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Billie Holiday: Lady Sings The Blues

Original Release: 1956 Clef Records
Reissue: 2020 Vinyl Me, Please/Verve

Billie Holiday: Lady Sings The Blues

Billie Holiday was the quintessential female jazz vocalist of the 1950s. Lady Sings the Blues was Holiday's last release on the Clef Records label. Holiday was accompanied on the album by pianist Wynton Kelly and guitarist Kenny Burrell, two jazz legends in their own right. While many view the mid to late 50s as some of Holiday's most questionable work, Lady Sings the Blues was well regarded, and in some instances, viewed as her one of her best works.

Track List

1 Lady Sings the Blues
2 Trav'lin Light
3 Must Have That Man!
4 Some Other Spring
5 Strange Fruit
6 No Good Man
7 God Bless the Child
8 Good Morning Heartache
9 Love Me or Leave Me
10 Too Marvelous for Words
11 Willow Weep for Me
12 I Thought About You

Clef Records was known for its inconsistent recording quality. Lady Sings the Blues was not regarded as one of their best. That said, in 2020 Ryan K. Smith from Sterling Sound attempted to pull together as best he could a reissue of Lady Sings the Blues from analog masters for the vinyl record club Vinyl Me, Please. While this release is likely one of the better versions of this record, it is limited by its source and its manufacturing. Good overall sound, reasonably good definition, and, at times, fairly good vocal presentation. That's as good as it gets. The manufacturing is average at best, as the vinyl is very noisy and contains many pops and clicks. Some tracks are distorted, while others present well.

All-in-all, this record is a consideration at best and only if you gotta have this album. VMP tries to sell these releases using a ton of key words such as as "AAA lacquers cut from the original analog tapes", "180g Trav'lin Light Blue vinyl", and "plated at QRP". AAA, QRP, and Ryan K. Smith are three great selling points. That is if the actual vinyl pressing wasn't done by GZ Media. This album is a great example of what happens when one link in the chain is broken. It takes a village to make a great vinyl record! 💸

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 💵 Consider
💸 Pass

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