Search - Billie Holiday :: Lady Sings (Mini Lp Sleeve)

One of the Best Kept Secrets in Recorded Jazz

Birdman | Minnetonka, MN USA | 12/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you haven't purchased one of Proper Record Company's extraordinary jazz boxes, you don't know what you're missing; and this release, THE LADY SINGS, is the best of the bunch. For the past few years, Proper has researched and assembled the most critical recordings by leading jazz performers from the first half of the last century, and packaged them in four-disk sets with extensive booklets that actually have something new to say -- all for a super, super budget price. Their remastering is so skillful, recordings such as Billie Holiday's here --stand up to the best remastering efforts of Decca and Sony. The richness and value of this collection -- as with other Proper Boxes from the UK -- are simply extraordinary. From her affecting Brunswick recordings of the early 1950's with Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra to her sides with Decca, Commodore, Columbia and Vocalion, Holliday's accompanists read like a Who's Who of classic jazz. Lester Young. Ben Webster. Roy Eldridge. Kenny Clarke. Benny Goodman. Milt Hinton. And some of her most celebrated material is here. God Bless the Child. My Old Flame. Gimme a Pigfoot. Lover Man. As Time Goes By. I Hear Music. I Can't Get Started. Almost 100 songs, flawlessly restored and a far better value than expensive sets such as the new Sony compilation, Proper's BILLIE HOLIDAY: THE LADY SINGS is simply a pleasure. It's great music to listen to by a roaring fire. Wonderful to play after a long, hard day.
Good anytime you need a lift. Strongly recommended."

Better appreciated now than in her lifetime

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nobody sings the blues quite like Billie Holiday. This boxed set represents the best value for money, not only for the quantity of music and the extensive liner notes, but also for the sound quality and the fact that this contains music recorded for several different record labels (Brunswick, Vocalion, Commodore, Okeh, Columbia, Capitol, Decca) between 1935 and 1949. Billie continued to record great music in the fifties (for Verve, Clef and Norgran) but that music is not represented here.Billie had plenty of hits on the American pop charts between 1935 and 1938 (when she was with Teddy Wilson), after which she had just four more hits, none of them reaching the top ten. However, the passage of time has added substantially to her credibility as many blues, jazz and R+B singers cite Billie as one of their influences. Her first hit was What a little moonlight can do, a song I first came across via a Crystal Gayle cover. I didn't realize the song's origin at the time but I've heard several versions since. I love them all but Billie's is the definitive version.Billie's other classic hits included here are These foolish things, A fine romance, The way you look tonight, I can't give you anything but love, I've got my love to keep you warm, This year's kisses, Carelessly (her only number one hit), How could you, Moaning low. Mean to me, Easy living, Me myself and I, Sailboat in the moonlight, Nice work if you can get it, My man, You go to my head, I'm gonna lock my heart, Strange fruit, God bless the child and Trav'lin' light. Some big hits are omitted including Twenty-four hours a day, Who loves you and Pennies from heaven, but I'm not complaining. Some of the songs that Billie is best remembered for didn't chart at all.Although the hits became rare after 1938, this was not due to the quality of the music. Listen to Billie's versions of such classic standards as I gotta right to sing the blues, Night and day, Body and soul, Let's do it, All of me, Love me or leave me, It's a sin to tell a lie, As time goes by and You're my thrill (to name a few). And, of course, there's the classic That old devil called love, revived by Alison Moyet in the eighties, when it became a UK number two hit for Alison.If you only buy one collection of Billie's music, make it this one. You might begin by asking yourself if you really want five hours worth of Billie's music - but eventually, you are likely to ask yourself if it's enough."

Another Outstanding Product from the Proper Label

douglasnegley | 11/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great sound quality, packaging, liner notes and booklet. 4 discs, 99 songs, 21 bucks. Huh? What's the catch?



The best part is - there isn't any. Just another great product from the British label, Proper - which seems to appreciate great American music even more than Americans do.



Most, if not every, Holliday song on every label - Decca, Commodore, Columbia - released between 1935 to 1949. Now you've got the early to mid (and in many people's minds, the best) recording eras of Holliday covered.



It sure beats any other "best of" out there. Why save $6 to get one disc with 10 to 20 songs. (And unlike the Ken Burns collection, the songs on this box set sound great).



Buy it as an introduction to Lady Day. Keep it as a collector.



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