There is talking between virtually every track (on 7 or 8 of the 10 cds)(scores and scores of title and take numbers spoken, and respoken. The producer introducing tracks by title and making endlessly pointless studio remarks. (Of course the same uninteresting remark
each and every time you play the cd..)
Sometimes songs even stop after a single line is sung (or before). Then reslate, retitle and restart for
another 20 seconds.

Of course the (properly recorded) music itself is wonderful but it's impossible to fall into any kind of musical reverie
with the incessant interruptions (absolutely none of it worth hearing).
So if you like Billie Holiday for her *music* this isn't for you

In fact the box set is so utterly unplayable I rebought the music on individual cds so that I can actually listen to it.
I'm a big Billie fan, I already had all the music on vinyl before I bought the box set.
(Yes, even the very poor bootleg stuff that Verve bought to pad out the box set.)

Finally it's wildly overpriced, around 5/6 of the cd's are only for listening to once (and you might not even manage
that. Billie Holiday as a slurring rambling drunk is a big downer and
the record company might have shown her a little respect and kept the tapes in the vault.
Haven't they made enough off her yet? In the first place they only paid her a fee of $30-$100 per track for a buyout with
with no royalties ever.

In reality at least half the box set is actually unreleasable outtakes/rehearsal tapes - boxed up as full price cds.
The whole thing smacks of record company greed.

So there are only around 4 cds of real, properly recorded releasable master take music.
And these can be bought on 2 double cd sets (unfortunately only from Verve) without the talking between tracks.
Do yourself a favor and get these instead.

Oh yeah, and as if all this isn't enough bad news, they've jammed different sessions on to the same cd - so you get a handful of
prime Billie tracks followed by 40 minutes of amateur home recorded rehearsal talking on the same cd.
So what emerges is that there is only (I think) one single cd which is prime quality all the way through.
(Except for the stopping, retakes and talking between the takes which it also has..)

So get any other Billie Holiday box set than this - but get one!