Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin (1980 Japanese CBS/Sony Vinyl LP)

Vinyl: VG+
Sleeve: EX
Obi: EX

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Billie Holiday With Ray Ellis And His Orchestra - Lady In Satin Vinyl LP - Japanese CBS/Sony Reissue with Obi

Billie Holiday's penultimate studio album and arguably her most emotionally devastating recording, Lady In Satin presents the legendary singer backed by lush orchestral arrangements from Ray Ellis. Recorded in February 1958, just 17 months before her death, this album finds Holiday's voice ravaged by years of hard living, yet paradoxically at its most expressive and moving. This 1980 Japanese pressing on CBS/Sony, part of their Jazz Flash 50 series and complete with two Japanese inserts and obi strip, preserves one of the most poignant documents in vocal jazz history.

By 1958, Holiday's voice had lost the youthful suppleness and purity of her 1930s and 1940s recordings. The instrument was frayed, the range diminished, the tone sometimes cracked and uncertain. Yet what emerged was something perhaps even more powerful: a voice that had lived every word it sang, that conveyed heartbreak, resignation, and hard-won wisdom with devastating authenticity. Holiday insisted on Ray Ellis' string arrangements despite some critics feeling they were too ornate, and in retrospect, the contrast between the lush orchestration and her fragile voice creates an almost unbearable beauty.

The twelve songs, all classics of romantic loss and melancholy, become something beyond typical torch singing in Holiday's interpretation. "I'm A Fool To Want You" appears twice, once in stereo and once in the original mono recording, each version a masterclass in emotional vulnerability. "You Don't Know What Love Is", "I Get Along Without You Very Well", and "Glad To Be Unhappy" receive readings that strip away any pretence or vocal showmanship, leaving only raw feeling.

Holiday's phrasing, always her greatest gift, remains impeccable. Even when the voice wavers, her placement of words, her slight delays and rushes, her ability to find meaning in every syllable, demonstrates why she influenced generations of singers across all genres. Irving Townsend's liner notes, included in this Japanese edition, provide moving context about the recording sessions and Holiday's state of mind during this twilight period of her career.

This CBS/Sony pressing includes both the stereo versions and the mono recordings of "I'm A Fool To Want You" and "The End Of A Love Affair", offering both sonic approaches to this material. The two Japanese inserts and obi strip add valuable context and make this an attractive edition for collectors of both Holiday's work and Japanese jazz pressings.