You balk a little at the naffness of the title, but this is an extraordinary collection of material, albeit with little context or explanation. There are only 10 film clips, and that includes one appearance apiece from Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong; the best of Holiday's clips (My Man) is used on the menu screen. Most of the material is audio - a previously unreleased 1955 rehearsal, radio interviews, interviews conducted in the early 1970s with Holiday's friends by Linda Kuehl, which became the basis of Julia Blackburn's recently published (and highly recommended) book With Billie. She is a riveting presence, whenever she appears, but she deserves better. It was ever true, not least in the way she saw herself: "They make me cry, they make me happy," she told radio interviewer Mike Wallace in 1956, speaking of her favourite artists. "I don't know if I've ever done that to anybody."
Billie Holiday, The Ultimate Collection
(Universal)