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Billie Holiday - The Complete Commodore Recordings (1939-1944) (1997 GRP)

Track listing:
Volume 1
  1. Strange Fruit 3:10
  2. Strange Fruit #2 3:18
  3. Yesterdays 3:24
  4. Yesterdays #2 2:58
  5. Fine And Mellow 3:15
  6. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues 2:51
  7. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues #2 2:49
  8. How Am I To Know 2:28
  9. How Am I To Know #2 (-1) 2:36
  10. How Am I To Know #2 (-2) 2:37
  11. How Am I To Know 2:44
  12. My Old Flame #3 3:19
  13. My Old Flame (Tk 2) 3:04
  14. My Old Flame #2 3:10
  15. My Old Flame 3:02
  16. I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) 2:58
  17. I'll Get By #2 2:58
  18. I Cover The Waterfront #3 3:49
  19. I Cover The Waterfront #2 3:42
  20. I Cover The Waterfront (-1) 3:21
  21. I Cover The Waterfront 3:30
  22. I'll Be Seeing You #3 3:37
  23. I'll Be Seeing You 3:30
  24. I'll Be Seeing You #2 3:26
  25. Full Cd In Flac With Cue 76:41
Volume 2
  1. I'm Yours #3 3:11
  2. I'm Yours #2 3:22
  3. I'm Yours 3:16
  4. Embraceable You #3 3:13
  5. Embraceable You 3:15
  6. Embraceable You #2 3:12
  7. As Time Goes By 3:11
  8. As Time Goes By #2 3:14
  9. (I've Got A Man, Crazy For Me) He's Funny That Way #2 3:32
  10. He's Funny That Way (Tk 2a) 3:15
  11. He's Funny That Way 3:15
  12. He's Funny That Way #4 3:03
  13. He's Funny That Way #3 3:02
  14. Lover, Come Back To Me (-1) 3:22
  15. Lover, Come Back To Me #3 3:14
  16. Billie's Blues #2 3:27
  17. Billie's Blues #3 2:53
  18. Lover, Come Back To Me 3:19
  19. Billie's Blues 3:07
  20. On The Sunny Side Of The Street 3:02
  21. Lover, Come Back To Me #2 3:18
  22. Full Cd In Flac With Cue 68:45

Notes

Apr 20, 1939 - Apr 8, 1944

Billie Holiday recorded on four occasions for the Commodore label: once in 1939 (a date that resulted in "Fine and Mellow" and "Strange Fruit") and three sessions in 1944 (dates highlighted by "I Cover the Waterfront," "I'm Yours," "He's Funny That Way," "Billie's Blues," and "On the Sunny Side of the Street"). While the former session has Lady Day joined by a background octet that includes trumpeter Frankie Newton, the Eddie Heywood Sextet forms the nucleus of the later dates. This two-CD set has all 18 selections and no less than 27 alternate takes. Since the great majority of the performances are ballads, and with the exception of pianist Heywood, there are very few instrumental solos, there are no significant differences between the versions. Therefore, this set (as opposed to a single CD of the master takes), even though it is well-conceived, is strictly for completists.