This was Billie Holiday's final recording. She died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1959 at the age of 44. It was well known that she had a heroin addiction, and this album was to be her comeback. Instead it was received with mixed reviews. Some critics claimed that you could hear the vocal scars in each song and that her voice would never reach the upper range that fans were used to from her earlier recordings of the 1940s. Others argued that this was a brutally honest performance of heartbreaking jazz.Instead of a normal jazz combo, Holiday sings over a full orchestral arrangement that reminded me of In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra. The album also had the same themes of brutally honest love. The opening track, "I'm A Fool To Want You," is a song about being in a dysfunctional relationship and sets the tone for the rest of the album.
It was very hard for me to listen to this without getting emotional. I've always loved the sound of her voice and to hear this, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle with addiction, was just heartbreaking. She died with $.70 in her bank account and $750 in her possession. I'm glad I listened to this, but I think I need to listen to Tito Puente again to cheer me up.
Favorite Tracks: "I'm A Fool To Want You," "I Get Along Without You Very Well" and "You've Changed"
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