Billie Holiday: Lady in Satin 1958 (4 Previously Unreleased Bonus Track 1997) CD-New $29.99

$29.99

2 in stock

Categories: , ,

Description

Billie Holiday – Lady in Satin 1958

By 1958, due to years of alcohol and drug abuse, Billie Holiday’s voice had turned from something idiosyncratic and charming to something sinister and evil. In a way, her hardened voice has become more sensuous.

This was her penultimate album, recorded when her body was telling her enough was enough. During the sessions with arranger Ray Ellis she was drinking vodka neat, as if it were tap water. Yet, for all her ravaged voice (the sweetness had long gone), she was still an incredible singer. The feeling and tension she manages to put into almost every track set this album as one of her finest achievements. “You’ve Changed” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well” are high art performances from the singer who saw life from the bottom upwards. The CD reissue masterminded by Phil Schaap is absolutely indispensable. [Some reissues add two alternate takes of “I’m a Fool to Want You,” part of which were used for the original released rendition, plus the stereo version of “The End of a Love Affair” (only previously released in mono) and examples of Lady Day rehearsing the latter song, including a long unaccompanied stretch.]

On Lady in Satin, Holiday performs over the lushest arrangements of her entire career. In fact, it’s a very uncharacteristic move. She was one of the rare vocalists of the era to truly emphasize the “jazz” in vocal jazz. Here, the 40-piece orchestra is delicate and graceful, not unlike Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours. Overall, Lady in Satin has a very surreal quality, especially when the high-pitched choir drifts eerily from the background.

As mentioned, the LP most comparable to Lady in Satin is In the Wee Small Hours. They even share three standards: “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” “Glad to Be Unhappy” and “I’ll Be Around.” Although In the Wee Small Hours is the better album, Billie Holiday seems more naturally inclined to handle the material. Sinatra’s voice is warm and pure, whereas Holiday’s is tormented. She’s better suited for these types of songs.

Sinatra would follow-up In the Wee Small Hours with the happy-go-lucky masterpiece, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers; one year after Lady in Satin, Holiday would be dead.

Track Listing

1
I’m a Fool to Want You
Billie Holiday03:24S
2
For Heaven’s Sake
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:26
3
You Don’t Know What Love Is
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:48
4
I Get Along Without You Very Well
Billie Holiday02:59S
5
For All We Know
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra02:53
6
Violets for Your Furs
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:24
7
You’ve Changed
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:17
8
It’s Easy to Remember
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra04:01
9
But Beautiful
Billie Holiday04:29S
10
Glad to Be Unhappy
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra04:07
11
I’ll Be Around
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:23
12
The End of a Love Affair
Billie Holiday04:46S
13
I’m a Fool to Want You [Take 3 Alternate]
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:24
14
I’m a Fool to Want You [Take 2 Alternate]
Billie Holiday feat: Ray Ellis & His Orchestra03:23
15
The End of a Love Affair [The Audio Story]
Billie Holiday09:49
16
The End of a Love Affair [Stereo Version]
Billie Holiday04:46
17
Pause Track
Billie Holiday00:06

Composers: Frank Sinatra, Elise Bretton, Gene DePaul, Hoagy Carmichael, John Frederick Coots, Bill Carey, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Johnny Burke, Alec Wilder, Edward Redding

 

Video: I’m a Fool to Want You 1958

 

 

Additional information

Weight 5 oz
Dimensions 7 × 7 × 6 in
Condition

Format