The Very Best Of Julie London

There's something about Julie London's voice... sultry, sexy, super-cool... that perfectly captures the feel of the night. And, if you only know of her through "Cry Me a River" - as most people do - then you're in for a real treat because between the mid 50's and the late 60's she produced a huge amount of similarly beautiful music.Featuring 50 tracks, most of which are "standards", virtually all of which are near-perfect examples of how to inject pure "atmosphere" into a song, and an incredibly large number of which are better than their more famous originals, this superb compilation will leave you wondering why she wasn't ranked up there with the great artists of her time... and, more interestingly, given the huge popularity of recent "jazz-cool" artists such as Norah Jones, why she's still so undiscovered.Best of all this selection is a quite superb, flawlessly sung & played "late night" album - put it on and slip into over two hours of gloriously laid back music... you won't find much better.

Julie peaked at the beginning of her career in 1955 with the classic Cry me a river. For the remainder of the fifties and most of the sixties, Julie recorded a series of albums that delighted her fans. While Julie was not the most technically gifted singer, she knew her limitations and worked within them, ignoring the prevailing fashions and focusing almost exclusively on romantic ballads. Julie's warm, intimate style of singing endeared her to a significant number of music fans. On her early records, the musical backing was very sparse, but as the fifties gave way to the sixties, orchestral arrangements took over, though these were always tastefully done. Personally, I slightly prefer the early recordings but I love everything I've heard of Julie's music (and that's most of it, thanks to all the CD re-issues of recent years).Julie recorded a lot of songs from the first half of the twentieth century but she also recorded some contemporary material. This compilation contains a great selection of Julie's music including (of course) Cry me a river. Elsewhere, the compilation is filled with Julie's covers of songs made famous by others such as Fly me to the moon, Blue moon, My heart belongs to Daddy, When I fall in love, Misty, Let there be love, Making whoopee, The more I see you, Black coffee, Blues in the night, As time goes by, Can't get used to losing you, September in the rain, Mad about the boy, Love letters, I left my heart in San Francisco, Our day will come, I've got you under my skin, End of the world and Sentimental journey.With a compilation like this, it is always possible to argue about what is included and what is omitted, but this compilation fairly represents Julie's career. If you only ever buy one collection of her music, make it this one.

She is great, such a good listen.

The Very Best of Julie London****Julie London had an amazing career which included roles as a singer, actress, and a TV personality. She was also a wife and mother during this prolific period.She is possibly best known for her rendition of ‘Cry me a River,' (1955), which got her career under way, It charted at number 9 and sold three million copies. She went on to record a staggering 30 albums.The album insert charts her whole career very well.Firstly, this album represents great value with 50 songs over the two discs. There are a lot of the old classics on here from the ‘Great American Songbook,’ which includes all of the great writers of that period. The musical accompaniments are just perfect. The whole album is so slick and professionally done. The sound is crystal clear. I much prefer disc 1.Her voice is very soft and a little unremarkable, perhaps there were more exciting female voices of her time - the 50’s & 60’s, but her clearness of diction is as good as Fitzgerald.The sound of a Fitzgerald, a Holiday or even a Vaughan or Warwick will probably make you sit up more to listen, but in every which way London’s voice and delivery is every bit as good. She is undeniably a top performer of her time.This is lovely background music to listen and relax to.

Never noticed this artist before, it is just that I am on an easy listening kick at the moment and I loved the version of "Fly me to the Moon" that was redone as a duet for the M&S Christmas advert. My regret is that I did not discover Julie London's work earlier. As others have said she had a voice and manner reminiscent of smoky cabaret clubs (think "Jessica" in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"!), she gave the impression that however many people had bought this record, it was only really meant for you, dear listener.She is a great loss and deserved to be more highly regarded. This collection is superb.

Julie London was one of the best female singers of her era, and this CD exemplifies her talent, and shows her vocal versatility."Fly me to the moon" on this CD is just one of many of her excellent songs, and to me, her version is the best of all. Her vocal intonations and smooth delivery, coupled with her "Voice with a smile" make this CD a must for any Julie London fans, and also for any new listeners who haven't heard Julie's music. She was a true professional, and I thoroughly recommend this selection to anyone!

Absolutely fantastic collection of songs that perfectly suit Julie's understated killer vocal delivery. None of the dramatic overkill that modern female vocalist insist on inflicting on our ears. Julie takes time to interpret and feel the lyrics rather than rip them to shreds. Couple the restrained vocals with sublime arrangements and you get sheer class and sophistication. You can almost hear the ice clink in the martini glasses! Gotta be one of the campest collection of standards and show tunes ever. An essential buy

Nice voice Julie , nice 60 s memories and some Jazz song.

Very good music

The Best

J'ai découvert par hasard cette chanteuse avec sa version "sway".... aucun/e autre interprète n'a su rendre cette chanson si sassy and spicy.... a real treasure... Je peux écouter ce morceau again and again... Quand elle dit "I grow weak" ... me too !!!! moi aussi, je m’affaiblis et baisse les armes devant tant de sensualité et de féminité assumée... je vous invite à ce voyage, cette danse sensuelle mais jamais vulgaire, sassy but never rude... et quand elle chante "I've got you under my skin"...she really gets under your skin...and it's damned good ! hum hum!Buy it and close yours eyes .... achetez le et fermez les yeux !!! du miel au piment....

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