Judy Garland - Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions

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Free Music Notes for Best of Capitol Masters: London Sessions

Free Music Review: Arguably the best studio recordings of Garland's career
Hit: 5 Stars

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.

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