CD-Charts Position 151
Average Rating:

The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.7: 1938-1939

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date July 01, 1991
I would not say this particular set is very memorable only because the song selection is not the strongest. Yet 3 classics emerged from these recording sessions that became part of the Holiday canon: "More Than You Know" "Some Other Spring" and "Dream of Life". The last one written by none other than a teenaged Carmen McRae who worshipped Holiday's artistry. The rest of the songs are almost forgettable that Billie somehow manages to save with her exquisite phrasing and musicianship. Compared to the earlier swinging sides, the pace here is strangely slower and more melancholic. Billie does her best to save the drecky material and mostly succeeds. The sound quality is noticeably clearer compared to the earlier ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 152
Average Rating:

Black-Eyed Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Esther Phillips

Release Date December 06, 2005
Little Esther,this is the one to hole up with when life has done you wrong,the boss is a beast, the man bought golf clubs with the money put away for serious stuff,the mother-in-law made a crack about any skill I have,total funkdom. Sometimes I have to listen twice for the recovery from self-pity but it always works and I return sassy,a touch crusty and ready to take it all on again.Good Stuff.

CD-Charts Position 153
Average Rating:

Live From Chicago : An Audience With The Queen

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Koko Taylor

Release Date October 25, 1990
I'd have liked this live album to be louder and rowdier, but there is plenty of great music here nonetheless, and a lot to be said for the lean, mean sound.
Koko Taylor is backed by a solid combo which would have been even better if it had included a pianist and perhaps a harmonica player, but guitarists Michael Robinson and Eddie King are terrific, and Taylor herself just can't be beat.

Opening with a really good "Let The Good Times Roll" and winding down with the obligatory "Wang Dang Doodle", "Live From Chicago" also includes a couple of lesser-known songs, like the slow burner "The Devil's Gonna Have A Field Day", and the wonderful "Going Back To Iuka", an irresistable mid-tempo blue shuffle with a thundering syncopated drum ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 154
Average Rating:

The Legendary Alberta Hunter: '34 London Sessions

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Alberta Hunter

Release Date September 08, 1989
Alberta Hunter went to London to be in shows, and adapted very well to the sophistocated cabaret style. She sounds sophistocated and CLASSY ON THSI EXELLENT CD. VERY LITTLE JAZZ CONTENT IS HERE, HOWEVER JACK JACKSON'S OFTEN PEPPY BRITISH SOCIETYY DANCE BAND IS EXELLENT IN TEH RAY NOBLE, LEW STONE STYLE.

CD-Charts Position 155
Average Rating:

Shave 'Em Dry: The Best of Lucille Bogan

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Lucille Bogan

Release Date May 04, 2004
Ever since I heard a scratchy, tinny "pirate" edition of Lucille Bogan's legendary "Shave 'em Dry" I knew I had to get a digitally remastered version. This is not smut for smut's sake, but the sincerely expressed
celebration of sexuality. This is what elevates Lucille Bogan's spice above the smirking raunch of "dirty records". Her delivery is not only eloquently musical, but exuberantly refreshing. A few of the songs were completely new to me, which was a pleasant surprise. In my opinion she ranks right up there with Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, et. al. Bogan doesn't try to titillate her audience with "dirty verses". She celebrates lust as she knew it with all its rough edges including prostitution, lesbianism, and men that coulnd't satisfy. Highly ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 156
Average Rating:

Lady Day - The Many Faces of Billie Holiday

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
starring: Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae

Release Date November 28, 2000
This is the first music of Billie Holiday's that I have ever bought. It was beautiful, and I will treasure this CD always. She is such a singer that pulls at your heartstrings as you listen.

CD-Charts Position 157
Average Rating:

Music for Torching: The Billie Holiday Story, Vol. 5

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date May 23, 1995
Billie Holiday is here joined by small Jazz combos for some of the best vocal performaces of her later years. Her vocals are warm, rich and full of nuances. Her interpretive powers are still very strong and these standards are all given the unmistakable Holiday stamp. I love the way Billie sings around the beat like an instrumentalist would when taking a solo. This set is as good as anything you will hear from Billie Holiday's later years, and I can highly recommend it.

CD-Charts Position 158
Average Rating:

Lady Sings the Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, Vol.4

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date March 21, 1995
I recently acquired this album and though it has the basic Billie repertoire I am really impressed by the arrangements and the new life Bilie is bringing to her old classics. Billie has come full circle in this album accompanied by great muscians -- it had me mesmerized. Billies' singing has lifted up my spirits and I don't like to critic and hope this review will make the future buyer of this album experience what I experienced. The trumpet and the piano and the sax and Billie is the best.

CD-Charts Position 159
Average Rating:

Volume 2: Band Vocalist

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Mildred Bailey

Release Date June 21, 1995
I recently acquired this album and though it has the basic Billie repertoire I am really impressed by the arrangements and the new life Bilie is bringing to her old classics. Billie has come full circle in this album accompanied by great muscians -- it had me mesmerized. Billies' singing has lifted up my spirits and I don't like to critic and hope this review will make the future buyer of this album experience what I experienced. The trumpet and the piano and the sax and Billie is the best.

CD-Charts Position 160
Average Rating:

Lady Day Sings The Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
starring: Billie Holiday

Release Date May 10, 2005
First off, this is NOT the DVD of the Diana Ross movie "Lady Sings The Blues". It's a compilation of rare performance footage by the amazingly gifted jazz legend Billie Holiday herself. There are rare clips from various (unidentified) TV appearances, plus clips from the few films she appeared in. That's the good news. The bad news is that this DVD is absolutely the WORST quality DVD I've ever seen. We're talking really, really poor footage, worse than a bootleg. I own third or fourth generation VHS tapes that look better than this. I'm not sure what the people who created this mess had in mind, but a good-looking picture is obviously at the bottom of their list! Here's Billie singing in a film short very early in her career, with videotape "tracking" all through ... Read More: