The Complete Commodore Recordings (1939)

About this title: 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 ... read more

Tracks:

1. Strange Fruit [Allan]
2. Strange Fruit [#2][Alternate Take] [Allan]
3. Yesterdays [Harbach/Kern]
4. Yesterdays [#3][Alternate Take] [Harbach/Kern]
5. Fine and Mellow [Holiday]
6. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues [Koehler/Arlen]
7. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues [#2][Alternate Take] [Arlen/Koehler]
8. How Am I to Know? [#3][Alternate Take] [Parker/King]
9. How Am I to Know? [#2][Alternate Take] [Parker/King]
10. How Am I to Know? [#2][Alternate Take] [King/Parker]
11. How Am I to Know? [King/Parker]
12. My Old Flame [#3][Alternate Take] [Johnston/Coslow]
13. My Old Flame [Take 2] [Johnston/Coslow]
14. My Old Flame [#2][Alternate Take] [Johnston/Coslow]
15. My Old Flame [Johnston/Coslow]
16. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You) [Turk/Ahlert]
17. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You) [#2][Alternate Take] [Turk/Ahlert]
18. I Cover the Waterfront [#3][Alternate Take] [Heyman/Green]
19. I Cover the Waterfront [#2][Alternate Take] [Heyman/Green]
20. I Cover the Waterfront [#1][Alternate Take] [Heyman/Green]
21. I Cover the Waterfront [Heyman/Green]
22. I'll Be Seeing You [#3][Alternate Take] [Kahal/Fain]
23. I'll Be Seeing You [Kahal/Fain]
24. I'll Be Seeing You [#2][Alternate Take] [Kahal/Fain]
25. I'm Yours [#3][Alternate Take] [Green/Harburg]
26. I'm Yours [#2][Alternate Take] [Green/Harburg]
27. I'm Yours [Green/Harburg]
28. Embraceable You [#3][Alternate Take] [Gershwin/Gershwin]
29. Embraceable You [Gershwin/Gershwin]
30. Embraceable You [#2][Alternate Take] [Gershwin/Gershwin]
31. As Time Goes By [Hupfield]
32. As Time Goes By [#2][Alternate Take] [Hupfield]
33. He's Funny That Way [Alternate Take] [Moret/Whiting]
34. He's Funny That Way [Take] [Moret/Whiting]
35. He's Funny That Way [Moret/Whiting]
36. He's Funny That Way [Alternate Take] [Moret/Whiting]
37. He's Funny That Way [Version #3][Alternate Take] [Moret/Whiting]
38. Lover, Come Back to Me [-1][Alternate Take] [Hammerstein/Romberg]
39. Lover, Come Back to Me [#3][Alternate Take] [Hammerstein/Romberg]
40. Billie's Blues [#2][Alternate Take] [Holiday]
41. Billie's Blues [#3][Alternate Take] [Holiday]
42. Lover, Come Back to Me [Hammerstein/Romberg]
43. Billie's Blues [Holiday]
44. On the Sunny Side of the Street [Fields/McHugh]
45. Lover, Come Back to Me [#2][Alternate Take] [Hammerstein/Romberg]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.