Customer Reviews

Julie Is Her Name Vol 1 & 2

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Julie London's first and third albums (I think) re-issued here on CD. This one's getting hard to find, so buy it quick. She was sexy, sophisticated, intimate and artistic. Now they call this type of thing "lounge music." Back when it was fresh, in 1955 and 1958, some called it jazz, some called it "pop" and some called it "mood music." I think the last phrase is the most accurate. Julie's warm vocals and the excellent but unobtrusive accompaniment of guitar and bass are great for background sound, but equally great for a headphone experience of deliberate listening. If your heart is broken, half the songs in the collection will feed your need for pity briefly, then begin to heal you. If you are new-fallen into love, the other half of the tunes give you hope and sunshine. While her Capitol collection, "Wild, Cool and Swingin'" is also good, that one lacks "Cry Me a River" her first hit and forever signature song. This one kicks off the disc with it. My personal other favorites include "It Never Entered My Mind" and "No Mood at All" from the debut album, "Julie is Her Name." From the 1958 record, "Julie is Her Name Vol. 2" I like especially "Blue Moon" and "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" and "I Got Lost in His Arms." However, all 25 are enjoyable. None are overly long, there is no novelty filler here either. This collection is just under an hour of excellently crafted love songs rendered by an excellently crafted singer, inside and out. Can't go wrong buying it.This sounded good 45 years ago, and will be worth playing 45 years from now, if you can find a machine then to reproduce it. Well-written songs, seemingly sung by a woman who wants to fill your head with her body and soul, while guitar and bass keep both of you in the mood---who can ask for anything more?

Julie was originally an actress, but the success of her first record, Cry me a river, ensured that she would forever be remembered as a singer. Some critics complain about her vocal limitations, but Julie knew about those and worked within them. Torch singing was her speciality, and she was certainly one of the best at it. On these albums, the musical backing is very sparse, in contrast to her sixties music which generally has a fuller orchestra. I love all her music, but I think sparse is best.

Cry me a river opens this set, which consists of her debut album, Julie is her name, from 1955 and another album from 1958, confusingly titled Julie is her name volume 2. I say confusingly, because there were other albums released between those two.

The songs to found on these two albums were mostly selected from the Great American Songbook, and were well chosen, mostly soft, seductive ballads. Even a more upbeat song like S'wonderful is done with restraint. No doubt included to provide a bit of variation, it works quite well but it's not really Julie's type of song.

Apart from the title track, there are many other excellent ballads, including I'm in the mood for love, It never entered my mind, No moon at all, Blue moon (very different from the versions by the Marcels or Elvis - delicious) and I got lost in his arms.

This twofer was released some years ago but is becoming increasingly hard to find as I write this - however, it is well worth seeking out.

Julie is Her Name is one of the two best Julie London albums. London is accompanied by guitar player, Barney Kessel. In most of her later albums, Julie is accompanied by a full orchestra. These orchestras tended to over-shadow her beautiful voice. She sounds better with just a guitar. Her next album, 'Lonely Girl,' (she sings with guitarist Al Viola) is as good or better.

I remember Julie London from my childhood when she was a regular on TV. She was a beautiful, sexy lady. I didn't remember how well she sang until I bought this CD. The CD is of her first album from 1955 and a later album from 1960, according to the liner notes. Vol. 1 is in mono, Vol. 2 is stereo. Both have some background noise, typical of the recordings of the time. But the recordings are both good and both are in the same style: voice, guitar and bass. While the minimalist accompaniment sometimes detracts from the more upbeat songs, nothing detracts from Julie London's voice. It is nearly perfect. Aparently this CD is hard to find these days. There is an import listed on Amazon that costs about the same as the used CD listed here. Both are expensive. Both are worth it.

When Julie started singing in clubs in the fifties, she used only a guitarist and a bassist for a warm and intimate feel. Then when she started planning her first record, Liberty Records encouraged her to use a combo with drums, piano, etc. but Julie chose to stick to her club formula...lucky us! The result is one of the most romantic and moving jazz albums ever, "Julie is Her Name." Containing her #1 hit "Cry Me a River" (Julie was the first artist to record this now-classic tune), this album is chock full of gorgeous ballads, including "I'm Glad There is You," "Can't Help Lovin That Man," "Easy Street" and "Laura." There's also plenty of swing, however, on uptempo outings like "I Love You" and "No Moon at All." Julie ended up recording with combos and full orchestras in her career, but in 1958 returned to the bass-guitar-vocal setup for "Julie is Her Name, Volume Two." "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "I Got Lost in His Arms" are surely among Julie's finest ballad recordings, and "Too Good to Be True" and "Goody Goody" find the perfect midtempo to gently swing. Of course, twenty-five songs with the same bass-guitar-vocal lineup can get a little similar-sounding around track 18 or so...before you know the songs inside out (and you'll definitely want to), listening to one album at a time is recommended. But having these two albums on one CD is a pure delight, especially considering the excellent digital remastering. Add to that the great arrangements and guitar playing over Julie's smoky vocals and you have one of the most enjoyable finds in jazz reissues.

If you are only can have one or two Julie London Albums in your collection I recommend this CD as one of them.

Classic Julie London tunes recorded faithfully capturing the warm, lush sounds of the original LP's.

I bought this disc new while on vacation one year, and have enjoyed it ever since. Julie's light airy voice is pure silk in this album, and assisted by Barney Kessel's guitar work is pure warmth.

Even though the cover shown on the disc for volume 1 shows "stereo", don't worry, as volume 1 on this disc is fortunately the original mono. A GOOD thing, considering the "stereo" version is rechanneled. Had they used the rechanneled tape, the quality and charm of this recording would have been destroyed. A compromise at best.

Volume 2, however, is true stereo. This is a very enjoyable album, especially if played on a vacuum tube system. Highly recommended.

I remember Julie London as nurse Dixie McCall from the TV show "Emergency" when I was a kid in the 70's. WHen I started listening to jazz my mom told me about Julie singing "Cry Me a River" in the movie "The Girl Can't Help It." I bought this CD. Wow!!! I don't believe that there has EVER been a more sultry voice than Julie's. She is only accompanied by guitar and standup bass, but the musicians on the record are top notch, guitars are played by Barney Kessel and Howard Roberts. Every song on the CD is great, esp. 'Cry Me...", "No Moon at All", "Too Good to be True." I could go on, like I said--they're all good. It's worth noting that Ella Fitzgerald, herself, after recording a version of "Cry Me a River" said that it was Julie London's song and nobody did it better than her. That's a pretty high recommendation.

Julie London has a voice truly to get lost in and wrapped up in. It's velvety and silky smooth and sensiously delish. The cd includes her two finest lp's, which feature an intimate bass and guitar(by jazz legend Al Viola), arranged by Bobby Troup!!! This is the best jazz vocal album ever, and has the difinitive version of "Laura" a classic "Hot Toddy" with London's cool scatting, and a the ultimate "cry Me A River"(her only major hit song), I wish all her future lp's had just bass and guitar. Also this has a killer version of "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan". A great CD!

Julie was originally an actress, but the success of her first record, Cry me a river, ensured that she would forever be remembered as a singer. Some critics complain about her vocal limitations, but Julie knew about those and worked within them. Torch singing was her speciality, and she was certainly one of the best at it. On these albums, the musical backing is very sparse, in contrast to her sixties music which generally has a fuller orchestra. I love all her music, but I think sparse is best.

Cry me a river opens this set, which consists of her debut album, Julie is her name, from 1955 and another album from 1958, confusingly titled Julie is her name volume 2. I say confusingly, because there were other albums released between those two.

The songs to found on these two albums were mostly selected from the Great American Songbook, and were well chosen, mostly soft, seductive ballads. Even a more upbeat song like S'wonderful is done with restraint. No doubt included to provide a bit of variation, it works quite well but it's not really Julie's type of song.

Apart from the title track, there are many other excellent ballads, including I'm in the mood for love, It never entered my mind, No moon at all, Blue moon (very different from the versions by the Marcels or Elvis - delicious) and I got lost in his arms.

This twofer was released some years ago but is becoming increasingly hard to find as I write this - however, it is well worth seeking out.