Lady In Satin

It’s cute and a bit sleepy. She has a beautiful voice that is very soothing. The album was all very much the same thing though, which for an hour, is a too much.

Was looking forward to this but was same as the later music by marlene dietrich when compared to her first German songs: the music/orchestra is so sweet and smooth that it smothers the force of her voice, it is all toothpaste commercial, all danger is elinated, smile, smile, smile. Such a shame.2 stars only for this lady Day!

Just a solid late 50’s jazz album.

Es EXTREMADAMENTE monótono. Creo que es el álbum más plano que he escuchado hasta ahora. Ya quería que me saliera un álbum de pop tradicional, pues, hasta ahora, solo conozco las canciones más populares, pero no tenía ni idea de álbumes, lamentablemente, espero que haya otros mejores, porque lo único que me dejo este es que ahora jamás me voy a equivocar cuando quiera identificar la voz de Billie Holiday, pues cantaba exactamente igual canción tras canción. Le doy dos porque, al menos, es escuchable, solo no más de una vez.

Not my favorite style

10/10 idk why people hate on Billie Holiday’s voice it’s so beautiful!

Billie holiday e emo for sure, gilla int helt hennes flow på vissa sånger dock

Tremendous vocal jazz!! Billie is a singular talent

Helt deeZ

Wonderful

Love it

Really dig Billie’s voice. Such a rich timbre with a lot of emotion. The arrangements don’t get in the way.

I think this would be nice in the background on Christmas. Unfortunately today is not Christmas

Nice music but it’s not my style. But it was great to listen to it

Wasn't my morning for this album. Feels like her voice was losing some strength and the richness it had. Pleasant enough but I don't know whether decent singer knocking out another album of covers is good enough to rate highly.

Great voice. Feel like the instrumentation on each song sounds the same.

Whatta voice. Rich, vibrant. Best thing Fallout 3 did was bring Billie to the ears of a new generation. Album itself is quite same-samey and boring tho.

One of the best voices ever.

3/5 I had not heard this album by the "Lady in Satin." She is kinda the Lady Sachmoe though isn't she? It didn't feel particularly drawn to any of these songs. I think I listened to a greatest hits album when I was younger, and many of those songs are singable and very catchy. I wonder if this one came later in her career when the drugs had really taken hold. It didn't feel like it had the same soul. It wasn't bad, but I probably won't be listening to 300 times to learn the lyrics and the sing the songs.

I'm sad I didn't enjoy this cos I really wanted to. Her voice was something else but the songs didn't do anything for me. Maybe there's a better album out there for me? I guess I'll find out.

Listened Before? N Pretty good. A bit mellow, but she's a great singer. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: You've Changed

Always loved Billie's unique voice, powerful and heartbreaking lyrics. I wasn't in the mood for this album today, so I'll need to revisit later.

This album may not be the best representation of Jazz but it is Jazz. And Jazz makes my heart warmer.

Beautiful album, beautiful voice. Not the right vibe at the moment, I'll revisit at a later time.

The voice is obviously incredible and the album flows really well. However, as a result it just felt like one really long song - The sad solo song from a mid 20th century movie that you recognise as decent but just wish it would speed up a little

Was having a bad day and this didn’t make it any better - an hour of the same instrumentals repeated and barely recontextualized again and again, plus Holiday’s monotonous and often croaky vocals on top. Just plain boring and a waste of my time

Lovely voice, I suppose. Not interested to listen to more than half a song. Heard one, heard them all.

Considering where Billie Holiday was in her life abuse wise, this album is incredible. This was the last album released in her lifetime as she died the next year and holy shit it evokes some emotion, especially "I'll Be Around."

I was actually interested to listen to this as I’ve heard so many great things, and am vaguely aware of who Billie Holiday is and how she sounds. I was pretty disappointed to find that all the songs song the same. Lovely voice, but no variety. Listen again: no (maybe individual songs( Purchase for my collection: no Favourite Song: Worst Song

I mean, it is classic. I am not a huge fan of the Standards, as they are, but if this were playing in the background while I have friends over, or at a restaurant or lounge, or if I am working on something... it is quite pleasant.

Own on Vnyl

Pas mal toute la même chanson étirée sur l’album, trop triste pour mon mood, pas de highlight special à part que la mélodie reste forte de bout à bout

C’est beau, mais on se fait chier un peu non? Après j’en suis qu’à la première chanson, donc on verra… bon on en est à la 5ème chanson, et c’est toujours le même constat. Pour la première fois, je pense peut-être ne pas finir l’album, j’ai l’impression d’écouter la même chanson en boucle. Finalement j’ai réussi à finir l’album, donc en conclusion: en tant qu’album, l’experience d’écoute est très ennuyeuse et rend peux justice à son contenu. Par contre, je suis convaincu qu’individuellement, ces chansons serait parfaite dans un film.

The Original Queen

Every song sounded the same

Sounded like yoda

Billie Hoilday's voice <insert heart emoji>

Was the album all just the same song? I heard different words pertaining the love throughout, but other than that it was just one block of indifferent warbling. 1/5

A legendary and highly influential singer and songwriter. I loved this album and will listen to it again. Hoping more of her albums are on this list.

I like listening to some of Billie Holiday's songs, but this is not her best compilation. Sadly, this one was selected for the 1001 list since it is still very good but sounds old-fashioned in many songs, and it was not her best vocal work, even being great.

It’s not doing much for me. I’m not a fan of her tone and as she didn’t write any of these songs I don’t really know what else I can judge it on? It’s not unpleasant so we’ll go with a 2

Decent 7/10

Bearing witness to a dying of the light can be a strangely illuminating experience. On the one hand, the knowledge of a generational talent having wasted away her body and, most importantly, her voice when it could have been one of the many vehicles on the road to greener pastures must have been a saddening black cloud to be under. On the other hand, seeing that talent give whatever remained to steer songs from a functional level to the kind of level that inspires awe and admiration as though she weren't guaranteed tomorrow is what reminds those involved why they are in the business of music. Lady in Satin may not have been intended as the last album released in Billie Holiday's lifetime but it's got all the hallmarks of a farewell; a glimpse of a life truly lived through hell and beyond and who could still belt out as though she hadn't lost a step, even if the voice sounded otherwise. It's poetically tragic in a way. The audio story of The End of a Love Affair exemplifies this perfectly, nine minutes of do-overs, orchestral dealings and Billie singing in a capella. This is a fascinating document worthy of time and space. Favorites: I'm a Fool to Want You, For Heaven's Sake, I Get Along Without You Very Well, You've Changed, It's Easy to Remember, But Beautiful, Glad to Be Unhappy, The End of a Love Affair (Mono Take 4 and The Audio Story).

Not for me. I like the arrangement but the voice sounded like Liza Minnelli and I couldn't get past that fact

I like the vibe, but not the voice. It’s alright I guess. Kelsey liked this one.

A fine album, with a range of torch songs and dinner jazz numbers. This is one of Billie Holiday's last recordings and her voice has more of a world weary, less vulnerable feel than on her earlier albums. Still unmistakeable, still classy

Just over one year after "Lady in Satin"'s release, Billie Holiday was dead at the age of 44. 70 cents in her bank account, an estate of $1,000, her classic recordings out of print, and a short obituary on page 15 of the New York Times. I was stunned to read this: Billie Holiday, a legend today by anyone's estimation, was essentially forgotten by the time she had died. How did it come to that? A slow decline through alcohol and drugs; years elapsing without much notable output; obstructions in music's circulation in the mid-twentieth century; none of it seemed to have helped her case. By 1958's "Lady in Satin", she was written off by many as a has-been at the end of their rope. More fool them. There's a profound emotional quality to Holiday's renditions here, which can be as peripheral or pervasive as the listener is willing to allow. While I'm much more on the peripheral side (I won't be putting this on regular rotation, and am struggling to retain the content of this album after several listens), I'd never object to hearing it waft sleepily through the air. The parallels are clear with the oldest album in the 1001 catalogue, Frank Sinatra's "In the Wee Small Hours". Holiday actually set out to emulate its smoky, mellow and mournful mood, to the point that three standards from Sinatra's record also appear here ("Glad to be Unhappy", "I'll be Around" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well"). As assured as Holiday's performances are, I'd have to say I preferred Sinatra's versions on the whole. "Lady in Satin" suffers from a lack of Nelson Riddle (Holiday's initial choice of arranger, owing to his work on "In the Wee Small Hours"). While Ray Ellis still does a great job with his orchestra, the bedrock for Holiday's vocals could have been lusher or more varied. Where Holiday arguably has the edge over Sinatra, though, is in authenticity. She still sounds impeccable to my ears, but the mythos around her being a tarnished star, her voice a cracked and broken shadow of its former self, only enhances the appeal of "Lady in Satin". It's true that Holiday has a fragile timbre here, sometimes cracking and straining, but there's also a winning quiet assurance. She perfectly foreshadows the atmosphere of Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen's latter-day recordings, fifty years early. Vocal jazz is never going to be a favourite style of mine - I first heard "Lady in Satin" a few years ago and couldn’t remember any of it - but I can appreciate its significance for the genre and as a sombre, bittersweet send-off for one of the greatest talents in the field.

Agree this album probably should be on the list, but I’m really not a fan of Billie Holiday’s voice on this album, so not an enjoyable album for me or one I’ll come back to.

Such a great singer. I liked the orchestral arrangements. Favorites are “End of a Love Affair” and “But Beautiful”

Anything she‘s done is a 5, one of my favorite voices of all time. To be honest I don’t really love these records with the full orchestral arrangements and strings. I always prefer small group stuff in general but I think it sounds especially cheesy in a jazz setting. That said I totally understand the desire for her to make a record like this in her career, there are so many great raw jam session and small group recordings of her, it’s cool that she wanted to do something different.

God, she's great. Her vocal tone is so interesting. I love this album so much. Such a mood.

3/5 It's Nice. Wouldn't see it out often though.

Lovely music but VERY one faceted. I wish there had been more variety and while Billie's voice remains soulful and haunting, I was shocked how rough her wonderful voice sounds on this album. How I wish I had enjoyed this more as she deserves a much higher rating than this album brings

I didn't care for this. It was boring and the vocals really didn't sound all that good. Every song was the same.

Billie Holiday is a lovely singer. This album however is so one dimensional it gets very boring very fast. I wish it had more pizzazz, more tempo changes, more….something.

This is a Christmas music type beat. Very smooth, but boring. Made me feel sleepy.

Oh, que buena la de hoy (LNB) Estoy de acuerdo,pero la prefiero para una cena de verano(PSP)

Top notch genre, mellow

Ben toch wel echt een beginner in het luisteren van jazz. Desalniettemin bloeide ik op zodra ik de trompet hoorde.

Dit moet al ouderwets geklonken hebben toen het uit kwam. Not for me

Oke jazz album, de mevrouw heeft blijkbaar heel veel invloed gehad op jazz.

Dit album geluisterd terwijl ik een flink stuk moest fietsen en het 15 graden was. Echt heerlijk en ga het zeker vaker luisteren

Wat een prachtig album. Hele mooie stem, en hele rustige instrumentatie. Genieten

Dull.

Tangled up in schamltz.

Sateen, more like

Great! I really enjoyed the instrumentals and her vocals.

So good.

Wonderful voice Beautiful album

Weary and wishing. And WOW. Billie Holiday is a legend, but one I hadn't dedicated much focused listen toward. This album is a journey and her now-raspy voice reflects a well-worn life, full of wisdom and regret, but with hope remaining. And emotional listen that left me speechless. Many of the 1,001 can be debated. LADY IN SATIN cannot be debated. It is essential.

It’s a vibe for sure, but something I’m rarely in the mood for. I can appreciate her iconic status, but it’s just not really my thing.

Old folks‘ dinner party

Not normally my thing, but absolutely beautiful voice 4

I love Billie Holiday's voice. Nobody else can can hit and hover around notes like she can. I don't know enough of her work to draw comparisons between this record and others of hers, but I really enjoyed this one and will likely be playing it again to get more familiar.

I wasn't into this, unfortunately. It was too slow, and I don't like Billie's warble. 1.5/5

Easily one of the most impactful voices ever, but I also get the impression that this isn’t the best way to embrace Billie that’s out there. A damn fine album, but maybe not the finest. B

Not a great album. Billie Holiday is a fantastic singer but syrupy arrangements and her later-life, cracking voice doesn't work on this disc. Those additional unfinished takes do her no favours either. Made me go back and listen to the Columbia collections. Much more enjoyable.

This made me feel elegant and calm and really fit the mood driving home from an event on a cold, rainy Monday night. Even so, it's not something I'd listen too regularly. Perhaps to fit a mood, but that's it.

3.5 stars, really, I don’t love her vocals myself but I’ll admit, they’re absolutely magical!

Very mopey. I don't think I'd listen to it again. Very emotional, but not the emotions that I want rattling around my head I guess. I do want to like it though.

An album dedicated to romance, at times sweet and other times agonizing. Billie Holiday's powerful yet fragile voice combined with an incredible instrumental performance make for beautiful blues.

Not my cup of tea.

Beautiful songs, beautiful performances. Billie's singing is very intimate and meandering. Her vocal timbre is that of smoke and honey, with an earnestness that encourages the listener to take heart to her stories and how she sings them. Again, an all-timer for some, but not me. A wonderful listen regardless. Happy 65th to this record.

Lady In Satin is a smooth, easy listen from a great. Her voice strikes all the right notes and has the vulnerability about it that lifts it ever so slightly. For Heaven's Sake is so good. I enjoyed this a lot, 4/5.

Beautiful voice (if a little bit raspy), pretty love songs with a great range of emotion, and nice orchestral backing. The downside is, that it's all quite samey from a musical perspective - you can pick a lot of these songs individually, listening on their own, and they are great, but it's a bit too repetitive to make a great album. 3/5

Solid!

I'd heard the name Billie Holiday, but had no idea that her career was so long ago (1930s - 1950s), or that she had such a tragic life. Her struggles are apparent in her raspy voice as she soulfully sings this set of jazz standards with great emotion. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: I'm a Fool to Want You Date listened: 24/02/23

this was decent, but the vocals left much to be desired. there's a lot that could be done on the production front, but the instrumentals are where the album shines the most! saccharine but not to the point of causing diabetes, subtle but not quiet - Lady in Satin would make for a great instrumental album.

This is way out of my wheelhouse, but I did get a kick out of it. Voice is just so expressive - it really is Billie + backing musicians, she shines. Very dated sounding though - it's a bit of an outlier in the 1001 list.

Ontroerend

Great voice

class act. easy listening

Excellent

This is the last album Billie Holiday released before her death. Her voice has lost some of its higher end and the years of abuse have clearly caught up to her. What we get is an extremely raw and emotional performance. Though not as great as her previous work, this album still displays the remarkable talent that was Billie Holiday.

Oof, no disrespect to the queen but this was a complete snooze. Glad to be Unhappy was good.

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 is fine. Nice renditions of standards but shouldn’t Billie Holiday have a blues/jazz album on the list instead?

Not really for me, but you can’t deny the richness and quality of her voice. Though she died young her voice has a very aged/experienced texture.

jazz

Every time I get one of these 50s albums I feel like the biggest, most heartless douchebag for not enjoying any of them at all. All of them feel like listening to one monotonous 40 minute long song and this one is probably the biggest offender so far. I didn't even notice the songs beginning or ending most of the time. It all blended together way too much.

Too dull for me

great background music

It’s good.It washes over you.It’s all beautiful orchestral sounding music but I don’t love her voice.It conveys Deep sadness very well though.

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

an album of Bond Film Intros

In her most depressing album, Billie Holiday has an aging raspy voice that has its limitations but fits with the slow dramatic orchestral ensemble. In a lot of ways reminds me of Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours. It gets old and repetitive quickly, and it was hard for me to even pick any of them to be my favorite... or even least favorite. The orchestra was a tad bit generic, but it complimented her somber style well, and they had their moments. The wind instruments especially stood out. As individual songs, they're good. But as an album experience, it's quite a chore. Favorites: I'm a Fool to Want You, For Heaven's Sake, But Beautiful

Really beautiful music. Takes you back to when music was structured differently though.

Emotionaalisesti todella mahtava kokonaisuus muiden artistien biisejä. Osa 30-luvulta. Ääni uniikki alkoholin ja huumeiden takia. Tälle haluisi antaa viisi contentin takia. Ei voi.

It's good, not my favorite style of music though. I can see that she was probably one of Amy Winehouse's key influences. 3 stars.

🌞 favourite song: I'm a Fool to Want You 🌜 least favourite song: The End of a Love Affair Already a big Billie Holiday fan so I thought I might be biased about it. Her voice is very different in her later recordings—and it makes this album sound very sad. She was so beautiful 💗 and so talented. But, this is definitely not her best work, and it's very obvious. ✨2.5/5💫

good but sad

I didn't love her voice on this album. A lot of the songs sounded the same.

Thought I would enjoy her more for how iconic she is. Don't love her style.

Sweet, sometime bordering on saccharine. Nevertheless, the undeniable emotive force of Ms Holiday's voice and phrasing wins over elegant but largely linear orchestration

She's great, and I really regret that I wasn't listening to this in ideal circumstances--slow dancing in a dimly-lit room

Billie is a national treasure. Nothing but love for this album.

An excellent night time record, soft but gruff, tender but worn. Her control of vocal expression is sublime.

An Older Billie Holiday , with an iconic voice

Not for me, maybe my granny

Cool voice. Good jazz stuff here. Tragic story about her, though.

A little too meloncholy for my tastes

Whacked it on cleaning - felt very lovvy

Not my thing. Nice voice. All songs sound the same or go too long.

todo lo mismo pero bueno ya fue 7/10

Truly one of a kind, an unmistakable voice with a distinct style. One has always preferred her with smaller ensembles, but one should take the Lady in any way one can.

I played this while packing up Christmas decorations. It just felt so right - quiet, sorrowful, but comforting. I had a little thing for Billie many years ago. There's nothing that memorable about this music to me. It's just the sound of it is so soothing and easy. This is a glass of whiskey and a fireplace while on holiday. Maybe my life has just gotten too hectic and I haven't had those moments to hang with Billie like I used to. I really appreciate being reunited and I'm thankful it came at a perfect moment.

Hmm

Billie Holiday is a classic.

Billie with strings. OK, not great.

Hauntingly beautiful. Billie Holiday has always been a niche more than something to comfortably put on for all, but her style, presence, and personal tale is something to be appreciated. This album is like a time capsule as jazz quickly began to move towards fusion and bebop

As the notes tell us, this album was recorded near the end of Ms. Holiday's far-too-brief life. It's stylistically a departure from her earlier work but I am still so very moved by her voice. It just slays me. I don't know if she means to infuse it with such strong emotion, pain, beauty, and brilliant instrumentality, but that's what I hear here. I usually don't like vocals over orchestras like this, but she makes it work. What a treasure.

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.

It was nice for sure, but it's just so far from anything I'd ever listen to, that it's difficult to really say anything good about it. I'm certainly not cultured enough to understand the significance, but I'm sure it deserves the spot on this list. Favourite: You Don't Know What Love Is

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.

Can't imagine this going into heavy rotation but that doesn't detract from the fact it's absolutely gorgeous

Surprised, good listen

Lovely voice and tunes from our older days.

Incredible talent but just not my favorite style of music. Feel bad giving this rating

cute! comfy jazz tunes

Not exactly my type of tune. Can respect the standards, but not my cup of tea. 6/10.

Without a shadow of a doubt, she has a special and unique voice. However, the music is so generic/average easy listening jazz that it spoils all the emotion behind Billie Holiday's interpretation. So, I don't know... 5 stars for her, -2 stars for what's surrounding her.

Great voice, too bad I fell asleep.

beautiful voice, easy listening jazz, blend well with aretha, nina, etc.

Without a shadow of a doubt, she has a special and unique voice. However, the music is so generic/average easy listening jazz that it spoils all the emotion behind Billie Holiday's interpretation. So, I don't know... 5 stars for her, -2 stars for what's surrounding her.

Good

Such a unique emotional voice. Outstanding as usual from Billie. Timeless.

Beautiful, with just the right feeling on this snowy Winter morning. Not songs I know at all, but have always loved the voice. A voice all others should be judged against. Made me want to delve deeper and play this again, to get to know the set better.

This isn't a bad album, it's just not an album that was meant for me. The voice is too prickly for my tastes. She sounds like she needs a good gargle before stepping up to the mic. I Get Along Without You is so so for an amazing song. I'd turn to Nina Simone every time. Bailed halfway through.

Pleasant enough. Ms. Holiday had a amazing voice. The problem is that so much of this just runs together. Maybe it needs more listens to detect the differences but it largely felt like the same song on repeat. A lesser talent wouldn't pull this album off at all.

9th December 2022 Listened across the weekend as I had too many podcasts to catch up on. Rugby and England on Saturday with Crofty and mums birthday lunch in Stroud. Sunday snow day! Didn’t give it the respect it deserves, her voice is magical and reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour.

Clearly a great voice and worthy of the list as it represents an entire genre/era. I don’t really like it though.

It's alright

All the songs sound the same.

Such lovely album and such lovely voice. While the songs sounded quite similar to each other I really enjoyed the whole thing in a row. Saved tracks: I'm A Fool To Want You, The End Of A Love Affair

It was almost one in the morning, but I'm pretty sure that this is what made me almost fall asleep. It was just really slow and soothing in a way that would make me drowsy at almost any point in the day honestly. Definitely doesn't sound like the voice of someone who's gonna die of alcohol poisoning within the next year though.

Yes, the voice is broken, but what else would fit a broken, tortured person? There are artistic limitations or even failures as Billie cannot always hold the tune properly. In my view the sheer passion and heartbreak more than makes up for the objective issues.

Chill vibes. Not bad, but slightly too old for me. Good background music though.

I like Billie Holiday, but this album wasn't her best material.

Sama kappale kertaa 16. Kaunista musiikkia anyways vaikka outo ääni

Here's proof that jazz is better with vocals. Billie Holiday's voice has this character where she sounds like she can't sing, but it fits perfectly for a genre like jazz. It especially works here, with the music being more structured. The only problem is that the album gets weaker as it goes along, because there's not much variety. They found a sound that worked, and just stuck to that the whole way through. When you start the first few songs they're very interesting, but towards the latter half it gets a bit tiresome. Standout track is understandably, the first song - I'm a Fool to Want You.

Not my cup of tea

Smooth and sensual performances on a beautiful album from the beginning until the end.

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.

nice

Amazing

Album #204 (1001 challenge): "Lady in Satin" by Billie Holiday (1958) "Lady in Satin" is the penultimate album and the last one released in the lifetime of American jazz singer Billie Holiday. The album was produced by Irving Townsend and first after Billie signed a contract with Columbia. Similar to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, Billie wanted to record songs from the Great American Songbook of Claasic Pop in the same orchestral arrangements vein as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald (as opposed to jazz). So, that's what she did. Boy, I've heard a lot of the Great American Songobbok this week. Ray Ellis did the arrangements with a 40-piece orchestra. This was at the very end of Billie's career and her voice had a lot of its range. But, she still has the emotion which shown through. The album begins with a cover of Sinatra's "I'm a Fool to Want You." Great orchestral strings. Sure, Billie now has a fairly raspy voice but the emotion is there. The strings and especially the trumpet are great on 1938 Hoagy Carmichel's "I Get Along Without You Very Well." The excellent orchestral arrangements and Billie's emotional continue throughout all 11 songs. Other highlights include "You've Changed," " Glad to Be Happy" and "I'll Be Around." This album was enjoyable to listen to. I know Billie's voice is not what it was 20 years prior but the orchestral arrangements are excellent and Billie's delivery and emotion are still worth checking this album out.

This album lacks depth. The only thing it has going for it is the voice; but the lyrics are shallow, and the accompanying music is all but non existent.

It's a mostly passive listen from me, but that's doesn't mean it's not a good album, it's just more so that I'm not the biggest fan of this style of music, but I do appreciate the songs, and I do like her as a singer. It's a reasonable 40 minute listen. Not my favorite thing ever, but I did like it. 3.5/5

Sounds good. Reminds me of christmas music. I can't really tell the difference between the tracks, so had to stop listening about halfway through. Good for the right time/vibe. Don't want to critique, but this is not really for me.

I can understand that this type of music isn't for everyone, but I partly grew up with it, and Billie Holiday practically defines it. I would give this a 5 if it weren't for some of the tracks being maybe a bit too humdrum (even for the genre).

Billie is one of the greatest to ever do it. such a beautiful voice

This is definitely a mood. Not bad. I like the trill/vibrato in her voice. The kind of music I'd like to be on in the background at a cafe.

My grandma always had the radio in her bedroom playing super low, just barely perceptible. This brought me back to looking through grandma's jewelry box and napping on her big bed. I put the album on as I fell asleep and slept better than I have in weeks. Obviously, this has nothing to do with how good the album is. Deal with it.

Great voice, I don't even mind the orchestra. But it did seem like she sang the same song 12 times.

Well just sounded old it's all the bloody strings that ruin these crooner vibes

Disappointing, I was expecting better than this

This album should be called Lady Day Phones It In. It's obviously her, as there's none like her, and she has a great voice; but why is this over orchestrated mush on this list and not her greater jazz contributions?

Undeniably, a unique voice. I wasn't particularly in the mood for this style of music yesterday, songs felt quite dull. Still appreciate the musical arrangements. 2.5

I don't know if I've ever truly sat down and listened to Billie Holiday. Of course I know the name and probably some songs, but never consciously have I sat down and listened to her. I can't stop looking at the album cover--I can picture it on vinyl. I can close my eyes and disappear into a different period of time. I also, can't help but think about what her life as a Black woman must have been like in 1958 when the album was released.

Voix vibrante, magnifiques arrangements. Je pourrais l’écouter sans me lasser

Prefs: I'm a Fool to Want You, For Heavean's Sake, Violets for your Furs, You've Changed, But Beautiful Moins pref: I Get Along With You Very Well

Some beautiful Billie Holiday to put on over a fire with a nice drinky poo

Nice Jazz Lady sings nice Jazz songs in a Lady style. I particularly liked the bonus track with all the takes and her getting frustrated. It's always fun peering behind the curtain.

its ok, but its pretty much the same song 12 times. makes for alright background music

Solid Billie Holiday album. Good vocal jazz album.

This is a boring album, sorry Billie. I didn't finish it, every song feels the exact same: same slow strings, same warbling voice, same everything. Feels like default Christmas music you'd hear coming from a sad shopping centre.

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yes, for the genre this is my favourite style. Very soothing and comforting Favourite song: Track 3 - You Don’t Know What Love is

If I try hard, I can see why my grandparents would have been moved by this. But its a stretch for me.

I've heard lots about her, and I'm certain I've heard her before, but nothing comes to mind. So far, I love her smoky voice. I do like the genre quite a bit, but it's not something I typically seek out. Interesting how some of the phrases are almost more spoken than sung. I just can't think of where I've heard these songs before. Movies, shows, commercials? Beside her voice, the music is also nothing to scoff at. The trumpet in the latter half of Violets for Your Furs is *chef's kiss.* Consuming this all at the same time as a continuous album might be too much, though.

I didn’t impress me

Favourite track(s): I'm a Foolto Want You; I Get Along Without You Very Well I wonder if folks in '58 considered the sound of this album nostalgic as well. I wonder if they also thought the voice of Billie Holiday to be absolutely iconic. I wonder if they the music generated a longing for Christmas time in them, even when they listened to it in October. I wonder if it was considered flawless, since in my eyes it isn't - simply due to the lack in variety with regard to the instrumentals and vibes. For me, this results in a feeling of "having listened to one song, I have listened to most of them". But even so, I wonder how many artist since that time would name Holiday as a clear inspiration. Melody Gardot comes to mind among others.

Not really my cup of tea. Let's leave it at that shall we.

My, my. Her voice pierces your foreskin like a grenade being thrown into a pile of dead crows. The world is not good enough for her talent. Now, eat my eyelids, you pack of cunts.

Good voice and that, but it's just a bit grating by the end.

Loads of songs that could soundtrack Sean Connery's James Bond shagging.

The strings on this are really nice, and (while she didn’t write any of them) the lyrics are so beautiful. Shame she’s not a brilliant singer 3/5.

Lush arrangements and wonderful voice, but not a particularly great song selection if you ask me. Not that anyone ever does.

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 know this is supposed to be sad, but this record is like a warm bowl of soup after a long hard winters day..and I love soup 😘🥣 Billie could sing the phone book and I’d be game. They’re just something so soothing and homegrown about this all. Thank you Billie - I know you’re not my Billie (Eilish), but you are still awesome 😎

I prefer her earlier work

Iconic voice, back lacking a bit of variety.

It's pretty good, really. I'll have to get back to it.

4.5

Its incredibly dated now. Basically unlistenable

A bit over produced. At times the strings overpower the nuances of pain in Billie’s voice.

I dont even know what words could review this album. Billie's voice is one of the greatest enjoyments available to humans. 5/5

Love the album cover. I'm expecting great things. Wonderful sultry feel and pacing, satiny smooth. Something about Billie Holiday always feels very human to me, I don't have a single thing in common with her but I still feel connected, if you know what I mean. I love it when the orchestra comes soaring in behind (but not over) the vocal. Nice song selection, reasonable recording quality. Great music to drink my weekend morning coffee to. Two thumbs up!

“You like jazz?” Yes :) 4/5

Much as I appreciate her as a famous vocalist I would never set out to listen to her. I’m happy to hear the occasion song on the radio. Having said that it wasn’t terrible, just not for me. I don’t know whether to go high 2 or low 3 ?

Pleasant. I feel like if I was sitting in a smoky whiskey bar I would've been more into it...

Billie Holiday has such a recognizable voice. It is so raspy, smokey, and beautiful. She is one of the greatest female crooners. Ray Ellis' orchestra is beautiful. The music is low, with Billie's voice overtop, but every now and again, waves of strings and flutes wash over you, and then amazing trumpet solos blow the roof off the place. This album features songs that are about love and heartbreak. I am not a huge fan of jazz, but can absolutely appreciate it all the same. Favourite songs: I'm a Fool to Want You, The End of a Love Affair, But Beautiful, For Heaven's Sake Least favourite songs: Violets for Your Furs, You've Changed, I Get Along Without You Very Well 3/5

4/5

Something about this type of music just gets me. However, I think her voice was better in her earlier works.

It has a nice feel to it. My complaint it that it’s hard to separate songs from each other since they all sounds so similar. 6/10

There’s a classy eloquence to this album, a reminder of how things used to be (musically). But that said, Billie Holiday’s voice reminded me of Lady Elaine Fairchild, and her voice and “grittiness” didn’t translate to a sound that I wanted to hear over the course of this album. But I appreciated the opportunity to relax a little and have a jazzy evening for a change of pace.

Somewhat of a christmas vibe.

Makes me sleepy.

Lovely, but not my cup of tea

I wanted to like this. I really did. However, subjectivity leads me to not really care for vocal jazz at all. I recognize the struggles she had at the time and everything she overcame, but just in this album alone, it is just not for me. The songs are too similar and the instrumentation, while enjoyable, is repetitive. It’s likely just a product of it’s time. 2.5/5

Not my thing

Relaxing to listen to. Felt like Christmas music.

sweet

Great one, I like all of these 50's records. amazing voice and recording.

1/5 Not my thing, put me to sleep.

I cried to “The end of a love affair”

There is some great classic instrumentation on this. The trumpet on 'But Beautiful' really is beautiful and haunting. With that said, I found the entire thing to be quite dull. Although her voice is magnificent and the arrangements are very pleasant, it tends to fade into the background. I was reminded of Nat King Cole's Christmas record, but unlike that I can't really think of an occasion to ever put this on.

Considering the fact that Billie Holiday's take on "Gloomy Sunday" was so depressing that it was once banned for decades on BBC, I am not surprised that this record didn't exactly lighten the mood. At the age of only 43 it's remarkable that her voice sounds like it has already lived a full life - and then some. It's not as vibrant as in earlier recordings and while Ray Ellis (and his Orchestra) provides a beautiful tapestry Holiday paints almost every song with the exact same emotions as the ones before and sticks to the same vocal formula through every song. The end result, beautiful and emotional as it surely is, simply isn't enough to keep me invested.

What can you say? She's one of the great vocalists of our time, well 70 years ago time, but you can't deny the quality of her talent. Don't know if this is considered the best of her work (I own a couple best of, greatest hits collections), most of it is fine, but it helps if you are in the mood or the right state of mind to fully appreciate the music.

Got to give it up for Billie. Great voice and a super solid backing track, the horns tie the bow on the album for me. Transported to a black and white Noire/romance film with every song, though it’s slightly hard to distinguish when one song ends and the next begins

while i understand that this is good music i cant help but falling asleep listening to it. it is too boring for me.

Her voice was shot and everything became repetitive.

Beautiful! Her voice isn't my favorite of all time, but it's still nice to listen to.

I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS I LIVE INSIDE YOUR WALLS

Loved Billie Holiday long before this, but finally got a chance to appreciate to album in its entirety. Absolutely amazing, I love it!!

lushly heartbreaking

Not exactly my genre

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: You don’t know what love is, Violets for your furs, You’ve changed

Gorgeous. The warble in her voice mixed with the strings creates a kind of drunken wooziness. The album casts an intoxicating spell. It gives off late-night jazz club energy. Billie Holiday’s voice on this album is so… weathered. Hard to believe she was 43 when she recorded this. She sounds older. But man, her performance on this album is so expressive. “The End of a Love Affair” might be my favorite here. Such a fun song.

It might sound blasphemous but I haven't heard all of her stuff, and this one I found to be great but not like easy 5/5. Her voice is nice, but feels very slur-y, almost in a buzzed/drunken way and a little too loose for me to think that this is some of her best work. It's almost a little too caricature~ish for me to absolutely adore. She's of course a wildly accomplished musician and it's hard for me to criticize her at all because she is often hailed as one of the greatest voices/jazz voices of all time, but I think it's important to be honest in these. I can't help it! It's great songs but not an instant 5/5 for me because I don't love the vocal performance.

good background. not necessarily my cup of tea but. it was nice.

That’s a voice that, while still sultry, has hit the bottle hard.

Her voice sounds weak - almost to a point of distraction. The songs sound old fashioned and sleepy -- like the songs that we only listen to during Christmas. This music isn't really my thing.

CD

only stood out for being old vocals didnt have much of an impact

I've never cared for Billie's voice

Every song sounds the same and there is no jam

Not really keen on this one. The instrumentation is extremely uninspired and frankly dated, to such an extent that the initial intrigue of Holiday’s singular vocal is quickly diminished. Her talent is inescapable, but the songs just ain’t here on this album.

This is SICK! Its like legit old school bond music but not a joke - I love it. Standout Tracks: You Don't Know What Love Is

I can't imagine anyone adamantly disliking this kind of music - it is so simple and honest, soothing and relaxing, reminiscent of a much simpler era. At the same time, I can't imagine very many new listeners in 2022 getting really excited about this kind of music either, because it is so very simple and straightforward. Billie's voice is timelessly beautiful, the instrumentation is classically pure, there just isn't any substance or complexity to really dig into which would make this album more of a repeat listen, for me. Standout tracks: "I'm a Fool to Want You", "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "But Beautiful"

Im sure this is a great album for this genre and influential, I didnt really enjoy it 3/10

Old school jazz/blues, relaxing

Billie is a legend no doubt. But like dang, did she ever have a frog in her throat! I listened the whole way through and there just wasn’t enough variety throughout. Bit of a snoozer this one.

OooOoOooOooOooooooooo

I can appreciate the music here, but, much like any jazz music, I need to be in a certain mood, and sadly was not in the mood yesterday. However I will be adding some of these songs to my jazz collection that weren't already there.

Billie Holiday’s voice is absolutely beautiful, and each song by itself is a lovely experience. But listening to the album as a whole, it was very difficult to distinguish when one song ended and the next began. It was nice background music to listen to while working on projects, but I don’t think I’d choose to listen to the entire album again. I think this music is best appreciated and enjoyed in small doses.

Not my favourite recording/production of Billie Holiday. From my understanding her voice wasn't quite what it was at one point on this recording unsure if that's it or just the production. I definitely prefer other recordings/records of Holiday.

The poetry of falling in love, heartbreak, longing, losing, and all the loving in between.

Yep, it is amazing, but so covered in sugary instrumentation and sentiment that I nearly got diabetes listening to it

Every single track completely indistinguishable from the next. And her voice is, to be kind, not for me.

Classic recording. This stands the test of time.

This one often comes up in lists of best records ever (or just best *jazz* records, but given the gaping holes in Dimery's list in that specific genre, you can't expect it to be fully taken seriously anyway...). Towards the end of her life, Billie had the idea to record her own "In The Wee Small Hours", and when you listen to the lush strings orchestration around her gracile, fragile voice, it sure seemed like a great idea on paper. Holiday was no Sinatra, especially at this point of her broken life, so the overall effect is altogether different from Frank's crooning. But whatever huge fans of Lady Day's might first think of *Lady In Satin*'s overall concept, they must absolutely listen to this album at least once in their lives, that's for sure... Yet can the same be said for fans of music in general? For me there are at least two records from Holiday's fifties period that should be listened to first, *before this one*, if only for the timeless jazz standards that can be found in them. The first is *Stay With Me*, a generally lively, big band record which can boast of great versions of "Ain't Misbehaving", "Everything Happens To Me" and "Say It Isn't So". And the second is the very melancholic *Lady Sings The Blues*, with wondrous cuts such as the title track, "Love Me Or Leave Me", "Too Marvelous For Words", but most especially a poignant and very melodramatic take on her legendary "Strange Fruit", one of the best protest songs ever written throughout history. Compared to those timeless standards, the compositions of *Lady In Satin* sound a bit lackluster and samey, in spite (or maybe actually *because*) of their classy " third stream" orchestration. The writer of these lines prefers to hear a "rawer", back-to-blues-basic, version of Lady Day, no matter how raw her vocal performance actually is on this record. Which implies a tracklising a little more focused and dynamic than the one found in *Lady In Satin*, even if "dynamic" will never ne the right word for Billie Holiday's nonchalant art... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 879 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 65 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 30 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 27

I’ve heard versions of some of these before. Not my jam but it’s not bad.

Never really a Billie Holiday fan and on this album she sounds more like 73 than 43.

Not her greatest in my opinion, but hey, she's Billie, so an extra half star for being her. There is never mistaking her voice and phrasing, and sometimes it's amazing, others, well, not so much.

A little boring. I had a hard time getting used to her voice.

This was a tough one to get through. I understand how some people find her voice amazing, but I found the overall album fairly boring.

This was fine, no more and no less in my opinion.

Probably a pretty good piece of music - but to slow and boring for me. Every song sounds the same to me.

Sensação de aconchego por todo tempo pela voz e orquestra.

5 I just love these songs. "In The Wee Small Hours" was amazing, so of course this is too.

Slow & sensual. Felt pretty boring as a whole.

Ładny głos i tak dalej, ale rany, wszystko brzmi tak samo. Typowy soundtrack do romansidła jak sobie łażą po Paryżu i się kochają. Dać 1 w swojej skali nie mogę, bo to nie była jakaś kakofonia, zwyczajna nuda i pierd muzyczny

Probably a little too early for my taste in music. I found this album a bit slow and dull. I didn’t think it was bad, it just want an album I’d listen to. 4.0/10

"Lady in Satin" feels like the soundtrack to every black-and-white film from the 50s. It's iconic and firmly rooted to a specific moment in time. With warbling strings, swelling brass, virtual lack of rhythm section, and Billie's unique croon, it's an album for the age. But it's not an album for the ages. It's timely, not timeless. It's so soft, it's almost painful to listen to. The utter lack of backbone is understandable in an album from the 50s but falls flat in a modern context and, for that reason alone, this is a 4-star album to me. I hate to say it, but it gets boring very quickly. In no way should that be taken as a slight on Billie Holiday or this album, however. It's a masterful work from a truly exceptional vocal talent in a time when it was difficult for a black female to make it in entertainment. She, and this album, belong in any conversation about the evolution of popular music in America.

Old school music - beautiful voice with orchestra in the background.

How great would it be to produce this album? No bells or whistles needed. Just sit back and let Billie cook. The epitome of a 3 AM album.

Ah yes, the sound of love and all the fucking sadness that comes with it.

Like being wrapped in a blanket. Wonderful.

A treacly, deeply scarred voice. Her unique talent is for exercising complete control over it without letting that control preclude her from baring her soul.

Respect but not enjoy.

A very nice album, and she has a lovely voice but not truly standout for me. Unlike some of the others in this genre have been for me.

Lovely voice and I can appreciate the songs, but just too slow and boring for me.

Billie Holiday....... good shit

I love Billies voice. So soothing, regardless of the accompanying music. In this album we get a very chill background instrumentals to accompany the stories she sings. Beautiful

Beautiful album.

Great music, but not my genre.

Ms. Billie Holiday is more than just 'in' satin; she’s 'of' satin, with it’s glossy, lustrous surface but underneath a dull back. These collection of songs are all about that dull back of romantic love, the losing of love, as well as the pain of unrequited love. “I’m a Fool to Want You’ – ‘to want a love that can’t be true.’ ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ – ‘until you’ve loved a love you’ve had to lose.’ ‘It’s Easy to Remember’ – ‘but so hard to forget.’ You get the picture. It’s not particularly pleasant. But, oh, Billie Holiday’s voice sure takes some of the sting out of the hurt. Backed by Ray Ellis’ tasteful conducting of Claus Ogerman’s arrangements, 'Lady In Satin' is all about Ms. Holiday’s extraordinarily unique timbre, in particular her sultry vibrato and distinctive pronunciation. For example, when she sings about how foolish it is to ‘seek a kiss not mine alone, to share a kiss the Devil has known,’ she delivers the simple word kiss in such a way as to give it depths of significance most other artists are not able to convey. It’s coming from a very deep place of its own, a painful place, somewhere embedded in the dull back, underneath all that silky front we enjoy. 'Lady In Satin' shares a dozen good songs that become even better under Ms. Holiday’s interpretation. Shame she never wrote any of her own. I can only imagine what fabric they would’ve worn- perhaps Chiffon, a sheer and plainwoven cloth made from a twisted yarn that gives it a slightly rough feel.

Billie <3 Kan ikke være upartisk her. Jeg er fan. Jeg ønsker meg å bo i en liten toppleilighet i Paris og leve et mer drama-fylt liv. Synes nok at Chet Baker sin "I get along without you very well" er hakket sårere og ikke kan overgås. Dette er musikk man hører på vinyl alene om kvelden, og for dette er det 100%. I'm a fool to want you - foreløpig favoritt

klassiker. Jeg elsker alle sangene her. har hørt mye på dette albumet før. Har det faktisk på CD. Høstmusikk. Mørkt ute - regn og vind, sitte inne og drikke kaffe eller conjack. oooh lord.

Lmao at what the dude said about the uncultured swine. I'll give it a 2 because it's objectively beautiful but yeah, not for me. 2

don’t like her voice

¡Qué manera de sufrir esta mujeeeeeeeeeer! Muy sentido y triste todo lo que cantó. Me dejé llevar y lo sentí con ella.

Again, an album on the list because the artist didn't release many records int he form we would consider the album format as currently understood. Billie Holiday's best years were well past by the time she recorded this, the year before she died. Alcoholic, drug addicted, and broke, she did convince Columbia to sign her, give her an unlimited recording budget, and access to her arranger of choice and great material from the American songbook (although sings she had not recorded before. With a lush, rich, middle-of-the-road orchestral backing, her voice is cracked and creaking, but still with her timing, emotion and intimacy intact. That amount of vocal fry was, at the time, unheard of, but has become almost normal now. Even when barely singing, she still casts a long shadow today in her phrasing, the way she moves around a melody, and in the dry, croaking tone that is now common. She certainly lives in the songs, and the emotional truth is extraordinary.

I thought I liked Billie Holiday more than this. It's okay, and it does feel like I'm listening to something important, something that should be heard. Her voice is really strange though. I think the problem might be the songs on this album, they're all very light and I like her when she's all intense and emotional.

It's okay, but not really my preferred style. Everything sounded quite alike. Nice to listen to though.

Doesn’t do it for me

Sadly this album reminds me a bit of a creepy restaurant I worked at that hardly anyone ever visited. One night chef didn't have the ingredients for orange chicken so he used hot concentrated OJ, the kind you get in a carton. So I associate this kind of music with a grey haired old woman with a tight perm thrusting a plate of shredded chicken floating in orange juice at me in disgust. There was no fooling her! Billie's soothing notes did nothing to diffuse the situation.

Billie Holiday is lovely but this album is quite repetitive - it’s a nice long song - as a whole it’s great but it’s hard to pick individual songs.

Reminds Shannah of Christmas. (2/5) Bill felt it was a little samey. Felt like B-sides. (2.5/5) Jane didn't hear it. Conor thought there were some great melodies, though not a lot of variety throughout. (3/5) 2.5/5

It's lovely but the jazzy lounge sound does get a little boring after a while. Lovely dinner sou Daypack but I probably wouldn't revisit it otherwise