An American pop vocal icon once called Billie Holiday the only true jazz singer they'd ever heard--and we'll take Tony Bennett at his word. If ever a vocalist embodied--and arguably inspired--the axiom "the singer, not the song," surely it was the fiery first lady of the blues. This second volume of Holiday's best known love songs displays a soul for whom "love" was considerably more than a four-letter word on performances that strut from lusty desire ("I Must Have That Man," "Moanin' Low") and introspective angst ("Why Was I Born?") to earthy renditions of quintessential American songbook classics ("Body and Soul," "More Than You Know" "These Foolish Things"). The selections here are culled from Holiday's mid-'30s/early-'40s prime and backed by jazz and swing era luminaries like Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, and Buck Clayton. Fueled by life experiences that are almost palpable in her phrasing and slinky way around the rhythm, this is Holiday at her most emotionally compelling; a fine primer for a half-century of subsequent vocal styling. --Jerry McCulley