Billie Holiday ' "Music For Torching With Billie Holiday" Vinyl Mono LP

Billie Holiday – Music For Torching With Billie Holiday

Vinyl LP, Album, Mono, Reissue

Verve Records

A smallish jazz band behind Billie Holiday, and she shines as much as anyone can with the 3 AM feeling. I'm also impressed with this album because one of its recording dates was August 25, 1955, when I turned the magical age of 1. The other thing that impressed me was when I bought this used album and I put it on my turntable, it died. It died without warning or fuss. I figure this album killed my turntable. Nevertheless it a turntable was going to die from a record, this is a good one to die with.

Compared to Lady In Satin this is a very intimate album. I think there's more heart here as well. You can tell that musicians really liked playing with her. I think of her voice as another instrument in the band. This is very much an essential album by her, now if only my turntable can survive her charms. 

Billie Holiday - "Lady In Satin"

Billie Holiday – Lady In Satin

CD Album, Reissue, Remastered, Europe

Columbia

Even though the orchestration is a tad syrupy, the “Billie Holiday” affect on one's ears, heart and mind is extremely wonderful. The songs are faultless as well, as it is very much schooled in the Great American Songbook. But again the arrangements of the big and full orchestra gets in the way of the material, and some say Holiday's voice by then, was kind of shot, I find it soulful and beautiful. In fact in this mixture of slickness, Holiday's brings an emotion to the landscape that's not in the arrangements.