Given that the primary feature here is a solo female vocalist—Billie Holiday—I couldn't help but compare this album to the earlier Sarah Vaughan album. I prefer this one: the lush orchestral backing really helps create a sweeping, dramatic sense of romance, as opposed to Vaughan's lighter, airier mood.

Immediately, one can hear some fragility and rasp in Holiday's voice; she comes across as much more "mature" than Vaughan to my ears. What I hadn't realized was the sad explanation: at the time of the recording, Holiday was in poor health, after having weathered decades of damage from alcohol, hard drugs, and abusive relationships. She recorded this album in February 1958 and passed away barely 18 months later. The critical consensus seems to be that the album packs a huge emotional punch, but that Holiday had lost some of her range and force by this point—I'd like to return to her earlier work and compare for myself.

I suspect this album will also hold a special place in my heart owing to the circumstances of my first listen: not wanting to miss a week, I had copied this album to my phone in advance of a trip to the Netherlands; I listened to it together with my wife on the train as we watched the Dutch countryside go by.

Two miscellaneous closing thoughts:

• It's a dang shame that she never had a chance to sing a Bond theme (and not only because that would up the Billie–Bond count to two).
• Thanks to Wikipedia, I learned that there's a crater on Venus named after her.

Favourite track: For Heaven's Sake