Lady in Satin

1	I'm a Fool to Want You / Ray Ellis Orchestra Edited Master 3:23
2	For Heaven's Sake / Ray Ellis Orchestra 3:26
3	You Don't Know What Love Is / Ray Ellis Orchestra 3:48
4	I Get Along Without You Very Well / Ray Ellis Orchestra 2:59
5	For All We Know / Ray Ellis Orchestra 2:53
6	Violets for Your Furs / Ray Ellis Orchestra 3:24
7	You've Changed / Ray Ellis Orchestra 3:17
8	It's Easy to Remember / Ray Ellis Orchestra 4:01
9	But Beautiful / Ray Ellis Orchestra 4:29
10	Glad to Be Unhappy / Ray Ellis Orchestra 4:07
11	I'll Be Around / Ray Ellis Orchestra 3:23
12	The End of a Love Affair / Ray Ellis Orchestra Mono Version 4:46
13	I'm a Fool to Want You / Ray Ellis Orchestra previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Take 3 3:24
14	I'm a Fool to Want You / Ray Ellis Orchestra previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Take 2 - Alternate Take 3:23
15	The End of a Love Affair: The Audio Story / Ray Ellis Orchestra previously unreleased / Bonus Track 9:49
16	The End of a Love Affair / Ray Ellis Orchestra previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Stereo 4:46
17	[Pause Track] / Ray Ellis Orchestra 0:06

Barnes & Noble

With Holiday having only a year and a half to live when these songs were recorded, her voice was indeed far less palatable that it had been in her prime. (Although in fact, she actually sounds quite stronger on these February 1958 sessions than she would in many of her still-later recordings.) Yet what Holiday had lost in chops, she more than made up for in increased ability to move an audience. The dramatic contrast between Holiday's hoarse and passionate sound and the grand, semisymphonic orchestrations (arranged by Claus Ogerman, conducted by Ray Ellis) also help make this just about the most moving collection of pop standards you could ever hope to hear. The repertoire is particularly interesting in that nearly all the songs here were associated with Frank Sinatra; perhaps the master had by now learned a thing or two from the pupil. Will Friedwald

All Music Guide

This is the most controversial of all Billie Holiday records. Lady Day herself said that this session (which finds her accompanied by Ray Ellis' string orchestra) was her personal favorite, and many listeners have found her emotional versions of such songs as "I'm a Fool to Want You," "You Don't Know What Love Is," "Glad to Be Unhappy," and particularly "You've Changed" to be quite touching. But Holiday's voice was essentially gone by 1958, and although not yet 43, she could have passed for 73. Ellis' arrangements do not help, veering close to Muzak; most of this record is very difficult to listen to. Late in life, Holiday expressed the pain of life so effectively that her croaking voice had become almost unbearable to hear. There is certainly a wide range of opinion as to the value of this set. [The 1997 CD reissue adds two alternate takes of "I'm a Fool to Want You," part of which were used for the original released rendition, plus the stereo version of "The End of a Love Affair" (only previously released in mono) and examples of Lady Day rehearsing the latter song, including a long unaccompanied stretch.] Scott Yanow