The Complete Decca Recordings (US Release Box Set)

Billie Holiday's relationship with the recording industry may not have been as tempestuous as her personal life, but label constraints kept the singer's artistry from truly blossoming for almost a decade. Constrained by essentially middle of the road sensibilities at Columbia, the singer's later freelancing for Commodore at least gave her the freedom to exploit her jazz sensibilities in a small band context. But it was her subsequent 1944-50 tenure at Decca that allowed Holiday to finally reach her full potential in expansive new contexts. Her jazz side may be a bit muted on these sessions, which instead frame her magnificent, expressive voice in a range of production accoutrements that now include strings, a larger orchestra and backing singers. The results were such Holiday landmarks as "Lover Man," "Don't Explain," "Solitude, " "'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do," "Good Morning Heartache" and more detailed re-recordings of earlier staples like "God Bless the Child," accompanied here by insightful alternate takes. Long celebrated as one of America's true musical treasures, this is the most comprehensive document of Billie Holiday in her prime.