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This double-disc issued by Jazz Factory almost completely mirrors the United States issue of the same material entitled The Complete Commodore Recordings, officially issued by Universal in 1997. There are 45 cuts spread across them. The material was recorded in 1939 and 1944 by Milt Gabler. The original 78 that was "Strange Fruit" b/w "Fine and Mellow," was released by Gabler because Columbia's John Hammond refused to record the song. Holiday was under contract to the label at the time, but Hammond loosed the reins a bit and allowed her the leeway to cut it for Commodore. There are two other sides cut in 1939, and the remainder of these tunes were taped during sessions in 1944 with Holiday backed by the Eddie Heywood Sextet. The material is exactly the same on both collections, but the running order is different, and this one is preferable because it breaks up the different takes chronologically rather than putting them in simple historical order. Either way you go you can't lose, since these are top-notch performances at the very peak of Holiday's power as an artist.
Billie Holiday
The Complete Original American Commodore Recordings
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AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
Track Listing - Disc 1
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:10 | Amazon | |||||
| 2 | 3:18 | Amazon | |||||
| 3 | 3:24 | Amazon | |||||
| 4 | 2:58 | Amazon | |||||
| 5 | 3:15 | Amazon | |||||
| 6 | 2:50 | Amazon | |||||
| 7 |
feat: Ted Koehler
|
2:49 | Amazon | ||||
| 8 | 2:28 | Amazon | |||||
| 9 | 2:36 | Amazon | |||||
| 10 |
feat: Dorothy Parker
|
2:37 | Amazon | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Dorothy Parker
|
2:44 | Amazon | ||||
| 12 | 3:19 | Amazon | |||||
| 13 | 2:36 | Amazon | |||||
| 14 | 3:10 | Amazon | |||||
| 15 | 3:02 | Amazon | |||||
| 16 | 2:58 | Amazon | |||||
| 17 | 2:58 | Amazon | |||||
| 18 | 3:49 | Amazon | |||||
| 19 | 3:42 | Amazon | |||||
| 20 | 3:21 | Amazon | |||||
| 21 | 3:30 | Amazon | |||||
| 22 | 3:37 | Amazon | |||||
| 23 | 3:30 | Amazon | |||||
| 24 | 3:27 | Amazon |
Track Listing - Disc 2
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:11 | Amazon | |||||
| 2 | 3:23 | Amazon | |||||
| 3 | 3:16 | Amazon | |||||
| 4 | 3:15 | Amazon | |||||
| 5 | 3:15 | Amazon | |||||
| 6 | 3:12 | Amazon | |||||
| 7 | 3:12 | Amazon | |||||
| 8 | 3:14 | Amazon | |||||
| 9 | 3:32 | Amazon | |||||
| 10 | 3:15 | Amazon | |||||
| 11 | 3:15 | Amazon | |||||
| 12 | 3:03 | Amazon | |||||
| 13 | 3:02 | Amazon | |||||
| 14 | 3:23 | Amazon | |||||
| 15 | 3:14 | Amazon | |||||
| 16 | 3:28 | Amazon | |||||
| 17 | 2:53 | Amazon | |||||
| 18 | 3:20 | Amazon | |||||
| 19 | 3:07 | Amazon | |||||
| 20 | 3:02 | Amazon | |||||
| 21 | 3:18 | Amazon |
