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It is unimaginable to hold two hundred-plus Lady Day recordings in one's hand. Billie Holiday's recording career spanned (for the most part) three major labels—early recordings with Columbia, where her material was initially less enticing than her young, vibrant voice but changed as Holiday found herself and built a cadre of tremendous sidemen; a middle period with Decca, where the voice peaked, the songs improved, but the accompaniment was not always exemplary; and the finale on Verve, Holiday's most enduring and known work, but recordings where alcohol and age sometimes showed their impact. This is first stage Lady Day, and brilliant.
First there are early Columbia recordings with Holiday the featured singer on others' dates, starting with Benny Goodman and then Teddy Wilson, and then fronting her own orchestra, where the music could be stiffly syncopated, where the material was often tawdry or gimmicky—hearing her sing "Yankee Doodle" is clever but not endearing—but where her voice was at its strongest, and especially evocative of trumpets, or Armstrong's growled tonality; where her styling stretched notes across time, as on the beautiful reading of "Pennies From Heaven." And one can trace, easily, a more and more discerning song style, as Holiday laces her words with emotion, varies the shading given to her tone, and ever-more subtly paces herself, altering the time so that she is behind, but never out of synch with, the beat.
By 1937 the music has improved, in no small part because the sidemen became Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter and Holiday's most important accompanist, Lester Young, her foil, instigator, shadow and alter ego. Holiday's sophistication increases as her sidemen become more distinguished, raising the interesting (and unanswerable) question of the role of the horn players on her development. The songs also improve, with "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Mean To Me" entering her repertoire, although the throw-aways (such as "Me, Myself and I") abound. Her signature "God Bless The Child" was recorded, as were "Jim," "Am I Blue" (the last three syllables of which song have a purity of tone that can elicit awe and tears), "In My Solitude", and "Gloomy Sunday" (where Holiday masterfully modulates volume for added effect).
An added asset is the veritable veracity of labeling this collection "complete." Included are 77 alternate takes (including repeats of "Georgia On My Mind," "God Bless The Child" and "All of Me"), air checks, and V-disc recordings from 1944, the last including Holiday's take of "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me" with Art Tatum. The alternate takes hold a particular fascination, as Holiday gets to rework a tune several times and the listener further appreciates her artistry. Of historic note, if dubious sound and artistic quality, is "Saddest Tale," the 1935 appearance, from a brief film, of Lady Day with the Ellington Orchestra—a work that neither showcases her talents particularly nor captures the orchestra at a peak.
There is a telling omission. Unheard is "Strange Fruit," a work that proved too controversial for the major label to produce, so to that extent alone this collection is incomplete, and a reminder of a record label's cowardice. That flaw notwithstanding, the beautiful packaging, exemplary history and critical appreciation (writers include Gary Giddins and Michael Brooks), and the overwhelming force of Lady Day make this a tour-de-force.
— Jules Epstein, October 2001
Release Date: 2 October 2001
Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) (Columbia/Legacy)
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last update 3 October 2001