BILLIE HOLIDAY
The Best Of Billie Holiday - The Millennium Collection (Hip-O/Verve)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Some of the releases in the Universal Millennium Collection series suffer from limitations of access to a breadth of material from the featured artists, but on this one Hip-O and Verve have teamed up to assemble cuts from five different labels across a 17 year time span to put together a set that deserves a "best of" tag as much as any collection of 12 Billie Holiday tracks could. From straight jazz to lush pop to gritty blues, this is a multidimensional showcase for one of the most exceptional vocalists in jazz history. If you're a serious Billie Holiday fan, you probably own all of these, but they're handy to have in one place and if you're a more casual admirer who doesn't have them all, there's no excuse anymore.

Track List:

Strange Fruit * Fine And Mellow * Lover Man * Don't Explain * Good Morning Heartache * T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do * My Man * I Loves You Porgy * Lady Sings The Blues * I've Got My Man To Keep Me Warm * I Cover The Waterfront * God Bless The Child

© 2002 - Shaun Dale