At Storyville

Taken from radio broadcasts of two gigs at Boston's famous Storyville club (recorded in '51 and '53 respectively), this disc finds Holiday in supremely relaxed, well-weathered voice. By the early '50s Holiday's tone and timbre were already markedly different from her light, sensitive approach of the '40s. Deeper, richer and more heavily stylised, the delivery here is gorgeously drowsy, an aesthetic heightened by the intimate setting and feel of the nightclub.
Classics like "Willow Weep For Me", and the marvellously expressive "I Love You, Porgy" are interspersed with the lovely "I Cover The Waterfront" and Holiday's self-penned "Billies Blues". Particularly notable are the guest appearances by Stan Getz, who joins her on "Lover Come Back To Me" and the unsettlingly confessional "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" ("I'd rather my man hit me/Than for him to jump up and quit me"). The only criticism here concerns the sound quality which, while highlighting vocals and piano, leaves the rhythm section almost indiscernible. Otherwise, BILLIE HOLIDAY AT STORYVILLE is an enchanting listen.|