing than the sides she waxes for this volume. Recording quality is beyond reproach, it is clear and full, just like Billie's voice. I wish her voice had kept these qualities of warmth and clarity for much longer before her drug habits kicked in. These are beautiful performances captured in a nostaglic time in American history (World War II). If it hasn't found its way yet to your CD player, it should. Be prepared that no real swingers are on this volume, most of the tracks are medium to slow tempo. Only track that gets the feet moving is "Let's Do It". Billie by this time had found the way to your ears was thru your heart. Listen to this CD on a rainy day in front of the fireplace or with a significant other on a romantic evening. It should put you in the mood for love.

Amongst the scores of Lady Day's discs, this is a sure bet. It features the same tracks as the Chronological Classics series of 1940-42, and is much easier to obtain and better value $$. The sound is quite excellent. Billie's voice is clear and relaxed, accompanied by small ensembles. The titles speak for themselves. Playing time is good. Can't go wrong with this disc.

These are some ofmy favorite songs! I remember having the Columbia reissue on record titled "God Bless The Child" when they started reissuing her work in the 1970's. "Love me or Leave me" "Jim" and "I cover The Waterfront" are songs only Billie can do justice to. These are recordings that were made right before the ban but more importantly John Hammond and Billie Holiday were in the middle of a big feud as he wanted her to add more blues to her repitore note: Bessies "Loveless love aka Careless Love" to which Billie felt was outdated (true) "God Bless The Child" is the orignal before the Decca era which everyone has heard at somebodys darn funeral or wake! The orginal is brisk, sincere and moving the way Lady's music is suppose to be.

This is a great album/CD and anyone that wants to hear what Billie sounded like when she was working at the"Band Box" Or "The Uptown House" would do well to get this album.

I would like to say that I have everyone of Billie`s cds that she recorded during this period of her life. Each time I went out to buyone, I had to get another, until I found myself just wanting to buy everything she recorded because I was never disappointedwith any of her work and she wasalways full of surprises. You never knew what to expect of her next. It`s hard for you to have afavorite when she gives her all toeach reording, however I do have a few favorites, but they almost equal the others.I never have to worry about whether I`m getting my money`s worth because I always feel that I`ve got it on the first song. No matter what song of hers I listened to, It always gives mea trill, and her music is very soothing and relaxing.It makes me feel as if I knew her personallyand considering the time period for some of he music, she sure sounds as though she`s right up to date. She is my favorite female vocalist and will never get tired of listening to her music. She is ruly the "essence of cool

In my book, and I am hardly alone on this, Billie Holiday is the torch singer's torch singer. Maybe it is the phrasing on her best songs. That well-placed hush. Maybe it is the unbreakable link between her voice when she is on a roll and the arrangements. Hell, maybe in the end it was the dope but, by Jesus, she could sing a modern ballad of love, lost or both like no other. And if it was the dope, let me say this- a `normal' nice singer could sing for a hundred years and never get it right, the way Billie could get it right when she was at her best. Dope or no dope. Was she always at her best? These recordings done between 1940 and 1942 show the highs. Billie had mastered her trade.

Many of the songs on the current compilation are technically sound, a few not, as is to be expected on such re-mastering. You will like Am I Blue and In My Solitude. Can anyone ever do a Cole Porter song better than Billie on Let's Do It. Or the phrasing of Johnny Mercer's Mandy and Me. Damn.

One last word- I have occasionally mentioned my love of Billie Holiday's music to younger acquaintances. Some of their responses reflecting, I think, the influence of the movie version of her life (Lady Sings the Blues with Diana Ross) or some unsympathetic black history 'up lift' type views on her life have written her off as an 'addled' doper. Here is my rejoinder- If when I am blue and need a pick me-up and put on a Billie platter (CD)and feel better then, my friends, I do not give a damn about the dope. Enough said.

This review is a collaborative writing project of a PHL/323 class at the University of Phoenix in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is based on our listening to track 17, "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie," on an ordinary laptop computer without special amplification, so what we heard was presumably quite similar to what listeners heard in the 1940s, when this recording was first released.

Holiday's version of this much-recorded song displays her vocal qualities to good effect. The song itself is notable primarily for its simplistic and repetitive lyrics. It does, however, seem to reflect Holiday's own love life, striking themes of betrayal and mistrust. Its message may thus mean more on her lips than on--say--John Denver's. As students in an ethics class, some of us feel that the song carries an important message: people--mostly men--often are not honest enough in relationships and thoughtlessly use the words "I Love You" simply in order to gain an advantage.

Musically, the instrumental interlude toward the end of the song may be preferable to the monologue that is sometimes encountered in popular recordings of this song.

I would like to say that I have everyone of Billie`s cds that she recorded during this period of her life. Each time I went out to buyone, I had to get another, until I found myself just wanting to buy everything she recorded because I was never disappointedwith any of her work and she wasalways full of surprises. You never knew what to expect of her next. It`s hard for you to have afavorite when she gives her all toeach reording, however I do have a few favorites, but they almost equal the others.I never have to worry about whether I`m getting my money`s worth because I always feel that I`ve got it on the first song. No matter what song of hers I listened to, It always gives mea trill, and her music is very soothing and relaxing.It makes me feel as if I knew her personallyand considering the time period for some of he music, she sure sounds as though she`s right up to date. She is my favorite female vocalist and will never get tired of listening to her music. She is ruly the "essence of cool