| Product Summary | | Label: Uni/grp | | UPC: 00011105060127 | | Release Date: 10/1/1991 | | Buy.com Sku: 60300956 | | Item#: M5PX42 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) ~ Billie Holiday |  | | 2. No More ~ Billie Holiday | | | 3. No More - (alternate take) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 4. That Ole Devil Called Love ~ Billie Holiday | | | 5. Don't Explain - (1st version) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 6. Big Stuff - (1st version) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 7. Don't Explain ~ Billie Holiday | | | 8. Big Stuff - (2nd version) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 9. You Better Go Now ~ Billie Holiday | | | 10. What Is This Thing Called Love ~ Billie Holiday | | | 11. Good Morning Heartache ~ Billie Holiday | | | 12. No Good Man - (previously unreleased, alternate take) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 13. No Good Man ~ Billie Holiday | | | 15. Big Stuff - (previously unreleased, alternate take) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 16. Big Stuff ~ Billie Holiday | | | 17. Baby, I Don't Cry Over You ~ Billie Holiday | | | 18. Baby, I Don't Cry Over You ~ Billie Holiday | | | 19. I'll Look Around - (previously unreleased, alternate take) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 20. I'll Look Around ~ Billie Holiday | | | 21. Blues Are Brewin', The ~ Billie Holiday | | | 22. Guilty - (previously unreleased, alternate take) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 23. Guilty - (previously unreleased, breakdown and chatter) ~ Billie Holiday | | | 24. Guilty ~ Billie Holiday | | | 25. Deep Song ~ Billie Holiday | | | 26. There Is No Greater Love ~ Billie Holiday | |
(P) 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
(C) 1991 GRP Records Inc.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Billy Holiday (vocals), Lester Young (tenor saxophone), Billy Butterfield, Buck Clayton (trumpets), Tiny Grimes (guitar), Bob Haggart, George Duvivier (bass), Sid Catlett, Kenny Clarke, Denzil Best, Shadow Wilson (drums). | | Includes a 40-page booklet containing rare photos, detailed track annotations and liner notes by Andy McKaie and Steven Lasker. | | Billie Holiday is heard at her absolute best on this attractive two-CD set. During her period on Decca, Lady Day was accompanied by strings (for the first time), large studio orchestras, and even background vocalists, so jazz solos from her sidemen are few. But her voice was at its strongest during the 1940s (even with her personal problems) and to hear all 50 of her Decca performances (including alternate takes and even some studio chatter) is a real joy. Among the high points of this essential set are her original versions of "Lover Man" (Holiday's biggest selling record), "Don't Explain," "Good Morning Heartache," "'Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do," "Now or Never," "Crazy He Calls Me," and remakes of "Them There Eyes" and "God Bless the Child." ~ Scott Yanow | | Billie Holiday is at the peak of her vocal powers on these sessions taken from 1944-1950. Though she had cut some historic, memorable tracks and toured nationally with the likes of Count Basie, Lester Young, Buck Clayton and Artie Shaw, her Decca crossover material gave her the pop backing she craved. According to "Toots" Camarata, the arranger and conductor on her first Decca date, when she walked in and saw the string ensemble she was so overwhelmed she turned right around and walked out. | | The delectations here are plenty and definitiveness abounds. "Don't Explain" is her own lyric written with Arthur Herzog Jr. with whom she also penned the indelible touchstone, "God Bless The Child." Louis Armstrong sneaks in the "F" word in a sexy duet, "My Sweet Hunk 'O Trash." The cool narrator on "Baby I Don't Cry Over You," "Now Or Never" and "Baby Get Lost" sounds street-wise, tough and self-reliant while the resigned submission of "My Man" and "No More" ring only too true to life. Throughout, Lady Day's matter of fact delivery is at once bracing and disarming. |
Producer: Milt Gabler |
Musical Guests | | Louis Armstrong |
| | Artist Overview | | The quintessential jazz singer, Billie Holiday seemed to stamp her heart onto everything she sang. With a thin, reedy voice and almost laconic style, she could give even a throwaway pop song a gut-wrenching twist. Her most memorable music is loaded with an intensity of emotion--both playfulness and despair--that few can match. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s, Lady Day was at her peak, recording numerous sessions with other jazz heavyweights such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, and many more. In the late '40s, however, Holiday's romantic and substance-related problems led to trouble with the law and declining health, both of which would continue until her death in 1959. Her personal misfortunes ensured she would make headlines in her day; her one-of-a-kind talent made her a legend for the ages. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works | | Adam Romeyn Nesbitt | | Armstrong, Louis | | Clooney, Rosemary | | Tribute to Billie Holidy (Here's to My Lady) ~ Clooney, Rosemary | | Clooney, Rosemary | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Four By Four ~ Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Fitzgerald, Ella | | Haag, Lola | | Hicks, John | | Mystery Lady: Songs Of Billie Holiday ~ James, Etta | | James, Etta | | Janet Planet | | Etta Jones Sings Lady Day ~ Jones, Etta | | Konitz, Lee | | Lynne, Gloria | | Mover, Bob | | Nesbitt, Romeyn Adams | | Original Soundtrack | | Original Soundtrack | | Original Soundtrack | | Parker, Charlie | | Planet, Janet | | Romeyn Adams Nesbitt Quintet | | Scott, Tony | | Scott, Tony (Jazz) | | Scott, Tony (Jazz) | | Simone, Nina | | Mastercuts Presents...Nina Simone - The Definitive ~ Simone, Nina | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Remixed & Reimagined [Digipak] ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Vaughan, Sarah | | Wilson, Teddy | | Wilson, Teddy |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 10/01/1991 | | Original Release Date : 1991 | | Catalog ID : 601 | | Label : GRP Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 2 | | Runtime : 150m : 40s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Mono | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00011105060127 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Q (7/92, p.107)
- 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a luxurious set, with much information, and several takes of some songs, as revealing in the case of an artist of her subtlety as with anybody in jazz..."Down Beat (2/92, p.32)
- 4 Stars - Very Good - "...her singing had gotten harsher, more time-ravaged, but hadn't lost its expressive grace...Sound is generally good..." New York Times (Publisher)
(12/15/91)
- "...a full-fledged star singer...the postwar recordings found Holiday reaching even deeper levels of emotions...the sound...is brighter..." |
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