Julie London - Julie...At Home (WOW!)

I actually prefer Bobby Troup to Julie London, I'm not a big fan. This is one of my favorite of hers.

 

Thanks for the big cover scan. The new 3-for-1 PD album doesn't have any of the cover art from any of the 3 original albums, sadly. There's the fireplace that should be crackling away on the masters

 

Do you have a link for the 3 disc set you have? Thanks.

 

This must be it...her classic stuff is in public domain in the UK and the EMI 2-fer cds are notrious nr'd. Her albums made it to iTunes etc in 2012- I'd be curious if these are the same masters used in the last round of Japanese cds (since I missed those and they are ridiculously expensive).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Alb...&qid=1416421686&sr=1-12&keywords=julie+london

 

That's the one! I found it at a local shop. The price was reasonable for a 3-in-1 album and the sound is good, even if it is digital transfers rather than sourced from tape. The vinyl is white, and seems a little noisy, but it doesn't bother me. If anything, the lack of cover art was the only disappointment, especially for Calendar Girl.

I just noticed the Amazon product description claims it's a limited edition 500 pressing release. That may be true, but my copy is NOT numbered.

The sound is not NR'd from what I can tell, or if so, NR was used very sparingly. There is audible hiss during Julie At Home especially. The sound of these discs are clear and quite netural. The stereo imaging is a little weird on Julie, but I suspect this album was faux-stereo since it's from 1957? Anyway, I played this disc on my mono table (a Thorens with a Denon DL-102) and it sounds much better summed. In fact, Julie became more breathy and relevant - as if she was in my living room.

 

The Amazon UK price of 40 pounds is probably more than you would pay for 3 original Liberty pressings in decent shape if you are patient on eBay...hopefully Universal will see fit to at least release a few of her classics again on vinyl, if for the packaging and covers if nothing else....

 

Yeah, 40 pounds is out of my price range. That's about $70 CAD. I paid $50 at a small local shop called Freecloud Records. I find them pricey for new pressings (that dreaded hipster tax), but I felt it reasonable for the sound quality at $16.60 per album. Whenever I find used London pressings locally, they run anywhere from $5-$15, depending on title and condition. So, I did OK.

I'm never patient enough for ePrey. I've had experiences that make me wary of eBay gradings. A seller's NM is usually VG- in my experience. YMMV. Whenever possible, I try to buy used records from local shops that have a turntable and headphones set up for listening before buying. Visual inspection is not enough. A minty looking pressing can be damaged by a worn stylus and still look new.

 

Clearly, the girl had something for everyone! I love this place.

 

Gotta say, you obliged right nicely.

 

She was once married to noted jazz aficionado Jack Webb, who later cast her and her hubby Bobby "Goddamn Army driver in M*A*S*H" Troup in "Emergency".

 

Indeed. I'm less than familiar with Julie's film and TV roles but would like to see Emergency!. Still working through her 32 albums...there's only one I dislike so far.

 

This Japanese TV show is most excellent viewing

 

va va voom!!!

 

Wow. We will not inquire further. But Bobby did a great job producing Julie's earlier LPs particularly for sonics. The later ones where he dropped off as Producer were less well recorded. The only exception were two engineered by Lanky Linstrot. Plus he contributed some great songs for Julie.

 

I really like Troup's Bethlehem albums. Just not that captivated by London as a singer. She sure was a looker, but her singing wasn't quite my cup of tea. We're all different. Give me Lee or Christie or McRae or Holiday any day.

 

Thanks for sharing! Watching now. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is giving me all kinds of feels.

Not crazy about her hair here, though this whole look from head to toe would make for a good drag queen act.


ETA: Okay, a few songs in, she changes gowns and puts her hair up. Much better look, hairwise.

Some lovely guitar and bass work backing her up, too.

 

I got this on vinyl from a collection bequeathed to me. Liberty Records "the ultimate in transistorized stereophonic hi-fidelity sound"! It's pretty beat up but we'll see...

 

I can understand preferring June Christy or Peggy Lee to Julie. My astonishment was the Bobby Troup comparison. But I did not badger you over it. Julie did not have the usual professional "interpretation" that most other singers had, even excellent ones like you mentioned. It is what I call artful artlessness, more like a woman just singing to herself, but one that somehow knows just how to phrase each verse. She also had exceptional purity of tone, but some people like more of an edge to the voice.

 

Troup is an interesting writer and player, that's most of the appeal for me. I'm not crazy about him, just like him a bit more than London. I know you didn't badger me. London just doesn't have it for me, but I can certainly see the talent and the appeal for others.

The gal who really grabs me from that time period more and more is Helen Merrill. She just has a mysterious something that really has gotten under my skin.

 

One thing in particular I enjoy about Merrill were the quality musicians she chose to work with. Really great ensembles and good arrangements.

 

Mr. Bass, that is a valid and skillful interpretation of Julie London's artistry. Props. You "get" her! I've been sold on her for years, but still I'm sitting here, thinking - AH HA! - makes sense

"Artful artlessness". I like that.

 

Great description of her appeal.

I love her tone and how she never shows off.

It takes a lot of restraint to just serve the song and she had it.

 

Julie London is the antithesis of what every pop singer is doing today and the reason, single-handedly, while we no longer produce anything of any consequence.
I first started listening to her when I picked up an original pressing of Julie Is Her Name in a record store about 15 years ago. I had been looking for it for a long time. Even cooler was that the copy I had bought had been bought by the record store owner when he was in his teens and I was only 20 myself. He had another one, I didn't rob the guy of his only copy.
And though I love all of her records, her and Barney Kessell together is about as good as it gets.
Definitely, without question, one of the most underrated pop vocalists of any era and someone that goes completely unappreciated today. And then there's a whole world of people even less known than her and just as talented.

 

Loving this thread! I discovered Julie some years back when I drove past an Amish thrift store and went in and asked for records never imagining that they'd have any. To my surprise they took me to am adjacent room that was locked up and when they threw open the door....behold...thousands of records in three to four foot stacks. It took me hours to go thru this stuff and most was junk or unknown to me but could have been some overlooked gems. So at that point I'm tired,hungry,dirty,it's getting dark and there's no electricity and I've only found a few to buy. I'm ready to leave and the lady says,there's some more in the little back room would you like to see those...what the heck,I have a flashlight;-). The goldmine was in the back room but I had to spend another hour on my knees at dusk. Hey, record digging ain't for the faint of heart! In that little back room were dozens of near mint Jazz/torch LP's like Julie London,June Christy,Judy Garland,Ella,Ella and Pops, lots of Verve stuff a nice Oscar Peterson Night Train etc.. Long dig but some nice finds at the end.

Anyway,that was my first exposure to Julie's LP's and there was ...Julie Is Her Name,Make Love To Me,and About The Blues, all on the original turquoise Liberty labels. I was blown away by the covers first off but really loved the sultry music inside. Great late night listening. I agree with tinpanalley about Barney Kessell and Julie together....magic!

Did you know...Julie Is Her Name has mislabeled copies? Both of mine are that way,side 1 and 2 flipped. I don't know if that's a rare error thing or normal for most of them. I got my second one at GW last year and it's the same way. So, check out your copies and post what you find.

Thanks to this thread I've got Julie spinning on the tube hi-fi right now! Make Love To Me is taking off the winter chill!