Man, there's so much that's absolutely great about Billie Holiday, I'd
almost tell you to get it all! Actually, truth be told, her Decca years
were not very memorable and featured her singing over some completely out of
place orchestral scores.
In terms of her best stuff I'd agree with Robert and say that "Lady In
Satin" is an absolute must-have. This record was released just over a year
before she died, when life had completely ravaged her in every conceivable
way. Drugs, prison, poverty, no work, terribly absusive relationships and
rape had all taken a toll on her life, and you can very clearly hear the
anguish of having lived through all of that in her voice. Basically, she's
dead in every way except physically at this point, and it's painfully
obvious on "Lady In Satin"This record is, by far, the saddest record I've
ever heard and still causes me to shed a tear after having listened to it
several hundred times. Believe me, the part about bringing me to tears is
no exaggeration; just listen to the record and you'll know exactly what I'm
referring to. You basically have to be an emotional cripple not to be moved
by the intense amount of pain expressed in every note that she sings. As
far as I'm concerned, it's the best vocal jazz/blues album ever made and
among my top three albums of all time.
I'd agree with Carly about suggesting the 10 cd boxset of her complete
catalog with Verve, but I figure that's probably more for those who've had
the chance to hear her stuff and have come to the conclusion that they gotta
have it all (me, for example). However, a Billie Holiday must-have from her
Verve catalog would be "Lady Sings The Blues". This was her most popular
album, containing her most popular songs, "Strange Fruit", "God Bless The
Child", and the title track. Once again, this is an intensely
autobiographical record which clearly expresses her bitterness over the shit
that she'd experienced in her life. For example, the song "Strange Fruit"
was written about her having witnessed a lynching, the swinging corpse being
the "Strange Fruit" she was referring to. It's all detailed in her
autobiography with the same title as the album, and the best music biography
I've read along with Miles' book.
There's also another record, released on Blue Note, called "Billie's
Blues" which was recorded live during her only European tour and is as
gripping as anything she had put out by that time. What's so amazing about
this record is to hear her sing about love and happiness with an incredibly
sad and melancholic tone. "Billie's Blues" wasn't a very popular record (if
that matters), but the stark contrast between the subject matter of the
songs that she's singing and the diametrically opposed manner in which they
were interpreted makes this one a must have as well.
Finally, if you wanna hear her singing happy songs in an infectious,
happy tone, I'd follow Robert's cue and point people towards her earliest
recordings with Columbia records. My personal favorite is "The
Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 1. This period sees her full of
exuberance and energy and singing with great spirit and happiness.
Basically, if you listen to "Quintessential Vol. 1" and "Lady In Satin" back
to back, you won't believe that it's the same person singing. The voices
may be similar, but the emotional state in which they are song could not be
more different.
In any case, I love all of Billie Holiday's stuff and would not hesitate
to recommend the vast majority of it, but if I'd necessarily have to choose
just a few records, I'd choose "Lady In Satin", "Lady Sings The Blues",
"Quintessential Volume 1", and "Billie's Blues", in that order.
Stimp
P.S.- For those of you who've been watching the "Jazz" documentary on PBS
and have read Billie Holiday's autobiography or any other book on her,
you'll have noticed that alot of the stuff that they said about her early
life, how she got her start, and how she got her stage name, was inaccurate.
I was very surprised.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rene Wirtz" <rwirtz@xs4all.nl>
To: <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2001 4:10 PM
Subject: Billie Holiday
> Hi listees,
>
> What, in your opinion, is considered to be the best album Billie Holiday
recorded?
> Any info is welcome.
>
> c h e e r s,
>
> . : r e n e w i r t z
>
>
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