Lena's Holiday (1991)

This volume of the Classics Chronological series places Billie Holiday's music in historical context to an unusual degree, as her recordings for the Columbia and Commodore labels have until now been reissued separately because of copyright and catalog ownership. The songs parceled together here were recorded at a crossroads in Holiday's career. The setting for the first - in what would constitute great changes in her life and music - was Barney Josephson's Café Society Downtown. Located at 2 Sheridan Square, this was Manhattan's first fully integrated nightclub. Its clientele included a number of politically progressive intellectuals and social activists. When she first appeared at the club on December 30, 1938, Billie Holiday was known as a spunky vocalist who presented lively renditions of pop and jazz standards in what was considered an unusual yet accessible style…

Featuring recordings from February 1955 and released in 1958, Stay with Me is a late entry in Billie Holiday's career. She was fading, but hadn't lost the dramatic quality in her delivery, nor her ability to project and tell a shattering story. She's backed by trumpeter Charlie Shavers, pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Shaughnessy.

John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Billie Holiday, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Leadbelly and others.

"Monster Mash" is one of the all-time great holiday songs, resurfacing (and sometimes charting) every Halloween without fail. The Original Monster Mash is the accompanying Top 20 album from 1962, on which Pickett leads off with his big hit before plying his Boris Karloff shtick for another 15 songs. Pickett's other Top 100 monster hit, the Christmas novelty "Monsters' Holiday," is here as well, along with dated jokes about Fabian ("Rabian - The Fiendage Idol") and then-current dance crazes ("Transylvania Twist," "Skully Gully"). "Let's Fly Away" is a brief Stan Freberg send-up that replaces "John and Marsha" with Dracula and Vampira. The Crypt-Kickers were an all-star band that counted Leon Russell, producer Gary Paxton, and other famous folks among its members, and the album remains a fine Halloween party platter year and years later. Unfortunately, the album was remixed for CD release in 1991, and the vocals are obscured in the mix so that the generic rock backing often prevails over the "spooky" dialogue and singing, which defeats the point for a novelty effort such as this.

Nowadays, the majority of those with two ears and a heart recognise her magnitude, whatever their usual musical preferences may be. This unanimity undoubtedly stems from the fact that Billie's voice reaches our greatest depths. Nobody has been troubled by her range, or by limited technical means the singer was offered, although she never needed anything other than her voice to shake the entire planet. Perhaps because Billie sang simply of love and love's desillusions, and the listeners are moved even without particularly grasping the textes. However, what we may hear is the result of a double paradow: vocal mastery, the placing of each syllabe, the perfect expression of each word confirms a tremendous virtuosity, the fruit of long experience; the emphasis put on the songs' lyrics, not often despairing all considered, come more from the despair of the interpreter than their actual contents…

Billie Holiday is heard at her absolute best on this attractive two-CD set. During her period on Decca, Lady Day was accompanied by strings (for the first time), large studio orchestras, and even background vocalists, so jazz solos from her sidemen are few. But her voice was at its strongest during the 1940s (even with her personal problems) and to hear all 50 of her Decca performances (including alternate takes and even some studio chatter) is a real joy. Among the high points of this essential set are her original versions of "Lover Man" (Holiday's biggest selling record), "Don't Explain," "Good Morning Heartache," "'Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do," "Now or Never," "Crazy He Calls Me," and remakes of "Them There Eyes" and "God Bless the Child."

While this Classics disc of Billie Holiday's 1937-1939 sides beats out Columbia's Quintessential titles for sound quality, it does pale a bit as far as top-notch material goes. That said, the 24 tracks here still boast fine performances, like "Trav'lin' All Alone," "You Go to My Head," and "I Can't Get Started." And the likes of Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Buck Clayton, and Dicky Wells provide stellar backing. So, with the knowledge that this is part of a chronological run through Holiday's catalog - bad songs and all - one can still enjoy the disc with its more than merely adequate store of memorable cuts.