CD-Charts Position 51
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16 Most Requested Songs

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

Release Date January 17, 2005
Sixteen (16) Most Requested Songs is a Billie Holiday sampler CD that allows newcomers and casual fans to hear some of Billie's great recordings and then decide for themselves if they want to delve further and buy more CDs by this immortal artist. The sound quality is excellent; and the artwork is very nicely done.

The CD starts with Billie singing "Miss Brown To You." This number features Billie at her best in the 1930s. Billie sings very well and she never misses a note! Billie's excellent diction and timing enhance her performance; you will know you are truly listening to a master when this CD starts! "If You Were Mine" features a magnificent piano arrangement; "If You Were Mine" is another great highlight of this album.
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CD-Charts Position 52
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Songs We Taught Your Mother

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

Release Date April 14, 1992
I just received this CD, popped it in my car's CD player and, instantly, a smile came to my face with the first vocalized note. The sound is excellent, The back up musicians deep and superb, the voices clear and the mix excellent for hearing every word. I will play this CD to death.

CD-Charts Position 53
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Glamoured

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Cassandra Wilson

Release Date October 07, 2003
Applies her now distinctive fusion-Delta steel, jazz, deep funkiness, and the voice-to a wide range of songs, making them all her own. Many reveal the originals only with close attention. Most coherent collection of her settings that I can recall-all as quiet but insistent and vital as the sound of your blood passing in your veins. The jazz-funk-country blues captures the calm of night in a swamp, but also the vague foreboding of a primordial presence there. Lyrics of tr 1 by Sting capture the mood of the cd as a whole: "Like rain from the stars, how fragile we are." That said, I repeatedly hear her voice as another instrument in the mix before I hear any words. [53:29]

CD-Charts Position 54
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Songs for Distingué Lovers

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

Release Date October 28, 1997
Through the years, I have read critics write about Billie losing her voice
as she got older - UTTER NONSENSE! Not on this recording. If anything, she gained feeling and emotional content due to living life.

You would be hard pressed to put together a better group of sympathetic musicians from this period to back her, and to play such GORGEOUS solos.
BEN WEBSTER, HARRY EDISON, BARNEY KESSEL, JIMMY ROWLES, RED MITCHELL, ALVIN STOLLER - Wow! These gentlemen were (are) a singers' dream to record with. Sinatra should have hired similar personnel when he formed REPRISE, but this is getting off track here.

Like K.O.B.(for instrumental jazz), THIS RECORDING belongs near the top
of anyone's Vocal collection.

CD-Charts Position 55
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The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes

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

Release Date December 13, 2005
This review is not about the packaging (besides, it's not the worst even though whoever decided to glue the acordion like disc holder to the metal box wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and whoever designed the art work wasn't the brightest bulb in the lamp).

This is strictly on the music alone. If this was on the Verve & Cleff material only, this would be getting a 5 star rating. On the first 5 discs, she hadn't totally messed up her vocal chords on cigarettes and heroin yet. Unfortunately, Verve (originally owned by Polygram, now owned by UMG) also owned MGM, and to live up to the complete angle, they had to release the MGM (Ray Ellis conducted / arranged / produced) album simply titled Billie Holiday. This section got worst for 2 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 56
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Lady Sings the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date March 25, 2003
Lady Sings The Blues is a marvelous two CD set that has so much to offer! This really gives people a large amount of timeless ballads from some of the best divas of the entire twentieth century. The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is very thoughtful.

Sarah Vaughan kicks off the set with her wonderful interpretation of "Key Largo." Sarah sounds just lovely and her ability to play with tempo changes impresses me greatly. The musical arrangement is rather jazzy as well. There's also "Embraceable You" sung by Dianne Reeves; Dianne sings this with all her heart and soul. The tempo is slowed down somewhat from the tempo I'm used to but this ballad as sung here by Dianne Reeves still holds its own very well. Della Reese also sounds great on ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 57
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The Ultimate Collection

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

Release Date April 05, 2005
This is a lovely collection of Ms. Holiday's finest. My dad wanted a copy of the 20th Century Masters Collection I have of hers and since Christmas was coming up, I decided to buy him his own copy of the disc rather than just burning him a copy. I came to [...] and looked for that disc, but saw a ad for this one - this not only had all of the songs on the other album, but a whole other CD worth, too! Plus, it has a great DVD full of concert clips and interviews. My dad was stoked when he got his present and has been listening to it nonstop for a few days now :)

CD-Charts Position 58
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Mrs. Swing

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

Release Date May 05, 2003
Mildred Bailey sang beautifully--and when they say her voice was as clear as a bell, they mean it! This terrific four CD set gives us many tracks from the years when Mildred was truly a star.

The first of the four CDs is entitled Squeeze Me. "Heat Wave" features Mildred's vocals squarely in the spotlight; there's some surface noise but she sings this so well you can forgive it. After a musical intro Mildred comes in--and man, how this number takes flight! I love the jazzy arrangement, too. Mildred's excellent diction bolsters her performance even further. In addition, "I'd Love To Take Orders From You" is a peppy little jazzy tune that features Mildred singing about the type of romance she wants with her man. Mildred sings this campy number without ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 59
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These Foolish Things : The Classic Balladry Of Etta James

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date March 14, 1995
This gritty soul-filled woman can move me like no other R&B singer. Her version of the classic These Foolish Things scales the octaves like 'a fairground's painted swings/these foolish things/remind me of you'. A mix of Holiday and Fitzgerald, Etta takes us with her as she loses herself in the music. When she wails I just want to do the same. And that's her magic, she knows, God how she knows, how a woman feels. A great cd a great singer.

CD-Charts Position 60
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The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 (1924-1925)

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Bessie Smith

Release Date October 24, 2006
The whole Complete Recording series (Vol. 1 - 5) is a must get for any old-time jazz/blues collector, afficionado, lover. I knew I always liked Bessie, but in reality I'd only heard a few numbers that were often played (St. Louis Blues). Upon hearing her other stuff, she has become one of my all-time favorite musicians ever.
These sets come with booklets that put perspect on each track. Be aware that the booklets overlap with the same info from one vol to another at the beginning of each one. But each one does offer new/different info towards the end.