All Or Nothing At All (Acoustic Sounds Series) vinyl

Billie Holiday's late career 1958 LP through Verve Records caught the legendary singer at a relatively intimate stage: substance abuse compounded financial difficulties, which imposed a toll on her already turbulent personal life, and Holiday's once-pure, all-powerful voice was showing signs of wear. A title like All Or Nothing At All would certainly seem to express the captive intensity of an industry that "breaks" artists in more ways than one, and despite the mixed reviews on release, this small combo-backed record is of one artist's broken but still functioning sensitivity. With Harry "Sweets" Edison and saxophonist Ben Webster, Holiday croons over 12 tracks, recorded over five sessions in 1956 and 1957, showcasing a more restrained vocal style that pierces clearly through and despite pharyngeal ills.