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All I miss is the energy on the live recordings.The studio classics are a little lame.
Her feelings and emotion flow through every lyric and have influenced countless musicians the world around. Overall, this compilation is beautiful and moving, a timeless piece to add to your album collection. I was first mesmerized by Lady Day's voice and style when I heard "The Very Thought of You" in a movie, and have been under her spell ever since. You can read the reflections by those artists who were most moved and inspired by her by checking out the jewel case insert.
Columbia's remastering of these Billie Holiday recording is a case in point. Simply put, these remastered versions sound awful.
Because if you want to hear the genius of these Billie Holiday recordings, you'll have to dig up the The Quintessential Billie Holiday series from '89 which is pristine, gorgeous, and mostly out of print now. It's amazing that such bad remastering work could come from Columbia (and on these legendary recordings, no less).
There's a constant, loud hissing in the background of every track that should NOT be there. It's a real shame.
Just because a recording is remastered, that doesn't mean it's been remastered well. If you listen to Columbia's Quintessential Billie Holiday series that came out in 1989, you'll notice that those albums (with the same recordings that are on this CD) had infinitely better sound.
I'm surprised that none of the reviewers on this site seem to have noticed the shoddy sound quality on these remasters, but if you compare these recordings to the originals, the difference is glaringly obvious.
One of her best is the Billie Holiday-Lester Young CD " a musical romance" Sound not good. This is not a good demonstration of Billie Holliday. First, too many songs squeezed into each side. For me, it was a waste of money.
A good purchase if you do not want to buy the box set. Excellent CD. Has the essentials.
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