Julie London - Julie Is Her Name Volume II (2LP, 45 tours, 200g)
Julie London - vocals [click here to see more vinyl featuring Julie London]
Howard Roberts – guitar
Red Mitchell - bass
Written by Rodgers & Hart (A1, B2), Cole Porter (A2), George & Ira Gershwin (A3), Clay Boland (B1), John Mercer (B3), Matt Malneck (B3), Gus Kahn (C1), Isham Jones (C1), Edward De Lange (C2), Josef Myrow (C2), Herb Handler (C3), Ralph Flanagan (C3), Walter Donaldson (D1), Arthur Schwartz (D2), Howard Dietz (D2), Irving Berlin (D3)
2 LP, gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 45RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Liberty
Recorded July 8, 10-11, 17-19, 1958 in Liberty Studios, Hollywood
Engineered by Ted Keep
Produced by Bobby Troup
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Originally released in 1958
Reissued in 2016
Tracks:
Side A:
- Blue Moon
- What Is This Thing Called Love
- How Long Has This Been Going On
Side B:
- Too Good To Be True
- Spring Is Here
- Goody Goody
Side C:
- The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
- If I'm Lucky
- Hot Toddy
Side D:
- Little White Lies
- I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan
- I Got Lost In His Arms
Reviews :
“Three years after her debut, Julie Is Her Name, Julie London returned to the intimate jazz guitar and bass backing that resulted in a Top Ten album and single (the still-popular "Cry Me a River"). You can almost see the cigar-smoking executives at Liberty Records planning this one out -- "Hey, if the public loved it the first time, they're bound to love it again, right?" Well, to give the cigar-chompers some credit, Julie London favored this backing for her live performances and she originally had to fight to be able to record with this intimate jazz backing. Plus, every uptown singer -- from Johnny Mathis to Chet Baker to Sarah Vaughan -- was recording with a guitar/bass duo after Julie Is Her Name hit big, so why not the lady who started it all? For once, pandering to the public equaled taking the artistic high road, because while Julie Is Her Name, Vol. 2 may not be as fresh or unexpected as its predecessor, it actually stands up as a slightly stronger album. London's breathy vocals aren't that different, but she seems more confident and she swings more, even on the ballads. Howard Roberts may not have been a "name guitarist" like Barney Kessel, who played on the debut, but his work here is strong and bassist Red Mitchell lays an entire rhythm section worth of foundation for London to stretch out on. This album was also better recorded than London's debut and the release has a fuller, richer sound to it. Since the plunging-neckline album cover to London's debut was talked about as much as the music, Liberty Records decided to continue the concept by literally putting spotlight beams on the famed beauty's chest. Thankfully, Julie London had enough jazz credentials and focused vocal talent that such blatant cheesecake shots remain of secondary importance to the music contained on the album.” AllMusic Review by Nick Dedina
"The year is now 1958, but London's satiny voice is still as earthy and seductive. ... Pressed at QRP, the surfaces are wonderous. But this album is all about London, a pitch perfect and understated talent who understood that less is more." — Neil Gader, The Absolute Sound, September 2015
"A few bars into the opening track, 'Blue Moon', and there is little doubt why Analogue Productions chose to reissue this LP. London's breathy phrasing is captured perfectly, and few records present a more compelling facsimile of a singer, guitar and bass player performing in your listening room. This excellent Kevin Gray mastering is matched with a first class foldout cover, filled with sex kitten shots of London. Fabulous sound and music worth savoring." Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi+, Issue 122
She was the sultry film starlet-turned-torch singer-come-TV actress whose dusky alto captivated a generation. Julie London was "discovered" while running a department store elevator in Hollywood.
Just three years earlier the bountiful 15 year old, born Julie Peck to her parents, a song-and-dance duo of the vaudeville era, was singing on her parents' radio show. When she started working in the movies in the 1940s, she changed her name to London. During the course of a celebrated career in acting and music, she made more than 30 albums.
The sultry-voiced actress, who was once married to "Dragnet" producer-star Jack Webb, had a hit record with the 1950s single "Cry Me a River." The single debuted in 1955, sold three million copies and remained in demand into the 1960s.
Analogue Productions has brought back Julie Is Her Name Volume 2, making it an undeniable classic in every sense of the word. Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and plated and pressed on 200-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, the result is a memory-stirring masterpiece.
Julie Is Her Name — Volume Two, has all the sincerity and warmth of her professional album debut, the best-selling Julie Is Her Name, from Liberty. An untested singer with uncompromising musical faith, an unknown record company, sophisticated, tastefully presented standards presented simply backed by just a bass and guitar — Julie Is Her Name faced long odds of success. Yet it soared to become a best-selling hit. Julie London rose to the Top 10 of every list of female vocalists.
And as to the cover, expect only top-notch reproduction for our Analogue Productions reissue. Originally a single LP jacket, we've upgraded to a gatefold incorporating more original photographs provided by Universal.
London appeared in nearly two dozen motion pictures during the 1940s and '50s; she was best known to TV audiences as nurse Dixie McCall on the 1970s hospital drama "Emergency!" She was hired on "Emergency!" by Webb," her then-former spouse, to co-star with her second husband, jazz musician Bobby Troup. Troup, who composed the iconic musical hit "Route 66" played a doctor on the show and it was he who helped sign Julie to the Liberty record label.
Describing her smoky vocal style, London once said, "It's only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to a microphone. But it is a kind of over-smoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate." A style inimitable, in our estimation.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.51 / 5