Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Best Of Billie Holiday (2001) 2CD

Forget for a moment that The Best of Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday was tied into the release of the superb box set, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944), thereby offering a bit of advertisement to the full-fledged set. That doesn't matter – even if there was never a box set, this would have been a welcome addition to Billie Holiday's catalog, since it's the first concise, yet comprehensive, introduction to her groundbreaking, perhaps greatest, recordings.

Over the course of two discs, nearly all of her finest moments for Columbia are chronicled (along with a handful of rarities to entice the curious to the big box), providing a welcome summary for serious listeners on a budget. Prior to this release, the Columbia recordings were available either individually, as part of the Quintessential series, or on haphazard single-disc collections. This provides a logical, thorough overview of her acknowledged peak at Columbia (meaning that there's nothing from Lady in Satin) and that may be enough for serious listeners who don't have the money or inclination to delve into the full box. –Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. What A Little Moonlight Can Do 02:58
02. These Foolish Things 03:19
03. I Cried For You 03:12
04. Summertime 02:55
05. Billie’s Blues 02:40
06. If You Were Mine 03:11
07. A Fine Romance 02:53
08. Easy To Love 03:12
09. I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm 02:57
10. I Must Have That Man 02:56
11. Me, Myself And I 02:37
12. They Can’t Take That Away From Me 03:03
13. Easy Living 03:04
14. A Sailboat In The Moonlight 02:50
15. Travelin’ All Alone 02:14
16. When A Woman Loves A Man 02:25
17. You Go To My Head 02:54
18. My Man 03:02

CD 2:
01. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me 02:50
02. The Very Thought Of You 02:46
03. I Can’t Get Started 02:48
04. Lone Gone Blues 03:06
05. Sugar 02:46
06. Some Other Spring 03:02
07. Them There Eyes 02:50
08. The Man I Love 03:06
09. Body And Soul 02:58
10. Swing, Brother, Swing 02:56
11. Night And Day 02:59
12. Let’s Do It 02:56
13. God Bless The Child 02:56
14. Solitude 03:15
15. I Cover The Waterfront 02:57
16. Gloomy Sunday 03:12
17. Until The Real Thing Comes Along 03:10
18. All Of Me 03:50