Album Review: JUDY GARLAND - THE LOST VEGAS SHOW Gives The World New Judy From Old Tapes Made New

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow readers, welcome back to Bobby's CD sandbox where we offer our broken-down breakdowns of new music releases. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week's album entry in the BobbyFiles my dearlings means it's ALL of the holidays over here at Little Bobby's house because the fine folks at High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT, on their logo) have given the world another quality release of a lost Judy Garland performance. These generous and talented people who gave us last year's Judy Garland THE FINAL CONCERT IN COPENHAGEN (read the Broadway World review HERE) have circled back around with a brand new album from a live concert that The Greatest Entertainer Who Ever Lived performed in Las Vegas in 1956. As a matter of fact, my JudyPhiles, the press information released from HDTT declares this to have been Judy Garland's nightclub debut, and since the liner notes were penned by award-winning Garland historian Lawrence Schulman, we are going to take their word for it. The previously unissued tapes that were part of a private collection, lo, these many years were recorded on Judy's opening night and they have been transferred by HDTT chief engineer Robert Witrak in a very high-resolution format directly from the original recordings, then restored and remastered by famed audio engineer John H. Haley. With Witrak, Haley, and Schulman sharing producing credits for the album, one should expect the highest quality treatment for our beloved Judy, and that is exactly what we get, my lambs.

In twenty tracks, this new album captures the magic that IS Judy Garland in live performance, which is not something new - we've all committed the Carnegie Hall concert to memory. We've all listened to a variety of other concert performances, and we've watched Garland on the YouTubes, and we've heard the (gay gasp*) bootlegs. There is no denying that Garland was the Greatest. But here, doing her first-ever nightclub act, Judy is in top form. She sounds as divine as we all know she was, on every number, many that the world already knows because the setlist is comprised of songs from her first two albums on the Capitol Records label, as well as songs she made famous during her movie career. Also, dear rainbow tribe, you can do the queer math and realize that 1956 was only 2 years after A STAR IS BORN and the lady's superpowers were still at full strength. With bandleader Jack Cathcart and his orchestra backing her up and a cast of chorus boys acting as time-and-space fillers while Judy changes her outfits, the feel of the show is solid Las Vegas (the boys are especially adorable, calling out "She's not ready yet!" at a couple of points in the program), and the HDTT team's restoration of the recordings makes it all sound like it was done yesterday using technology of today. The mixing and mastering are so sharp, so crystal clear, so evenly balanced that you might find yourself feeling like the album was recorded in 2022 as a Valentine's Day release (tip: Little Bobby listened with noise-canceling headphones and can recommend it).

Among the famous Judy Garland songs to be enjoyed on the album, fans can look forward to hearing bold, full, rich-voiced renditions of ANYPLACE I HANG MY HAT IS HOME (heavenly), ROCK-A-BYE YOUR BABY WITH A DIXIE MELODY (iconic), Judy's famous arrangement of COME RAIN OR COME SHINE (with a touching call out to her favorite, Harold Arlen) and that wonderful medley of YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU/FOR ME AND MY GAL/THE BOY NEXT DOOR/THE TROLLEY SONG... and, of course, that RAINBOW song everyone love so much (did somebody say RAINBOW?!?). There are other glorious numbers and some rather delightful chitter-chatter with the audience, which Judy was always so good at, even though she tells this crowd that "I'm not very good about talking... I would just rather sing" - but every time she does talk, it's just as charming as every story she ever told on any talk show or concert stage. It is super heartwarming when she dedicates HAPPINESS IS JUST A THING CALLED JOE to fifteen-month-old Joey Luft and, when that happens, it all fits. She had just had one of her children, to whom she was fiercely devoted, as everyone knows, and she was happy. Once the listener gets that information, the entire listening experience is informed by that happiness, and you realize how great she sounds, how happy and healthy and supreme. With all the decades of prattle about the Judy Garland tragedy, it's such a joy to have further proof that there were good times and happy moments, too, and that is what we should all focus on when we think of Judy Garland.

Judy Garland - THE LOST VEGAS SHOW - NEW FRONTIER HOTEL - JULY 16, 1956 is a true beauty of an album, my beauties, and the wonders over at HDTT deserve a standing ovation for bringing it to the world for the first time ever. First time ever, dearlings! To get a new Judy Garland album after all these years is a major event for all us practitioners of Judy-Ism, and this one is being offered in a variety of hi-def download formats, as well as on CD, so everyone can get a copy and lean into the magic, but there is a trigger warning, a bit of sad news, friends, and Little Bobby must warn you, so you aren't surprised: the final number is aborted. There's nothing wrong with your download or your player: Judy begins her encore of LIZA and the tape ran out. It's a little disappointing but when you think of the treasure that is every moment, every word, every note that comes before the tape ran out, the disappointment doesn't last. We are happy to take what we can get, and what we are getting here is pure gold. And, as gold, we have no other choice but to give Judy Garland - THE LOST VEGAS SHOW - NEW FRONTIER HOTEL - JULY 16, 1956 (and HDTT) our full

5 Out of 5 Rainbows

The HDTT Homepage Is High Definition Tape Transfers (highdeftapetransfers.ca)

AND...

The Direct Link To The Album Is High Definition Tape Transfers (highdeftapetransfers.ca)

TRACK LIST:

01. A HOT TIME IN THE OLD TOWN (Joe Hayden-Theodore August Metz) (The Eight Boyfriends)

02. THIS IS A PARTY (Roger Edens-Kay Thompson) (Judy and the Eight Boyfriends)

03. Dialog

04. Judy's Olio: YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU (James Monaco-Joseph McCarthy)/FOR ME AND MY GAL (George Meyer-Edgar Leslie-E. Ray Goetz)/THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane)/THE TROLLEY SONG (Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane)

05. Dialog

06. COME RAIN OR COME SHINE (Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen)

07. THIS IS OUR SPOT (Roger Edens-Kay Thompson) (The Eight Boyfriends)

08. ANY PLACE I HANG MY HAT IS HOME (Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen)

09. Dialog

10. A PRETTY GIRL MILKING HER COW (Thomas Moore-18th century traditional Irish ballad)

11. Dialog

12. HAPPINESS IS A THING CALLED JOE (E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen)

13. ROCK-A-BYE YOUR BABY WITH A DIXIE MELODY (Jean Schwartz-Sam M. Lewis-Joe Young)

14. WHAT NEXT? WHAT'LL SHE DO NOW? (Roger Edens-Kay Thompson) (The Eight Boyfriends)

15. LUCKY DAY (Buddy De Sylva-Lew Brown-Ray Henderson) (Judy and the Eight Boyfriends)

16. Interlude: THE TROLLEY SONG orchestral

17. OVER THE RAINBOW (E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen)

18. OVER THE RAINBOW orchestral

BONUS TRACKS

19. Dialog, introducing encores

20. Opening notes of LIZA (Ira Gershwin-Gus Kahn-George Gershwin) (end of tape)

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