Customer Reviews

Julie Andrews Sings for You

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On the surface, this looks like it might be an interesting collection. It contains all the tracks from THE LASS WITH THE DELICATE AIR (1957), plus two bonus tracks taken from the NBC Dinah Shore Chevy Show in 1958.

However, it's not what I was expecting. First, it's a CD-R, not a "real" CD. Second, the tracks from THE LASS WITH THE DELICATE AIR are presented in their mono mixes. I was hoping for the tracks in stereo -- both mono and stereo versions of the album were released (in 1957 and 1958, respectively). To date, we haven't had this complete album issued in stereo. So if you already have the Japanese CD of LASS, then you've got tracks 1-12 from this set.

The two bonus tracks are a nice addition, however. They're not the best sound quality, being taken from the audio of an old television broadcast, but they are quite clear and pleasant. "Whispering Hope" is especially nice, since this is the only recording we have of Julie Andrews singing that song.

If you don't already have THE LASS WITH THE DELICATE AIR, this would be a good way to get it at a lower price than the Japanese CD. But let's hope for a stereo release sometime soon...

Recorded during her hectic schedule of starring as Eliza in the Broadway production of "My Fair Lady", THE LASS WITH THE DELICATE AIR was in fact Julie Andrews' very first full-length solo album for the RCA label, a collection of traditional English ballads and folk songs.

In her recent autobiography ("Home"), Julie shared her rather philosophical memories of doing the album, stating--quite bluntly--that "RCA hoped I would choose pieces that were more popular, [but] I was very keen to record these songs, since I had an instinct that there would come a day when these sweet minor classics would not be as easy for me to sing".

Indeed, as early as 1957, the grind of delivering eight performances a week in the demanding "My Fair Lady" was playing havoc with Andrews' higher soprano register; eventually her voice "matured" and re-shaped itself into the supple, warm soprano you hear in subsequent movies like "The Sound of Music" and "Darling Lili".

This reissue from the Flare label includes the complete LASS WITH THE DELICATE AIR programme (in mono); plus two very rare tracks from the Dinah Shore/Chevy Show, recorded shortly after Julie left the Broadway company of "My Fair Lady".

[FLARE RECORDS SPEC-1035]

I don't know why, sometimes "Where'er You Walk" from this disk is the dearest thing I only want to hear. And then the other songs seem to be a good addition, including the bonus tracks ( I wish they were in a better quality ) with Dinah Shore.