This is Billie Holiday at her absolute best, or worst, depending on your point of view. I personally consider it her best. She sings this song with a feeling of absolute devotion and love. With only months to live, Billie Holiday made her final recording for MGM records in March 1959. Years of abuse thru drugs and bad relationships had left both her voice and body only shadows of their former selves. However, what she no longer retained vocally, she more than made up for emotionally. Her battered voice and life experience allowed for the feelings to shine thru in a way that she couldn't have possessed in her younger years and for this reason, I fall into the group that prefers her latter recordings over the earlier ones. I am the happy owner of a 10-cd boxset of her complete recordings for the Verve and MGM labels which includes outtakes and incomplete tracks recorded between 1945 and 1959. It's one of the few things I will grab if I have to evacuate my apartment in an emergency...
from Billie Holiday (MGM E 3764) available on CD - Billie's Best / the Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959 (Verve-Polygram 513943 / 314 513 859-2)
28 Oct 02 ·scrubbles: This is one of my favorite Billie Holiday songs as well. Her voice is absolutely haunting here.
A true anthem to self-love. Cass' beautiful voice proudly affirms that you have to be yourself and not worry about what anyone else thinks. She deserved more appreciation than she got during her short life and this song strikes me as quite autobiographical.
from Make Your Own Kind Of Music (Dunhill 50071) available on CD - Dream A Little Dream: the Cass Elliot Collection (MCAD 11523)
29 Oct 02 ·delicado: yeah, I love this track. She sings in a very sincere and rousing way. 12 Jul 03 ·JangleBabe: If my childhood memories serve, this was the theme song of Cass's short-lived variety show back in the '70s.
The vocalization of a persistent daydream delivered with a truly ethereal sound. I find this song hauntingly beautiful. I was also lucky enough to come across a promotional-only CD single that features two great house mixes by Jonathan Peters although sadly, they are both edits that clock in around 4 minutes each.
30 Oct 02 ·delicado: Yes, a superb song. Simple, but beautiful. The tune reminds me of 'The Shadow of your smile'. The singer's voice echoes that of Claudine Longet nicely, and they appropriate some elements of classic film music in order to create a compelling backdrop. I have the US-issue CD single, which also includes 4 mixes and an instrumental version. None really match the elegance of the original though. 12 Nov 02 ·yonderboy: This track got a lot of exposure as part of the "Great Expectations" soundtrack. The entire cd is quite good as well. Formica Blues was Mono's only full length effort, though there are several cd singles available. A wonderfully successful example of how trip-hip and jazz/lounge styles work well together. Reminds me of Love Spirals Downwards' recent cds Temporal and Flux. Mono's vocalis Siobhan de Mar moved on to do work with Cocteau Twins frontman Robin Guthrie. Their band, Violet Indiana is on Guthrie's Bella Union label. 01 Nov 06 ·Mike: It's very appealing but I also find it almost comically artifical and that I tire of it very easily.
A departure from the rest of the soundtrack to this cult-classic film. While the other songs are very much influenced by the glam-rock era with a nod to the songs of Meat Loaf (and why not, considering the film has quite a Rocky Horror-ish feel to it), this is a beautiful little ballad. 'Wicked Little Town' bespeaks the desperation of the character Hedwig who is stifled by circumstances and situations that she feels powerless to change. She knows that there is a big world out there and she wants to experience it and make a name for herself if only she can get out of the 'wicked little town' that she is now confined to. Doomed to remain an outcast who lives on the fringes of society in her present surroundings, she can only cling to her dream of escape and the eventual realization of her full potential.
Ms. Simone sings almost with a sense of agony knowing that the object of her affection is untamed and unavailable even as she begs for his love. This track is heartbreakingly beautiful and is great listening in the late hours with the lights dimmed.
from Wild Is The Wind (Polygram 846893) available on CD - Nina Simone: Quiet Now-Night Songs (Verve 314 543 251)
10 Dec 02 ·cdarville: This song is also available on the original release, Wild Is the Wind, available now as a double-release combined with High Priestess of Soul on CD. It's been available for over ten years on Polydor and is wonderful!
