Like so many of the great vocalists of her day, Judy Garland frequently revisited repertoire over the years. An arrangement might vary, in great or small ways, and so, of course, would the interpretation. Garland’s unparalleled interpretive gifts, apt for wringing as much authentic emotion out of a song as possible, are front and center on the latest box set of the late artist’s recordings from JSP Records. The Garland Variations – Songs She Recorded More Than Once is a new 5-CD collection, set for arrival on October 27. Produced by JSP founder John Stedman and compiled by Lawrence Schulman, the same team behind such past Garland treasure troves as Creations: Songs She Introduced and Smilin’ Through: The Singles Collection 1936-1947, the new box will gather songs Garland recorded in the studio on multiple occasions between 1937 and 1962. With 115 tracks and over 6-1/2 hours of music, it will place the spotlight on the songs Garland re-recorded over a 25-year period. These tracks include such signature songs as “The Man That Got Away,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and of course, “Over the Rainbow,” which is included in five distinct renditions. Of course, some of the most renowned composers and lyricists in American popular song are represented, such as Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane, Johnny Mercer, and Harry Warren.
Garland’s first long-lasting recording affiliation was with Decca Records. Following some abortive test records made in 1935 by the twelve-year old singer (released by JSP on the stellar Lost Tracks set), Decca released two sides by Garland in 1936 and signed MGM’s up-and-coming star the following year. Garland remained at Decca through 1947, and her tenure there yielded 90 recordings from 30 sessions between 1936 and 1947. Her departure from Decca coincided with MGM’s entering the young soundtrack LP market, and so she no longer had the need to re-record movie favorites for Decca. With MGM having first right of refusal for her work, she didn’t make any further studio recordings until after her departure from the Hollywood giant in 1950.
In 1953, Garland appeared on the Columbia label with four single sides, and the following year the label released the landmark soundtrack to her film A Star is Born. In 1955, she was back in Hollywood signing with Capitol Records. She remained at the Capitol Tower until 1966, recording a series of stellar studio albums with top-tier arrangers including Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins – not to mention the Grammy Award-winning, record-breaking Judy at Carnegie Hall. JSP’s set concludes in 1962, the year of her final studio LP released in her lifetime, The Garland Touch. (The record was actually a compilation, drawing on Capitol outtakes, a recent single, and tracks from her 1960 London recording sessions which weren’t released in full until the compact disc era.)
At Judy Garland News, compiler Schulman eloquently illuminates the raison d'être behind this fascinating compilation: "The set’s target demographic is not so much Garland collectors who have all of her recordings, but rather the general public who would be interested in hearing Judy’s evolution musically speaking. To take but one example, her 1945 'You’ll Never Walk Alone' and her 1960 interpretation of the same song, heard back to back, offer a unique glimpse of how her artistry evolved. Her two versions of 'By Myself,' the first done at Capitol in 1957, the second in 1962 for I Could Go On Singing, heard back to back is a magnificent revelation in orchestrations and singing style. The difference between her MGM and Decca recordings of the same song is often minute, but often not, as is the case of her initial 1945 MGM recording of 'On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe' and her Decca New York session that same year at which she did a lower-keyed 'chamber' version of the number. Fascinating listening. No back to back MGM/Decca/Columbia/Capitol set has ever been released, and I thought it was about time."
After the jump, we have more information on the box set as well as the complete track listing!
The Garland Variations draws on recordings from the Decca, MGM, Capitol and Columbia labels, all of which currently reside in the U.K. public domain. Peter Rynston has remastered, and Andrew Aitken has designed the box set. It features new essays by James Fisher of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; The Judy Room founder Scott Brogan; Broadway’s Christine Andreas (who has portrayed Garland onstage); and Laurent Valière, a journalist at Radio France and producer/host of the program 42nd Street.
The Garland Variations – Songs She Recorded More Than Once is scheduled to arrive on October 27 and can be pre-ordered below!
Judy Garland, The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP, 2014) (Amazon U.S. TBD / Amazon U.K.)
CD 1
- Everybody Sing – MGM
- Everybody Sing – Decca
- (Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You – MGM
- (Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You – Decca
- Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – MGM
- Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – Decca
- Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – Capitol
- It Never Rains But What It Pours – MGM
- It Never Rains But What It Pours – Decca
- In Between – MGM
- In Between – Decca
- Ten Pins In The Sky – MGM
- Ten Pins In The Sky – Decca
- The Jitterbug – MGM
- The Jitterbug – Decca
- Over The Rainbow – MGM
- Over The Rainbow – Decca
- Over The Rainbow – V-Disc
- Over The Rainbow – Capitol
- Over The Rainbow – Capitol
- Figaro – MGM
- Figaro – Decca
- I’m Just Wild About Harry – MGM
- I’m Just Wild About Harry – Decca
- Swanee – Decca
- Swanee – Capitol
CD 2
- Embraceable You – Decca
- Embraceable You – MGM
- Embraceable You – Decca
- I’m Nobody’s Baby – MGM
- I’m Nobody’s Baby – Decca
- Buds Won’t Bud – MGM
- Buds Won’t Bud – Decca
- Our Love Affair – MGM
- Our Love Affair – Decca
- It’s A Great Day For The Irish – MGM
- It’s A Great Day For The Irish – Decca
- It’s A Great Day For The Irish – Capitol
- A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – MGM
- A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – Decca
- A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – Capitol
- Danny Boy – MGM
- Danny Boy – Capitol
- I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – MGM
- I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – Decca
- How About You? – MGM
- How About You? – Decca
- F.D.R. Jones – MGM
- F.D.R. Jones – Decca
- For Me And My Gal – MGM
CD 3
- For Me And My Gal – Decca
- After You’ve Gone – MGM
- After You’ve Gone – Capitol
- After You’ve Gone – Capitol
- I Got Rhythm – MGM
- I Got Rhythm – Decca
- But Not For Me – MGM
- But Not For Me – AFRS
- But Not For Me – Decca
- Bidin’ My Time – MGM
- Bidin’ My Time – Decca
- Could You Use Me? – MGM
- Could You Use Me? – Decca
- Boys and Girls Like You And Me – MGM
- Boys and Girls Like You And Me – Decca
- The Trolley Song – MGM
- The Trolley Song – Decca
- Meet Me In St. Louis – MGM
- Meet Me In St. Louis – Decca
- Skip To My Lou – MGM
- Skip To My Lou – Decca
- The Boy Next Door – MGM
- The Boy Next Door – Decca
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – MGM
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Decca
CD 4
- It’s A Great Big World – MGM
- It’s A Great Big World – Decca
- On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – MGM
- On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – Decca
- On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – Decca
- In The Valley (Where The Evening Sun Goes Down) – MGM
- In The Valley (Where The Evening Sun Goes Down) – Decca
- March Of The Doagies – MGM
- March Of The Doagies – Decca
- Swing Your Partner Round And Round – MGM
- Swing Your Partner Round And Round – Decca
- You’ll Never Walk Alone – Decca
- You’ll Never Walk Alone – Capitol
- I Wish I Were In Love Again – Decca
- I Wish I Were In Love Again – MGM
- Last Night When We Were Young – MGM
- Last Night When We Were Young – Capitol
- The Man That Got Away – Columbia
- The Man That Got Away – Capitol
- Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody) – Capitol
- Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody) – Capitol
- Judy’s Olio – Capitol
CD 5
- Judy’s Olio – Capitol
- Judy At The Palace – Capitol
- Judy At The Palace – Capitol
- Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe – Capitol
- Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe – Capitol
- Lucky Day – Capitol
- Lucky Day – Capitol
- Come Rain Or Come Shine – Capitol
- Come Rain Or Come Shine – Capitol
- By Myself – Capitol
- By Myself – Capitol
- I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Capitol
- I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Capitol
- Do It Again – Capitol
- Do It Again – Capitol
- It Never Was You – Capitol
- It Never Was You – Capitol
- It Never Was You – Capitol
lschulman says
Thanks so much for the great write-up, Joe. Great journalism, as usual. The only thing I would add to further whet people's appetites is to say that THE GARLAND VARIATIONS will also include two tracks new to CD: one is an MGM outtake of "Danny Boy;" the other is the studio alternate of "It Never Was You," with Dave Lee on piano, that was first released on the 1963 LP of Garland's last film, I Could Go On Singing. Strangely enough, in First Hand Records' recent release of Garland's London studio records, it was left out. When the CD of I Could Go On Singing was released in 2002, the live-on-the-set version, heard in the film, was included, and not this studio version, for which the sonics are far superior to the live version. I am quite excited in rediscovering it. Finally, might I add that I am also excited by the inclusion of essays by Broadway star Christine Andreas, scholar James Fisher, TheJudyRoom.com's founder and webmaster Scott Brogan, and French radio broadcaster Laurent Valière? I think it will be another great JSP release.
Kevin says
A great concept for a box set! It is rare that CD companies encourage "deep listening". Even though I have all the tracks but those rarities mentioned above, I will definitely buy this. I wish other sets would try this approach. Many singers re-recorded songs throughout their careers.
lschulman says
As of result of audio restorer John H. Haley's excellent work in doing an A/B comparison between the soundtrack "It Never Was You" and the one issued on LP, he has come to the conclusion that it is one and the same. This final 1962 track on the new JSP set is therefore not an alternate. I stand corrected.
pat o'sullivan says
Hi
I write to say on the bottom of this page the ebay link in reference to Judy does not work.Can you supply an alternative.
Thank you for all the above into
Many thanks
Pat