Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday | Album Review 💿

Andra Day shines, channeling her inner Billie Holiday on The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture).

One of the best R&B albums of 2015 came from Grammy-nominated R&B singer, 🎙 Andra Day.  While 💿 Cheers to the Fall didn’t get it’s just due from a commercial perspective, its crowning achievement, 🎵 “Rise Up”, remains ubiquitous years after its release.  The point is, the world hadn’t heard from this phenomenal talent for years and finally, she’s back in a big way. Playing the 🏆 Golden Globe-winning role of jazz icon 🎙 Billie Holiday in the 🎬 Lee Daniels film 🎦 The United States vs. Billie Holiday, she also provides the soundtrack.  💿 The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture) ends up being quite a treat.

“All of Me” 

There are plenty of awesome moments for Andra Day throughout the course of The United States vs. Billie Holiday. She kicks things off with a bang with ✅ 🎵 “All of Me,” among Holiday’s most beloved numbers.  What’s impressive is how close vocally Day sounds, doing an awesome job emulating the one-of-a-kind jazz vocalist.  While Holiday was untrained, singing in a similar fashion is no easy task.  Furthermore, 🎛 Salaam Remi drops a well-rounded backdrop – fuel for Day’s fire.

Day truly nails it on the ever controversial but utterly sublime ✅ 🎵 “Strange Fruit.”  “Strange Fruit” was a record that found Holiday fearful when performing it.  Why? The references to blacks being lynched, specifically in the South.  The first verse sums up this truly dark, totally unacceptable part of U.S. history that continues to have lingering effects:

“Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” 

Following two Holiday standards, Andra Day delivers a compelling original in ✅ 🎵 “Tigress &Tweed.”  This record manages to blend the best of the jazz and R&B worlds.  On the one hand, Day continues to channel her inner Billie Holiday.  On the other hand, not only does she sound true to her own artistry, but she also has some vocal moments that seem to channel Erykah Badu.  Three tracks into The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Day is simply unstoppable.

“The Devil & I Got Up to Dance a Slow Dance” 

Following the Andra Day original, we get another original, ✅ 🎵 “The Devil & I Got Up to Dance a Slow Dance,” performed by 🎙 Charlie Wilson, assisted by 🎙 Sebastian Kole.  Things continue to shine brightly, with gorgeous, jazzy, and soulful vocals from both musicians.  This record is refreshing, yet perfectly captures the sound back in the days when Holiday was at the height of her popularity.  It’s novel yet incredibly satisfying.

After two consecutive originals, it’s back to “old hat” for Andra Day.  You had to be expecting the beloved 🎵 “Solitude” to appear at some point.  As she’s done on the previous Billie Holiday staples, Day continues to impress, backed by a truly authentic backdrop. The aesthetic is a big reason for the success of this soundtrack.   That aesthetic is still quite clear on another original, 🎵 “Break Your Fall,” where Andra channels Lady Day without a hitch.  Honestly, it’s hard to believe this wasn’t a Billie Holiday classic.  That speaks to the craft of the producers, writers, and of course Day herself who has the toughest but most rewarding job of all.

“I Cried for You”

The excellence continues on 🎵 “I Cried for You,” where Andra doesn’t miss a beat – rather a note.  This is a great example of Day truly paying ode to Holiday’s unique instrument with particularly care to expression, nuance, and phrasing.  Follow-up 🎵 “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” is cut from the same cloth – rinse and repeat in the most positive way possible.  While neither performance is necessarily amongst the top of a very consistent soundtrack/tribute album, both are well-rounded – the exemplification of finesse. 🎵 “Them There Eyes” is another fun, novel, and tongue-in-cheek joint. Torch to the nth degree, just listening to the great orchestrations of the big band and those playful vocals, it makes you hearken back to simpler times where a totally different style of music was king.

“Lady Sings the Blues”

Some of the biggest songs of the Billie Holiday collection appear at the end of The United States vs. Billie Holiday.  The sultry ✅🎵 “Lady Sings the Blues” finally arrives as the tenth track, in all its glory. It’s followed by another big-time torch classic, 🎵 “Lover Man.” Sure, everybody and his brother (or sister) have covered it, but Lady Day definitely has one of most iconic, memorable renditions. Once again, Andra Day is totally locked into her once-in-a-lifetime role as Lady Day.

Interestingly, 🎵 “Gimme a Pigfoot and Bottle of Beer,” the uniquely titled penultimate record is considered one of the key tunes from the 🎙 Bessie Smith collection.  That said, Holiday would record her own version of this novel, tongue-in-cheek joint.  Very cabaret, it requires a playful instrumental arrangement and playful vocals. That’s no problem for Andra Day.  It’s only fitting that The United States vs. Billie Holiday concludes with the crowning achievement of Holiday’s illustrious career, ✅ 🎵 “God Bless the Child.”  As she’s done throughout the course of the album, Day sings incredibly expressively – marvelous to say the least.  No, she doesn’t dare supplant the legend, but she definitely does her justice by all means.  

Final Thoughts 💭

So, how well does Andra Day do on the soundtrack to The United States vs. Billie Holiday? Extremely well, period.  The covers are excellent, with Day doing her best to capture the essence of Lady Day herself.  She’s not just a copycat by any means, as she also ensures she’s true to self artistically. The new songs are quite compelling, managing to also channel Holiday’s style and the overall sentiment and feel of the times which she lived in.  Ultimately, it’s a pretty sweet 39 minutes, particularly for jazz and traditional pop lovers. 

✅ Gems 💎: “All of Me,” “Strange Fruit,” “Tigress &Tweed,” “The Devil & I Got Up to Dance a Slow Dance,” “Lady Sings the Blues” & “God Bless the Child”

🎙 Andra Day • 💿 The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture) • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 2.19.21

[📷: Warner]