Judy Garland - When You're Smiling

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Free Music Notes for When You're Smiling

Free Music Review: As good a budget CD as you can ever hope to find
Hit: 5 Stars

Judy gives a rousing rendition of I'm Nobody's Baby, a song she first sang as a teenager in the excellent film Andy Hardy Meets Debutante; it's a true joy to hear the mature Garland reinterpret this truly magical song for her audience. The raw power of Judy's unique voice is made manifest in a somewhat unfamiliar Through the Years, the sound quality of which leaves something to be desired, unfortunately. The words "Smile though your heart is aching" take on a very personal meaning when Judy sings them, as anyone familiar with her life knows, and this fact makes Smile an incredible song of triumph over adversity that never fails to inspire me. Its corollary song, When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You) is taken in the same vein by this devoted fan of the greatest singer to ever live. You may stop automatically associating the name of Andy Williams with the song Moon River after you hear Judy's soulful rendition of this classic American standard, as it is absolutely beautiful.

You get two fan favorites, Chicago and San Francisco, back to back here. Judy always knocked her audiences dead with each of these tunes, and she obviously takes great joy in delivering these crowd-pleasing performances - it is always good to see Judy Garland happy, and it sometimes seems as if the only place she could ever truly be happy was on stage in front of her adoring fans. Lost in the Stars is a marvelous example of Judy Garland making a song outside her natural niche entirely her own; other great singers have performed this number, but few have equaled the power of Garland's performance. Those who might say Judy did not know how to let her hair down should listen to the medley If I Had a Talking Picture Of You/Toot Toot Tootsie.

Lucky Day is a theme song of sorts for The Judy Garland Show, and this track opens with the narrated introduction of Judy to the audience. The mood of the album takes a somber turn with Judy's moving rendition of By Myself; if anyone were qualified to sing this song, that person was Judy, and without doubt no one brought more emotion and power to this great track than she did. The album closes out with a show-stopper sung by many vocalists but truly mastered by Judy Garland; Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody leaves you literally begging for more. This may be a budget CD, but this is A-plus musical material.

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