Search - Judy Garland :: Over The Rainbow

A marvelous Judy Garland budget CD

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 10/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You can't find a better opening number for an album than Swanee, a proverbial show-stopper that audiences constantly begged Judy to sing. The pace slows considerably with the second track, the sensual Do It Again. Next up is Judy's secondary signature song (only Over the Rainbow is associated more closely with this greatest of singers), the incredible The Man That Got Away from 1954's A Star Is Born. From there we are taken through a trio of less familiar yet wonderful songs: Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home is a well-paced jaunt with undertones of the blues; Love of My Life begins slowly and then develops what I would call a very slight Latin rhythm that pushes Judy's ever more powerful vocals to greater heights; Dirty Hands Dirty Face is a quiet song which opens with the sole accompaniment of a piano and gradually brings in soft violins to accompany this mother's celebration of her little boy. The second half of the CD is charged with power, starting with the empowering, toe-tapping medley of Comes Once in a Lifetime and I Feel a Song Coming On. Can there be a better feeling than to be in the presence of Judy Garland and have her sing about feeling a song coming on? Never Will I Marry is another tour de force of a song that comes from the Judy Garland Takes Broadway album that never materialized; you would never know it by listening, but Judy had a bad case of laryngitis when she sang this song. When the Sun Comes Out is a moving song about the power love induces to help you overcome adversity and keep looking for the sun whenever you see the rain. I Love You continues this simple yet wonderful theme, while Don't Ever Leave Me is a short and sweet little ballad sung live to the accompaniment of a piano. The immortal Over the Rainbow closes the album out in the best of all ways; this is a particularly impressive live version of Judy's signature song, for Judy is, if I'm not mistaken, singing it to one of her children onstage. All in all, what you have here is a surprisingly good budget CD crammed full of impressive songs by the greatest singer to ever live."

Judy Live On (the Sound) stage

Gregor von Kallahann | 04/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This budget CD makes an interesting companion piece to the classic CARNEGIE HALL album. Both date back to the early 60s, and both are essentially "live" albums. This album with tracks culled from her early 60s TV show, is actually "live in the studio" and was essentially a different kind of experience for both the artist and the audience. Whereas CARNEGIE was a complete concert experience (perhaps the most complete "live in concert" ever recorded--warts, false instrumental starts and asides from Judy and the musicians that the actual audience never even heard themselves). This album, however, consists of selected highlights from (very likely) multiple broadcasts.



Presumably the TV series was a more controlled environment. There aren't too many gaffs--one noticeable one occurs at the end of "Swanee" where she has a bit of "gack" moment, the risk that high powered belters always run in this business. Oddly enough though, her voice sounds a bit sweeter and more youthful on this recording than on CARNEGIE, where her somewhat weathered, mature voice was part of the charm. Well, one thing I've learned is that after decades of dedicated listening to some of best singers is that you never can tell. Voices do diminish over time, of course, but one night of huskiness does mean it's time to hang up your (top) hat.



JUDY GARLAND AT CARNEGIE HALL is a classic album and, as I say, a complete document of a magical night. This Laserlight album offers something else, bits of magic from her fabled weekly series that may have been a bit less spontaneous (I assume they could do retakes as needed) but are ultimately almost as winning."