Does anyone else ever listen to these?
Not only is it great to hear the purity of Judy's voice/talent in her early years before her private problems began to show in her work, but I think it's fascinating to trace her development from the "Little Girl With the Big Voice" style of her Vaudeville years, to the more demure "Girl Next Door" image MGM and Roger Edens crafted for her that made her a star.
Anyone else have any thoughts on them?
Never a fan of Garland, but if you have a particular track you love, it's probably on youtube. What would be a good representative track?
I like most of them. Here's a few suggestions from different stages of her vocal development style:
"Little Girl With the Big Voice": "You Can't Have Everything"
MGM Teen Star (Mickey Rooney's Good Right Arm): "I'm Nobody's Baby" Honorable Mention: "Buds Won't Bud."
Emerging Solo Star: "But Not For Me" "I Got Rhythm"
Top MGM Star: "The Trolley Song," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" "Smilin' Through"
There are others, of course, but I think these give a good representation of her vocal development during this period of her career. I think her offscreen problems began to affect her singing in the late 1940s, starting with her recordings for THE HARVEY GIRLS, but I'll add her recording of "On the Atchinson Topeka and the Santa Fe" with The Merry Macs as one of her best.
Obviously, I don't expect you to listen to all (or any) of these, but since I said I liked how the DECCA recordings showed the development of her vocal style, I thought I'd offer suggestions from her different periods.
Thanks, I do intend to listen to them.
I am of course familiar with her version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", but I love that song no matter who sings it, but she did a stellar job on that track. I'll check out the others in a couple of days.
I have listened to these since childhood. I don't like every song ("All God's Children Got Rhythm", "Buds Won't Bud", several others), but Garland, to me possessed the most beautiful voice during the 1940s.
I disagree that Garland's vocals were negatively affected by the time of "The Harvey Girls." She sings in a mature, rich voice. I think her recordings for "The Pirate" are the first time we hear her personal issues affect her singing.
Good Points, as usual, Gary:
She undoubtedly possessed a remarkable voice, and it was probably at its' most beautiful in the early/mid 40s.
Like you, I don't like all the songs, but I enjoy the DECCA recordings and it's fascinating to hear her vocal development and the development of her MGM persona through her singing during these years. I don't think they're discussed very much in evaluations of her work, so I'm glad to see your response.
You may have a point about her singing in THE HARVEY GIRLS. I recall reading somewhere that Liza Minnelli thought her singing in THGs marked a new level of maturity in her voice. Still, I think her singing of "In the Valley" sounds a little uncomfortable. Perhaps it's just an uncomfortable arrangement for her. Her singing of "On the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe" (the recording made for the movie) also sounds a little frayed/strained to me. but that doesn't mean I don't think it's great singing. I think she sounds great in that "commercial" recording of the song with the Merry Macs.
I like the song "Buds Won't Bud," and Judy's singing of it, though my favorite version is Ethel Waters' from CAIRO (1942).
I agree that her offscreen problems were reflected in her singing in THE PIRATE and, to some extent in the films that followed.
Interestingly, I think her best singing in the late 1940s, was in IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME, a minor Joe Pasternak production without any big production numbers or extensive dancing routines.
We'll have to agree to disagree about Garland's vocals in "The Harvey Girls." I think her movie version of "Santa Fe" is an astonishing vocal performance. "It's a Great Big World" is also sung beautifully. I also love "In the Valley" but would agree the Decca take is technically greater.
At times, her Decca recordings reveal her to be in better voice, yet these same recordings aren't nearly as emotionally touching as the MGM film versions. My take is that Garland was singing "in character" for the film prerecording, more as a relaxed singles singer at the nighttime Decca sessions.
One example: she's in far richer voice for the Decca take on "But Not for Me", yet the recording isn't anywhere near as emotionally moving as the MGM movie version ("Girl Crazy").
Side note: According to Mel Torme, Garland loathed "Buds Won't Bud." Just sayin'...
I agree that her performance of "Santa Fe" in the movie is remarkable, but to me she sounds a little more strained than she did singing earlier "belting" numbers like "I Got Rhythm" or "FDR Jones."
I know what you mean about her DECCA recordings compared to her soundtracks. I find her soundtrack performance of her most famous song, "Over the Rainbow," emotionally richer, though it's sung more softly than her commercial recording for DECCA.
And I recall that comment in Torme's book about Judy's dislike for "Buds Won't Bud." From the way he described it, I thought he felt that Judy was playing a joke on him when he asked her if she'd consider singing "Buds" on her show, because she knew of his dislike for the comment about "breaking wind."
Anyway, though I realize that David Shipman's biography of Judy is reviled by many Garland fans (not unlike Torme's book), I recall him pointing out that Judy never looked back on THE HARVEY GIRLS with affection, and never sang any of its' songs in her concerts, not even the Oscar winning "Santa Fe."
Incidentally, even if Judy didn't care for THGs, I like it a lot, not just for Judy's contribution but for those of John Hodiak, Virginia O'Brien and especially, the remarkable turn by 19 year-old British Angela Lansbury as the tough as nails leader of the "saloon gals."
Judy recorded a version of "Santa Fe" for her first Capitol album, 1955's "Miss Show Business", but it was dropped from the final cut. Curiously, while other Capitol cut tracks resurfaced, this track has yet to be located and, at this writing, is considered lost.
Garland DOES sing "Santa Fe" (including verse) in her 1964 TV series ("songs from the movies" ep).
THG is my very favorite Garland pic. No, it's not her best, but I love the score, the outdoorsy quality, and the gorgeous cinematography. Garland is also quite lovely in the film.
Whenever I watch the movie (usually the Fourth of July), I always watch with the two excised musical numbers restored ("My Intuition" and "March of the Doagies"). BOTH were foolishly cut, with the "Doagies" omission actually harming the narrative. Uncharacteristically poor decision from producer Arthur Freed. Thank God both survive.
Too bad the footage was lost for the riveting "Paging Mr. Greenback."
I knew about Judy's singing "Santa Fe" on her TV series but not about the lost track from her Capitol album. Still, Shipman is correct that she never added it to her concert repertoire, or sang it regularly despite it being one of her two Oscar winners.
I agree that Judy looks lovely in the film, especially in the scenes in "the Valley" with John Hodiak. As I said, I like the film a lot and not just for Judy's central contribution. I think Hodiak is excellent and his "My Intuition" duet with Judy is charming, and I miss Virginia O'Brien* when her character "disappears" a little more than halfway through the film. I also like the score a lot, including O'Brien's "The Wild Wild West" and Kenny Baker's lilting "Just You Wait and See."
*Why is O'Brien's character considered unattractive? I realize she's assigned the wisecracking "sidekick" role, but I think she's very pretty.
Speaking of PRESENTING LILY MARS' "Paging Mr. Greenback," in his memoir Joe Pasternak said that Judy, because she "listened to the wrong people," went behind his back and complained to L.B. Mayer, insisting a big production number be produced for the small scale film to keep it from failing, resulting in the Freed Unit producing the "Broadway Rhythm" finale. It's not one of her major productions, but I've always liked LILY MARS, and I think Judy may look her healthiest/loveliest in it of all her films.
PLM shares the number one spot with THG for me. This was shot without the benefit of Dottie Ponedell's makeup genius, and Garland wears no falls or hairpieces, unlike 99 percent of her other films, not that that's particularly important. She's just so naturally lovely.
I'm in Garland's camp about "Paging Mr. Greenback." While the surviving stereo prerecording is musically thrilling, the lyrics are incredibly lame, even considering the war. The "Broadway Rhythm" number is gorgeous and shows Judy off to her best advantage - an example of some of her greatest dancing. I've never understood the complaint that it's out of place. Aren't we supposed to see that Lily Mars has become a big star?? It's revealed she's married to John Thornway, so a year - or more - has clearly transpired. Garland shot this about four months after the film was completed and looks more mature, so it works.
I agree with Garland's instincts to punch up the finale. Most people do not. Fair enough. I just keep hoping the film will be restored for Blu ray, but it's just too forgotten.
I like the finale, too, and I also think it's appropriate to show Lily as a big success on Broadway.
Perhaps people (including Joe Pasternak), were thinking of the smaller scale films he made at Universal with Deanna Durbin. The Durbin films never ended with a big finale/production number, just with Durbin singing.* I'm not sure, but I think LILY MARS was the first film Pasternak made at MGM. Then again, the Durbin films weren't real "musicals" like the Garland vehicles produced at Metro.
Of course, that wouldn't explain why people today feel the large scale finale is out of place. Personally, I don't think the finale is very large. Yes, it not only features Judy and Charles Walters, but Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, but the chorus isn't huge and, as you've noted, it does an excellent job of spotlighting a more mature Judy's singing/dancing talent.
*It's interesting to compare LILY to Durbin's 1943 film, HIS BUTLER'S SISTER. Both films feature gifted young singers (both from Indiana!) who come to New York seeking stardom on Broadway. Both of the girls finagle their way into the lives (professional and personal) of established, successful leading Broadway lights. (Durbin gets a job as the maid of prominent Broadway composer Franchot Tone), and both, of course, wind up as Broadway's best bets in years.
The finale of SISTER, though, features Durbin's English language rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" aria. Although like other Durbin films, the finale spotlights her singing, she looks radiant and beautiful in the same way Garland does in MARS and Leonard Maltin had it right when he described her performance as "stunning" and the finale as "moving." (It shows Durbin, at the conclusion of her aria, running a gaunlet through a crowd of applauding admirers into Tone's waiting arms.)
I can't comment or compare, as Durbin has never interested me.
That said, I find it curious that Garland considered Durbin a threat even in her last years. Garland's "jokes" about Durbin's singing and "that one eyebrow that wouldn't quit" strike me as mean-spirited and, in the end, very unflattering to Garland (to the best of my knowledge, Durbin is the only peer Garland made fun of). The MGM competition between them must've been extremely damaging to Judy.
It's interesting that Garland accomplished true legend, whereas Durbin had to settle for a long life and relatively greater personal happiness.
Garland undoubtedly resented Durbin's instantaneous stardom and the worldwide "Durbin phenomenon" that resulted from her meteoric rise. It took several years for Garland to reach Durbin's level of superstardom.
Garland may also have resented that Durbin was always the main star of her films and that she was always considered lovely and an object of romantic interest to the male characters in her films, while Garland was stuck with the "Girl Nobody Whistled At" image until her early 20s.
I think Durbin got what she wanted out of life. She wasn't interested in being a star/public figure and as soon as she could, she fled the celebrity spotlight. Garland paid a terrible price for her "legendary" status, and as sublimely talented as she was, not all of her legend is flattering and her early demise, looking twice as old as her 47 years, is tragic.
Joe Pasternak may have put it best when he was quoted in one of the first Garland books:
"You'd have to be a psychiatrist to understand why one child adjusts to a situation better than another. Deanna was never a topic of sensation - except for her talent. She came from a much more settled home life and her private life never created a hullaballoo. She knew when to quit. Before they quit her. She's still the same delightful girl she ever was. About Judy there are legends. She always made news. People wanted to write about Judy because she was explosive and unpredictable."
As for Garland's letting Durbin have it in her "stories," she at least always gratefully acknowledged that it was Durbin who first proved that an adolescent female could be a major box office draw and critical darling, thus paving the way for Garland and the others who were to follow.