This one is a must-have if you want to assemble a top-flight Billie Holiday collection. All the recordings were made between 1935-1942 when her perfect natural voice was still like a bell, and her musical instincts were in full bloom. Unlike her later recordings, there is no sign of the sad toll her lifestyle took on her voice. The best treat in this candy dish is hearing her sing with Count Basie on the piano, in THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME. The Sony remasterings are brilliant and even, and very far above the so-so quality of most Lady Day anthologies - don't pass this one up. A NOTE ABOUT THE ALBUM COVER ART - Take a look at the second version of the cover art with Holiday's portrait - this is the cover of the CD we picked up.

Along with 'Lady in Autumn' this is probably the best compilation of Billie Holiday's work. Superbly remastered, it is arguably the finest representation of jazz singing in this period EXCEPT for Lady's other recordings during this time. The reason for this is not only Billie Holiday's extraordinary sound (which defined jazz singing with each note), but the quality of the musicians who accompanied her. Many of these sessions were led by Teddy Wilson (the leader with whom she is most closely associated during this period), who led on nearly half of the selections on this CD, and features legends like Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Buck Clayton.

The songs are of a higher quality than many of the pieces Holiday was given to record during her earliest recording years (probably due to the strength of her fame by the mid-1930s), and her renditions of 'All of Me', 'You Go to My Head', 'The Very Thought of You', and 'The Way You Look Tonight', are comparable with any versions of these standards. (It should be noted that Holiday's gift was so unique that she didn't have to 'learn' her craft: her earliest recordings are classics (a distinction even the great Ella Fitzgerald doesn't enjoy, as Ella's best recordings didn't begin until the 1950s)).

These performances represent Holiday's voice in its physical prime, and her sound is so profound that even the exceptional soloists and session musicians cannot upstage her, though she really gets a run for her money on 'The Way You Look Tonight'. My personal favorite on this CD, it features marvelous reed solos (especially trumpet and the opening clarinet solo) and an impeccable rhythm session with Milt Hinton on bass, Gene Krupa on drums, and Teddy Wilson on piano. Indeed, it is worth purchasing the CD just to hear Holiday's fellow musicians!

This CD belongs in any credible jazz collection, and is a wonderful entry for anyone wanting exposure to the best music of this period.

Anybody who loves jazz and the blues cannot be without this Billie Holiday CD. I love it. I can listen to it all day. It's a pleasure to hear great jazz and such an incredible voice.

This cd was the first Billie Holiday I ever purchased. WOW! She is the greatest, bar none! EVERY serious lover of music needs this work to add to their collection. I had no idea how special she was and how timeless her work. I am a fan for life.

There are so many fabulous reviews for this CD and I have to agree with them. I've been a Billie Holiday fan for years and own many discs of her music, but I find myself reaching for this one a lot. It's a great collection of songs and her voice is so sweet and true here. She's in top form and the arrangements on the songs are all excellent. Whoever put this CD together knew what they were doing. This is definitely Billie during the earlier part of her career and there's a real lightness to this music. (Her later music is great too, but very different.) Most of the songs on this CD are classics and even if you're unfamiliar with her, you'll probably still recognize many of them. There is some crackling background noise on some of the songs, since they were recorded back in the late thirties/early forties, though it's not that bad and most of the time you barely notice it. Some of the stand outs are "You Go To My Head", "The Very Thought of You", "Let's Do It", "The Way You Look Tonight", just to name a few. I think this would be a great introductory CD for someone who is curious about her and would like to hear some of her music.