(Vocal Jazz) [CD] Judy Garland - Cocktail Hour (2CD) - 1999, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

01. Stompin' at the Savoy (2:25)
02. Swing Mister Charlie (3:04)
03. Everybody Sing (2:54)
04. All God's Children Got Rhythm (3:07)
05. Dear Mr. Gable You Made Me Love You (3:12)
06. You Can't Have Everything (2:30)
07. Cry, Baby, Cry (2:34)
08. Sleep My Baby Sleep (3:10)
09. It Never Rains, But It Pours (2:35)
10. Over the Rainbow (2:50)
11. The Jitterbug (2:46)
12. In Between (4:06)
13. Sweet Sixteen (4:21)
14. On the Sunny Side of the Street (2:31)

01. No Love, No Nothin' (3:08)
02. A Journey to a Star (2:45)
03. This Heart of Mine (3:15)
04. For Me and My Gal (feat. Gene Kelly) (2:33)
05. When You Wore a Tulip (And I Wore a Big Red Rose) (feat. Gene Kelly) (2:38)
06. Embraceable You (3:15)
07. Could You Use Me? (3:04)
08. But Not for Me (3:10)
09. Bidin' My Time (3:08)
10. I Got Rhythm (2:53)
11. Meet Me in St. Louis (2:16)
12. The Boy Next Door (3:07)
13. Skip to My Lou (3:02)
14. Last Call for Love (3:05)

This is an excellent two-CD collection of songs, but I just don't understand the concept of these various "Cocktail Hour" collections that have been released for Judy and several other great artists of the past. The title and the cover image would lead me to expect songs from Judy's prime adult years - show-stoppers and ballads. In actuality, this set is made up of Decca releases from Judy's teenaged and young years (1936 - 1946). All 28 of these songs, I should add, can also be found on the impressive 4-CD box set Judy Garland: The Complete Decca Masters (Plus), so I would definitely opt for the latter in terms of making a purchase (if you're a true Judy addict like I am, though, you'll want both). This album has no documentation at all with it - no liner notes, no indication of the dates of each recording, etc., which is a bit disappointing given the fact that these songs are mainly older, less familiar tracks. The music, though, is wonderful (although, on occasion, not of the best sound quality in the world).
The first two tracks, Stompin' at the Savoy and Swing Mister Charlie really go back, all the way to June and July 1936, respectively. Judy performed a lot of swing music at the beginning of her young career, and Swing Mister Charlie is an especially nice tune that tends to stay in my head for days every time I hear it. All God's Children Got Rhythm (the true title of which is actually All God's Chillun Got Rhythm) comes from the 1937 film A Day at the Races, but it was Broadway Melody of 1938 that really got Judy's career off the ground. Everybody Sing is an infectious song introduced in that film, but it was Judy's precious performance of Dear Mr. Gable/You Made Me Love You that really got her noticed. You Can't Have Everything is a much more substantial song from the same year. Cry, Baby, Cry is a nice little tune about watching the person who broke your heart get dumped in turn, but this is followed by the much more serious Sleep My Baby Sleep. It Never Rains But What It Pours is an adorable song Judy's character (Betsy Booth) sang to impress Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) in 1938's Love Finds Andy Hardy; earlier in the film, she sang the song In Between to give voice to her distress at being too old for toys and too young for boys. Her mood improved greatly when she turned Sweet Sixteen. Over the Rainbow is included of course, as is another song from The Wizard of Oz-the deleted tune The Jitterbug. The first CD then jumps all the way to 1943 to close on a high note with the dandy tune On the Sunny Side of the Street.
The second CD opens with two tunes from the 1943 film The Gang's All Here: No Love, No Nothin' and A Journey to a Star, then jumps to 1946 to snag the tune This Heart of Mine from the film Ziegfeld Follies. Next up are two duets with Gene Kelly from 1943's wonderful musical For Me and My Gal: the title track and When You Wore a Tulip (And I Wore a Big Red Rose); I especially love the second of these two songs because Judy's bubbly young nature comes through loud and clear. The next five tracks, all written by George and Ira Gershwin, are from the 1944 film Girl Crazy. This version of Embraceable You features a male quintet and sounds quite different from the standard version of the song virtually everyone has heard. Judy dreams of finding love in But Not For Me, but the fact that she is Bidin' My Time is not Mickey Rooney's fault by any means; when he asks her Can You Use Me? Judy replies pretty firmly that no, she cannot - it's rather a funny little duet between Rooney and Garland. Another George and Ira Gershwin classic, I Got Rhythm, gets even my musically disinclined body moving every time I hear it. It is followed by three songs from Judy's wonderful 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis. The title track and The Boy Next Door are pretty familiar, but I get a kick out of the oft-neglected cast performance of Skip To My Lou. 1942's The Last Call For Love completes the track list with a sweet love ballad.
Cocktail Hour features a great set of songs. Just be aware that all of these songs come from Judy's early years under the Decca label, and I would encourage you to take a look at the wonderful The Complete Decca Masters (Plus) box set before buying Cocktail Hour because, despite the added expense, you can get all 24 of these songs plus many more (including a good many alternate takes) in that more complete collection of Judy's Decca recordings.
-- Daniel Jolley