Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions

Judy Garland, Judy Garland | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 11, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DRE5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,831 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arguably the best studio recordings of Garland's career, November 29, 2003

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions (Audio CD)

Judy Garland's famous London Sessions recordings, recorded during the first week of August 1960, stand as some of her most remarkable studio recordings ever. Judy had nearly died a year earlier and had been told that she would be a semi-invalid for the rest of her life. Free of her constant stress and worry over work, Judy's health and spirit actually soared miraculously. In June 1960 she recorded the album "That's Entertainment!" and soon afterwards flew to London, where she launched a series of European concerts that paved the way for her triumphant American concert tour of 1961. While in London, between August 2 and August 8 of 1960, she recorded the twenty incredible songs you will find on this album. Many of these were songs she would sing in her upcoming concerts, and it is fascinating to listen and distinguish tiny differences in pace and delivery between these studio recordings and their live-audience counterparts in such concert albums as Judy Garland a Paris, The Legendary Amsterdam Concert 1960, and the amazing Judy at Carnegie Hall. Show-stoppers such as The Man That Got Away, San Francisco, Swanee, and Rock-a-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody) had a much more energetic and exciting feel to them when Judy sang them in front of thousands of adoring fans, but these studio recordings reveal subtle yet hidden depths in these songs, and Judy had never sounded better and more in love with her music than she did in these London Sessions recordings.

Most of these songs are quite familiar and need no introduction from me. A few merit special attention, however. Lucky Day is a joyous song enlivened with the passion for life Judy was finally feeling at this turning point in her career. The Judy at the Palace medley harkens back to Judy's incredible nineteen-week run at Broadway's immortal Palace theater in late 1951; Roger Edens wrote the introductory verse and adapted Shine On Harvest Moon, Some of These Days, My Man, and I Don't Care into a special medley to honor some of the big names who had previously played the Palace. Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe was a song Judy began singing after the birth of her son, Joe Luft. Perhaps the most unusual song in this collection is Cole Porter's I Happen To Like New York; much of the song hovers around the same few notes before building into an awe-inspiring crescendo of sound toward the end. Why Was I Born? is a song Judy enjoyed singing, but in my experience it is not featured on very many collections of Judy Garland songs. Over the Rainbow, as always, deserves extra special attention. This particular version is remarkable for the haunting quality of Judy's performance; this is no longer the young Judy Garland dreaming of a better world, it is a mature Judy Garland singing about hopes unfulfilled and a deep longing for something never found.

Amazingly, only six of these songs were released during Judy's lifetime. 1962's "The Garland Touch" included Lucky Day, the Judy at the Palace medley, Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe, It's a Great Day For the Irish, You'll Never Walk Alone, and I Happen To Like New York. In 1972, all twenty of these songs were released on "Judy in London," but this album saw only limited distribution. This London Sessions CD marked the first digital release of all twenty of these Garland classics. This album is actually the third CD in the remarkable Judy Garland: The One and Only box set released in 1991. While The London Sessions CD is certainly well worth owning, I would encourage prospective buyers to seek out and purchase the entire box set if possible, thereby getting 45 additional Capitol recordings to complement the twenty treasures found on this one album.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my goodness., July 31, 1999

By 

Jenny ([e-mail]) (Tennessee US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions (Audio CD)

That's what I thought when I first heard this album. I got it used, on a whim, and was blown away. "San Fransisco" is electrifying, and I love "It's a Great Day for the Irish," but the greatest song is "You'll Never Walk Alone." It is amazing. That's all you can say. Judy is at top form here, and you can forget all about her private life. We all know that she was tragic, but her songs let you see beyond that to reveal a divine performer. She can go from happy fast songs to slow, sad ones. If you feel down, listen to "Swanee." This is a true "sing in the shower" CD to be enjoyed by people of all ages.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one, the only, Judy Garland., June 29, 1999

By 

Boz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions (Audio CD)

Anyone who thinks Judy's voice was gone by the sixties should buy this album. The first time I heard the L.P. recording I was just blown away. Her powerful voice and her emotional rendering of the lyrics are unbelievable. The C.D. is even better than the original L.P. Highly recommended.