Swing Me An Old Song (Liberty: LRP-3119/LST-7119)
Released: 1959.
CD Availability: Not available.
All Music Guide Review by Nick Dedina:
Everyone seems to have forgotten that rock & roll wasn't doing so hot with white audiences at the tail end of the 1950s until the Beatles hit the scene and had everyone going electric again. Instead of rockabilly, folk music and Dixieland jazz were huge in 1959 and young audiences were getting into old-time songs that their parents and grandparents knew. Swing Me an Old Song was Julie London's Dixieland-spiced folk revival effort. If it doesn't actually play to her strengths to be cast as a sexed-up version of Burl Ives, it takes some kind of real talent to be able to coo such hoary chestnuts as "Camptown Races" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" without embarrassing yourself too much. Thankfully, the song selection on most of the album is better than these two egregious examples of stale singalongs that should never have made it outside of summer camp. Tracks like "Cuddle up a Little Closer" and "Darktown Strutters Ball" fit London like a satin glove, as does her downbeat take on "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" (though she would cut an even better version of this on her 1966 release For the Night People). During the same year as Swing Me an Old Song, London also cut the cool jazz album Julie...at Home (which may just be her single finest work) [my note: At Home came out the year after Swing, in 1960] and Your Number Please..., a swank orchestral set of standards. People often mention Julie London's limited vocal range, but it's surprising how far that her talent could stretch.
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Tracks
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Comin' Thro' the Rye |
Scotch Traditional |
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Cuddle Up a Little Closer |
Harbach - Hoschna |
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After the Ball |
C. Harris [another
source |
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Be My Little Bumble Bee |
Murphy - Marshall |
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Camptown Races |
Stephen Foster |
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Old Folks at Home |
Stephen Foster |
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Downtown [Darktown] Strutters' Ball |
Shelton Brooks |
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How Come You Do Me Like You Do |
Bergere - Austin |
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Row, Row, Row |
Jerome - Monaco |
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By the Beautiful Sea |
Jerome - Monaco |
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Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home |
Cannon - Randall |
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Three O'Clock in the Morning |
Terriss - Robledo |
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Your
Number Please... (Liberty:
LRP-3130/LST-7130)
Released: 1959.
Producer: Bobby Troup. Arranger/Conducter: Andre Previn.
CD Availability: 1997 EMI two-fer, with "Calendar Girl."
Original liner notes (allegedly by Julie---her hand is pictured signing the below "letter" on "JL" stationery):
An Open Letter To The "GREATS"
Who Made These Songs Famous...
Dear Fellas:
May I first of all thank you for the pleasure you have given us all in your interpretations and showmanship throughout the years. Even though the tastes of many have gone through some rather unpredictable phases, you have managed to keep your musical level high and to triumph during some pretty erratic times.
May I secondly thank you for your impeccable taste in choosing wonderful tunes--and go even a step further and tap your hearts for these same tunes, as a tribute to your selectivity?
Thank you for making these songs household words so that I, at this late date, may borrow them.
Much love and respect, Julie
NOTE: Pictured to the right of the above letter is this list of the "GREATS" and his song represented on the album:
Frank: Learnin' the Blues
Johnny: One For My Baby
Freshmen: It's a Blue World
Nat: When I Fall in Love
Fred: They Can't Take That Away From Me
Gene: Love Is Here To Stay
Dick: The More I See You
Bing: It Could Happen To You
Mel: A Stranger In Town
Eddie: Makin' Whoopee
Bob: Two Sleepy People
Matt: Angel Eyes
All Music Guide review by Scott Yanow:
One in a long series of Julie London records, this set features the sultry but subtle singer on a dozen standards, each of which she dedicates to a different male singer. No dates or personnel information are given other than the LP stating that Andre Previn arranged for the backing orchestra. Although not essential, this is a worthwhile set, with London adding sensuality to such songs as "Learnin' the Blues," "When I Fall in Love," "The More I See You," and "Angel Eyes."
Our Reviews
If you'd like to share your own review of Your Number Please... here, please e-mail me.
Tracks
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Learnin' The Blues |
Silvers |
2:44 |
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One For My Baby |
Arlen - Mercer |
3:13 |
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It's a Blue World |
Wright - Forrest |
3:21 |
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When I Fall In Love |
Heyman - Young |
2:23 |
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They Can't Take That Away From Me |
George and Ira Gershwin |
3:08 |
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Love Is Here to Stay |
George and Ira Gershwin |
4:09 |
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The More I See You |
Warren - Gordon |
3:55 |
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It Could Happen To You |
Burke - Van Heusen |
3:16 |
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A Stranger in Town |
Mel Torme |
3:02 |
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Makin' Whoopee |
Kahn - Donaldson |
2:59 |
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Two Sleepy People |
Loesser - Carmichael |
3:15 |
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Angel Eyes |
Brent - Dennis |
3:25 |