Search - Judy Garland :: Judy Garland a Paris: En Concert Avec Europe 1 (1960)

Excellent Garland--great for fans, could be better recording

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 05/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of a great concert that is comparatively hard to find is a must for Garland fans. She sang beautifully and really wowed the audience even though (as the liner notes point out) Judy was not as well known to the French as she was to the British. Her connection and rapport with the audience are excellent. One cautionary note: this is not the concert as it was performed; but rather this recording is what was broadcast on French radio a few days after the concert to fit into a one hour strict timeframe. Therefore the songs on the CD are out of order and there may be a song or two that did not make it onto this CD; but then again this is not a major drawback. One disappointment that kept my opinion of the recording to four stars instead of five is that the quality of the recording (the recording quality, not Judy) could have been better. Apparently Judy may have been moving away from the microphone a little from time to time in order to give a good performance; but this shows up as a few moments on the CD where her voice fades just a little. To be fair, recording quality in 1960 was not what it is today; but it could be have been better. (Just a few months later at Carnegie Hall the recording quality was far superior.) After all is said and done I recomend this CD for ANY Garland fan as well as those wanting to get more familiar with her work. She was exceptionally talented and that is reflected in this recording!"

An incomplete but wonderful concert performance

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 11/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This live concert recording, one of the least familiar of Judy's knock-'em-dead performances, should be of particular interest to Judy Garland devotees. The timing and overall context of the performance is especially important. This show took place at the Olympia in Paris on the night of October 28, 1960; six nights later, on November 3, the concert was broadcast on the radio station Europe 1. Less than a year earlier, Judy had come very close to death and was told she could never work again. Free for the first time in her life from the constant pressures of the industry, Judy's health and spirit absolutely thrived, setting the stage for her great musical triumphs of the early 1960s. Judy returned to work because she wanted to, and that made a world of difference. In June 1960, she recorded the acclaimed studio album That's Entertainment! A month later, she flew (for the first time) alone to London, where she soon recorded eighteen memorable studio tracks. On August 28, she delivered a 32-song, "two hours of pow," concert at the London Palladium; soon thereafter, she was off to Paris, Amsterdam, and several other European cities to perform. Soon after arriving back home to America on New Year's Eve, Judy embarked on a 32-concert tour, achieving musical perfection in her legendary Carnegie Hall triumph.Thus, in some ways, this concert can be viewed as a warm-up for the Carnegie Hall concert of the following year, but there are still vast differences between the two releases. The strangest thing about Judy Garland a Paris is the fact that this recording differs from the actual concert itself. This comes from the radio broadcast of the show, which was apparently cut to fit within the time constraints of a single hour. Not only are a number of songs not included here, the actual order of the tracks does not match the order in which Judy actually sang them. The Introduction is not Judy's famous opening instrumental theme; it is the music played at the end of the intermission. Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart was certainly not the first song Judy performed; most likely, she began with When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You). Almost all of Judy's dialogue with the audience was cut, the sound quality lacks an important measure of depth and quality, and the level of the audience's enthusiasm does not come through as loudly and clearly as it does in Judy's other live performances.Almost all of these songs were performed in Judy's more famous concert recordings of 1960 and 1961: I Can't Give You Anything But Love, San Francisco, The Man That Got Away, Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody, After You've Gone, the stirring That's Entertainment!, Come Rain or Come Shine, You Go To My Head, Stormy Weather, the famous medley of You Made Me Love You, For Me and My Gal, and The Trolley Song, and - of course - Swanee. Judy also delivered here an emotionally powerful performance of Over the Rainbow, and the passion she pumped into this classic song more than made up for the fact that her voice was starting to tire in the late stages of the concert. The one track unique to this concert recording is, appropriately enough, Judy's medley of I Love Paris and April in Paris. While Judy Garland a Paris is a terrific concert CD, it lacks the amazing musical atmosphere and audience participation/interaction found on other live Judy albums. This is due in large part to a lack of depth in the sound, but the fact that French audiences would be less familiar with Garland than their American and British counterparts may also be a factor. One very nice thing about Judy Garland a Paris that I have not yet mentioned is the extensive liner notes that come with it: twenty-three pages of pictures, essays on the magic of Judy Garland, a 1993 interview with Sid Luft, and information on the unusual aspects of this unique concert recording. This CD can be hard to find these days, so I would certainly encourage you to pick it up if you ever chance upon it, but this is certainly not the ultimate Judy Garland concert experience - that honor belongs to the record-breaking Judy at Carnegie Hall double album. The Legendary Amsterdam Concert of 1960 also delivers a much more complete, powerful live performance than what you will find on this edited Paris concert recording. For Judy Garland devotees, however, it goes without saying that this is a CD you will want to add to your collection."

Judy at the peak of her game

Daniel Jolley | 02/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Judy was 38 and at the top of her form when she performed at the Olympia in Paris in October, 1960. Just when I thought it was almost impossible to get this CD, I looked on Amazon.com and there it was! I am a huge Judy fan, and this is my favorite Judy CD, because it is pretty rare. The production is excellent, and Judy's voice is in its prime. The package is written in French, which is another delight, and I am very thankful that Amazon[.com] has this CD in stock."