Judy at Carnegie Hall - Judy Garland
Finally, an album I'm somewhat familiar with. Now, like most people I grew up knowing some of these songs such as "The Trolley Song" "You Go To My Head" and so on. But to be honest, I never thought of Judy Garland as much of an artist. All I knew about her was that she was some sort of Vaudeville singer who got big after The Wizard of Oz, and that she liked poppin pills.
To be honest, it wasn't until Rufus Wainwright covered this entire concert that I went through and listened to the whole thing. First of all, I thought his performance wis hilarious, ingenious, and impressive. And then when I listened to Judy's actual performance, I thought the exact same thing.
After going through again I found myself drawn to these slow love ballads such as "If Love Were All" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". Being such a long set, there is a lot to take in here. The band is beautiful and Judy is extravagant and commanding. It's hard to imagine an entertainer like her who controlled the band and the audience all so well. Just listen as she cues up the songs and commands the audience to take an intermission.
What this live album presents is a person finding solace in her art. Amidst whatever she was going through at the time, Judy took the stage all for her own and showed the world all the good things she had to offer. And in doing so, we are left with this inspiring, witty, and beautiful piece.
other 1962 nominees
- Breakfast at Tiffany's Soundtrack performed by Henry Mancini
- Genius+Soul=Jazz performed by Ray Charles
- Great Band with Great Voices performed by Si Zentner & the Johnny Mann Singers
- The Nat King Cole Story performed by Nat King Cole
- West Side Story Soundtrack performed by Various Artists
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