Very Best of Julie London

Julie London | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 10, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B0009IE6K8
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,196 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Cabaret
  • #17 in Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz
  • #51 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Traditional Jazz General

Editorial Reviews

Julie London, The Very Best of Julie London

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just A Compilation, March 8, 2006

By 

C. MacGowan "The Esc Macs" (Escondido, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Very Best of Julie London (Audio CD)

This is more than just a compilation. My husband and I have been collecting music for years and Julie London is one of our favorites. We have several of her LPs and CDs and we were hesitant about getting this one even with the 5-star reviews. We had so much already,but there are a few songs,that have been hard to come by so reluctantly we ordered it and we are so glad we did. The songs are so beautifully arranged and sound so completely different from what we own. There is such a richness to the recordings and you feel like you are hearing her, really hearing her for the first time. We were so totally pleased by our purchase my husband said I had to write our own review. This is Julie at her best and we thank her and EMI-Capitol for bringing it to us. Catherine

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice overview of a sultry songstress, February 23, 2006

By 

James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Very Best of Julie London (Audio CD)

Julie London did not possess a big voice, but it sure was expressive, husky, intimate, and most of all, sexy. This 50 track, two-disc set is the most extensive Julie London collection available domestically. It spans her entire 30-plus album recording career at Liberty Records, from her biggest hit "Cry Me A River" from 1955's debut Julie Is Her Name to a scintillating take on the Doors' "Light My Fire" from her final effort, 1968's Yummy Yummy Yummy.

Aside from "Cry Me A River" (written by high school classmate Arthur Hamilton) and the also enclosed "Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast (co-penned by hubby Bobby Troup), nearly all of London's recordings were previously popularized by others. But when remade by Julie, these songs sound fresh and distinctly different from the originals. "Wives And Lovers," for instance, becomes a very serious cautionary tale, warning the listener that sexy Julie will steal her man - probably with little effort - if she doesn't shape up and spruce up her appearance. And when, on "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," she seductively invites a guy over to "to dine on my fine finnan haddie," I don't think it is fish that she's actually offering him a nibble of!

For those looking for a more concise Julie London collection or perhaps some additional London recordings, check out Rhino's Time For Love from 1991. It includes 13 wonderful tracks (out of 18) not found on this set.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Late Night Music..., December 21, 2006

By 

nicjaytee (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Best of Julie London (Audio CD)

There's something about Julie London's voice... sultry, sexy, super-cool... that perfectly captures the feel of the night. And, if you only know of her through "Cry Me a River" - as most people do - then you're in for a real treat because between the mid 50's and the late 60's she produced a huge amount of similarly beautiful music.

Featuring 50 tracks, most of which are "standards", virtually all of which are near-perfect examples of how to inject pure "atmosphere" into a song, and an incredibly large number of which are better than their more famous originals, this superb compilation will leave you wondering why she wasn't ranked up there with the great artists of her time... and, more interestingly, given the huge popularity of recent "jazz-cool" artists such as Norah Jones, why she's still so undiscovered.

Best of all this selection is a quite superb, flawlessly sung & played "late night" album - put it on and slip into over two hours of gloriously laid back music... you won't find much better.