 Billie Holiday The final installment in Legacy's collection of Billie Holiday's early recordings contains so many classics it's hard not to weep for joy. "St. Louis Blues," "Let's Do It," "God Bless The Child," "Am I Blue?," "Solitude," "I Cover The Waterfront," "Love Me Or Leave Me," "Gloomy Sunday" … almost every track is a classic. The later versions recorded for Decca and Verve would be the huge hits, but her voice is so untainted on the Columbia recordings one can't help but be a little wispy. Few artists' recordings have such a timeless sound, a sound that remains a pleasure to listen to time and again, spin after spin. I say, stop reading all the tragedy pain into her vocalizing and just listen to her mastery. This is a performer whose technical gift was at the same time so limited and yet so enormous. Ella may have been the better instrument, but no one can match Billie's success at convincingly performing even the lightest pop song around. Furthermore, it is my contention that Billie could have kicked Ella's ass, a concept I am exploring in a new one-act play, Ella Vs. Billie: The Rumble In The Jungle. It is essentially a moment by moment reconstruction of the famous Ali-Foreman fight, except it's set in a nightclub and features Billie and Ella bruising each other up something awful. There is no dialogue, as such, and the last scene features Ella being disqualified for an illegal piledriver of Billie, who had turned around momentarily to shoot up. So far, people can't really tell whether it's supposed to be funny or serious, but it makes pretty much all of them uncomfortable. Um, back to the CD … fine singing, tasteful arrangements, and a misty-eyed sound make this one a keeper. Perfect for an early evening martini, a mixed dinner party, or Sunday morning sex before church.
Review by Brian Orzo |