Tony Holiday

Billie Holiday - The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve 1945-1959 (1992) {10CD Set Verve–PolyGram 517 658-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.63 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.66 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 288 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1945-59, 1992 Verve / PolyGram | 517 658-2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Swing / Classic Female Blues / Traditional Pop

This is a rather incredible collection: ten CDs enclosed in a tight black box that includes every one of the recordings Verve owns of Billie Holiday, not only the many studio recordings of 1952-57 (which feature Lady Day joined by such jazz all-stars as trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry "Sweets" Edison, altoist Benny Carter, and the tenors of Flip Phillips, Paul Quinichette and Ben Webster). Also included are prime performances at Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in 1945-1947, an enjoyable European gig from 1954, her "comeback" Carnegie Hall concert of 1956, Holiday's rather sad final studio album from 1959, and even lengthy tapes from two informal rehearsals. It's a perfect purchase for the true Billie Holiday fanatic.

The voice of Spandau Ballet’s first solo holiday offering! As front man for Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley led the acclaimed band through the 1980s with 15 Top 10 singles (including the #1 smash “True.”) The band took a 20 year hiatus before reforming in 2009, again hitting the U.K. Top 10 with their reunion album, Once More. Following an acclaimed documentary (directed by Julien Temple) and a successful tour, Hadley stepped out with The Christmas Album, his first holiday offering, showing the same adventurous spirit, while doing what he does best—making every song his own. Including standards like “White Christmas,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” The Christmas Album moves effortlessly into the ’50s with Chuck Berry’s “Run Run Rudolph,” the ’70s with “I Believe In Father Christmas” (Greg Lake of Emerson Lake & Palmer), The Pogues’ “Fairytale Of New York” from the ’80s, and into the current century with Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” as well as originals.

This collection features a sampling of four Tony Bennett Christmas albums – Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, Our Favorite Things, Christmas with Tony Bennett, and A Swingin’ Christmas – released between 1968 and 2008. Highlights include such traditional holiday standards as "Silver Bells," "Silent Night," and "Winter Wonderland," plus “Christmas in Herald Square” taken from the album The Playground. This is a nice addition to any Christmas collection.

Tony Bennett's career has enjoyed three distinct phases, each of them very successful. In the early '50s, he scored a series of major hits that made him one of the most popular recording artists of the time. In the early '60s, he mounted a comeback as more of an adult-album seller. And from the mid-'80s on, he achieved renewed popularity with generations of listeners who hadn't been born when he first appeared. This, however, defines Bennett more in terms of marketing than music.

2009 six CD holiday release that contains some of the most memorable and recognizable Christmas music ever released! Features 84 tracks including cuts from Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Andy Wiliams, Harry Belafonte, Boney M, Celine Dion, Chris Botti, Hall & Oates, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Burl Ives, John Denver, Ray Conniff, Britney Spears, Avil Lavigne, Etta James, Jim Brickman, Kenny G, Gene Autrey, Jim Reeves and manyothers. Sony/BMG.