Lady In Satin
Billie Holiday
1958
Album Summary
Lady in Satin is an album by the jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in mono and CS 8048 in stereo. It is the penultimate album completed by the singer and last released in her lifetime (her final album, Last Recording, being recorded in March 1959 and released just after her death). The original album was produced by Irving Townsend and engineered by Fred Plaut.
WikipediaMaybe it's the liberal Jewish media. Or the patriarchy. Hell, it could be the lizard people. But, this just isn't my jam. Every song sounds the same to me and it all reminds of Disney princess movies. Or that scene in Clueless when he asks Cher if she likes Billie Holiday, and she says, "I love him". I feel like uncultured swine.
I always see Billie Holiday on people's lists as one of the best singers of all time but I don't hear it (obviously only based on this album) she sounds nice enough but the songs are boring and not her own.
A l'ouverture du générateur aujourd'hui, mes yeux defilèrent horizontalement sur le nom de l'artiste: Billie Holliday. Un album de country donc, ça faisait quelque temps que nous n'en avions pas eu. Seulement, a l'ecoute, ce fut une catastrophe. Au dela de l'aspect visuel completement absent, les chapeaux de paille ayant été remplacés par des robes élégantes. Ensuite, aucune référence au Texas natal, mais plutot a des amants passés, on est bien loins des standards ayant forgé ce style musical legendaire. Par politesse je ne ferai même pas allusion à la nasalité misérable proposée par Billie. A vite oublier.
Pour comprendre cet album, il est nécessaire d'avoir quelques éléments de contexte. Bien que le film Star Wars : Un Nouvel Espoir ne sortira qu'en 1977, la comédie musicale dont le film est inspiré rencontre en 1958 un succès critique à Broadway. Billie Holiday y incarne le rôle de Maître Yoda par le biais d'une peluche de ventriloque aux traits du personnage vert et donne la réplique à Luke Skywalker alors interprété par Charles de Gaule. Les représentations doivent s'interrompre en 1959 car Billie Holiday décède au mois de juillet et le Général de Gaule voit son temps libre limité par ses travaux de rédaction de ce qui deviendra la constitution de la Cinquième République. George Lucas racheta plus tard les droits du spectacle et connaîtra le succès avec son adaptation sur grand écran.
I'm a terrible person - I know "Lady Day" is celebrated as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Who am I to argue? Very distinctive, no question. I just really don't properly appreciate vocal jazz at all. Or to be fully honest I don't like it. So my rating is purely subjective (aren't they all?) and if you're inclined to like this genre just ignore me. 3/10 2 stars.
She's very good at what she did. The instrumentation is... honest. There's no subtlety here, and there need not be. There's no need to cloak anything in metaphor. These are across-the-plate songs about love and loss of love.
10 stars!! Billie Holiday is no doubt my favorite voice. Ever since I was a child and her records put me to sleep. Classic album, Lady in Satin is the best thing I’ve heard so far on this album trip!!
smooth nice strings "notes of chocolate, black pepper and blueberries"
Phenomenal. Precursor to Ronstadt's "What's New", beautiful reserved arrangements/accompaniment, the focus always on her voice and the song.
I liked this more than the Ella / Gershwin album. I found the orchestration less interruptive. I understand that her voice was no longer hitting the range it did earlier but it is still mighty fine. So my obvious question: Why were these later orchestration versions of Billie (and Ella) included in the 1001. I would much rather listen to Billie with Oscar Peterson tapping the 88 keys.
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oh yesss. am i going to listen to a billie holiday album and not give it 5 stars? i dont think so. its just perfect. he casual mastery of her instrument is incredible. the orchestration does just enough.
So so beautiful! Probably the first album in this project, that transcends to the level of art.
Her voice is so good. It’s raspy, but beautiful. I can’t believe that this is the first time I’ve heard her. She deserves every bit of praise and respect that she gets, and then some
Unusual voice atop lovely lyrics. I am enjoying it a lot. Will listen again (and again)
Magnificent voice. I'm not into jazz yet, but it's a good starting point.
This album just brings a crackling fireplace wherever you go. Very lovely album, mostly because her voice is very pleasant.
It is perfect. The orchestration is heavenly and robust, but the singing is so intricate. The OG lady crooner singing standards and making them classics.
In 1958, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century released her last album before her death. A memorable masterpiece on which she once again delivered a record that stands through time. She may have lost much of her upper range due to heroin addiction, but her delivery is infused with her experience both tragic with its abusive relationships, prison stints and drug addiction, and triumphant with her musical success. Everyone need this record in their collection
Well the lush orchestrations were an unexpected feature. Not quite what I'm used to from Billie Holiday but glad to have been introduced. Happy to float along on the sound of the strings and flutes and her incredible voice.
I made the mistake of playing this while I ate lunch alone today. I didn't have much time to linger, but I completely forgot where I was, when it was, who I was... I was completely drawn into it, floating along with this beautiful heartache, feeling feeling feeling.
5 I just love these songs. "In The Wee Small Hours" was amazing, so of course this is too.
Loved Billie Holiday long before this, but finally got a chance to appreciate to album in its entirety. Absolutely amazing, I love it!!
I dont even know what words could review this album. Billie's voice is one of the greatest enjoyments available to humans. 5/5
This is clearly iconic and also sad as fuck. Billie's voice is everything and I'm thinking about how important she's been for gay men over the decades- there's Frank O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died" (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42657/the-day-lady-died) or the Magnetic Fields -- My Only Friend (https://genius.com/The-magnetic-fields-my-only-friend-lyrics) She's miserable and beautiful and the gays have been eating since the 50's. Sop it up!
I have mixed feelings about this late recording of Billie Holiday ... I prefer her earlier recordings, when her voice was more dynamic and the instrumentation less heavy. This album is heartbreaking, a picture of Billie at the end of her life, beaten down by drug and alcohol abuse and life circumstances. She sounds so beaten, tired, and sad ... Yet, I'd rather listen to my least favorite Billie Holiday album than 98% of music out there. It is not possible for me to give her less than 5 stars, ever. And listening to this again, I'm wondering if I should give it more of a shot. There is something so poignantly powerful in this effort.
Such a unique emotional voice. Outstanding as usual from Billie. Timeless.
Her voice is incredible. I don’t usually listen to this everyday but anytime Billie holiday gets out on I will listen to it all the way through. One of Americas all time greats.
So this is towards the end of her career, and I've seen some mention her voice was shot by then. But this album captures an amazing delicacy and sheer emotion. Really quite special.
Vraiment certaine chanson sur cet album on quelque chose de spéciale. Son sens d'expression, malgré son range qui n'Est pas très grand sur cette album amène une dimension qui est assez incroyable. Ce n'est pas poour tout les occasions ni pour toute les personnes. MAis on doit avoir écouté cet album. Beaucoup de melancolie et de beauté. 5
Arguably the greatest jazz singer. Later Billie Holiday has a rawness that her earlier work did not have. A ravaged, alcohol abused voice didn't help. It works (similar to Marianne Faithfull). This is a classic that every music fan should listen to (and own - I am old school).
This album was really interesting to me. It's amazing how much emotion she was able to portray with just her tone of voice. The instrumentation was beautiful and it fit Holliday's voice perfectly. Overall this album was very wistful and melancholy, with a touch of romance.
Beautiful instrumentals and old school sounds. Although a little slow at times.
Respect, but it was hard to get through the album in this non modern style
Beautiful voice but it all started to sound very same same after a while. Just made it to a four.
Her voice is so unique, beautiful, expressive, haunting, warm, rich, textured - a real force, and showcased so well by these songs and the orchestral backdrop.
Really enjoyed doing some odds and ends around the house with this on. Incredible voice and every song told a story.
This album is just beautiful. The arrangements are amazing. The strings on songs like For Heaven's Sake are so lush and beautiful and the horn and flute parts are also very nice. Holiday's vocals aren't the best apparently because of her heroin addiction but they are unqiue and fit the songs well. There's a lot of emotion and, although it's not a perfect album, it is a very good one. But. SPOTIFY sucks because they decide to add random bonus tracks to the end of the album. There is another deluxe edition and this isn't it so there's just no way to listen to the album without a bunch of annoying outtakes of the same 2 songs tagged on at the end. That's not relevant to my thoughts on the album really, it's just a rant that I needed to include at some point. Favorite Songs: I'm A Fool To Want You, For Heaven's Sake, You Don't Know What Love Is, I Get Along Without You Very Well, It's Easy To Remember, But Beautiful Least Favorite Songs: The End of a Love Affair - The Audio Story Strong 8/10
Fantastic. Smooth and dreamy album. Honeyed, yet broken, sexy and wistful voice.
This album is basically "All the Things Love Can Make You Feel 101." I'm a Fool to Want You and Glad to Be Unhappy stood out on first listen. The End of a Love Affair is the perfect track to end it. Can't imagine being a heartbroken teenage girl when this first came out.
If for some reason there was ever any question about the power of Holiday's voice this record floats in like one of her sultry songs. Harkening back to the golden-age of big bands and jazz singers, it is easy to see what sets her apart as a timeless voice.
I've always respected Billie Holiday and enjoyed hearing her work whenever someone happens to put it on, but have never really reached for one of her albums to listen to on my own. Methinks that should change. Right off the bat you can tell there is going to be a theme for this record...sultry strings, lyrics with themes of love and love lost, and that unmistakable voice. I don't know that I ended up listening to this record in the best headspace to properly enjoy it, but it's definitely a good one that will likely be revisited at a more appropriate time.
Very classy and romantic. Not the type of music I would usually listen to but it makes me feel like I should lay on a hill with a lover.
Jazz is always a challenge for me, but I truly enjoyed this album. Her voice is unique and beautiful.
I appreciate how the music lets her voice remain the star, but you can really hear the weariness by this point in her life. Still good, not great.
i never know what to say about billie. her voice is incredible, and it annoys me. her vocal melodies are intriguing, and i get bored with them after a while. one thing i'm definitely sure about: i do not like that orchestral thing happening on this album. i'm sure there was a time when it was just the thing, but to me, those flutes just sound like they're supposed to be bluebirds in an overly-sweetened cartoon. the strings are supposed to be a velvety backdrop, but they just end up feeling, to my ear, like they're filling time until the brass comes back from break. it all just feels too over the top. that said, this is billie freakin' holiday. we don't say bad things about billy freakin' holiday. there's never been a voice like hers since. even if it bothers me after a while.
Vocal jazz albums have never particularly been my thing, but you have to give credit where it's due. There is just something about Billie Holiday and her voice. There are many ways to be a great singer, and one of them is to have an angelic voice that carries an incredible burden of sadness without sagging under the weight 4/5
If I worked at a place that played nothing but Billie Holiday all day, every day, I wonder how long it would take for me to get tired of it? I felt soothed by having this record on. Don’t you dare ask me to name a single song! Shame on you! But it was soothing.
Not sure I could take too much of this. Not sure I prefer the lush, delicate Holiday to the earlier, swinging incarnation. But she couldn't sing like that any more, instead pouring every ounce of emotion into her broken voice and creating this heartbreaking collection. Best experienced with lights down low, right?
Toller klassischer Orchester-Jazz, wie aus Disney Filmen. Kein Swing, sehr free, thematisch fast Blues.