Do It Again: JSP’s “The Garland Variations” Box Set Collects Multiple Recordings of Judy Garland Songs

Like so many of the great vocalists of her day, Judy Garland frequently revisited repertoire over the years. An arrangement might vary, in great or small ways, and so, of course, would the interpretation. Garland’s unparalleled interpretive gifts, apt for wringing as much authentic emotion out of a song as possible, are front and center on the latest box set of the late artist’s recordings from JSP Records. The Garland Variations – Songs She Recorded More Than Once is a new 5-CD collection, set for arrival on October 27.  Produced by JSP founder John Stedman and compiled by Lawrence Schulman, the same team behind such past Garland treasure troves as Creations: Songs She Introduced and Smilin’ Through: The Singles Collection 1936-1947, the new box will gather songs Garland recorded in the studio on multiple occasions between 1937 and 1962. With 115 tracks and over 6-1/2 hours of music, it will place the spotlight on the songs Garland re-recorded over a 25-year period. These tracks include such signature songs as “The Man That Got Away,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and of course, “Over the Rainbow,” which is included in five distinct renditions.  Of course, some of the most renowned composers and lyricists in American popular song are represented, such as Harold Arlen, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane, Johnny Mercer, and Harry Warren.

Garland’s first long-lasting recording affiliation was with Decca Records. Following some abortive test records made in 1935 by the twelve-year old singer (released by JSP on the stellar Lost Tracks set), Decca released two sides by Garland in 1936 and signed MGM’s up-and-coming star the following year. Garland remained at Decca through 1947, and her tenure there yielded 90 recordings from 30 sessions between 1936 and 1947. Her departure from Decca coincided with MGM’s entering the young soundtrack LP market, and so she no longer had the need to re-record movie favorites for Decca. With MGM having first right of refusal for her work, she didn’t make any further studio recordings until after her departure from the Hollywood giant in 1950.

In 1953, Garland appeared on the Columbia label with four single sides, and the following year the label released the landmark soundtrack to her film A Star is Born. In 1955, she was back in Hollywood signing with Capitol Records. She remained at the Capitol Tower until 1966, recording a series of stellar studio albums with top-tier arrangers including Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins – not to mention the Grammy Award-winning, record-breaking Judy at Carnegie Hall. JSP’s set concludes in 1962, the year of her final studio LP released in her lifetime, The Garland Touch. (The record was actually a compilation, drawing on Capitol outtakes, a recent single, and tracks from her 1960 London recording sessions which weren’t released in full until the compact disc era.)

At Judy Garland News, compiler Schulman eloquently illuminates the raison d’être behind this fascinating compilation: “The set’s target demographic is not so much Garland collectors who have all of her recordings, but rather the general public who would be interested in hearing Judy’s evolution musically speaking. To take but one example, her 1945 ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and her 1960 interpretation of the same song, heard back to back, offer a unique glimpse of how her artistry evolved. Her two versions of ‘By Myself,’ the first done at Capitol in 1957, the second in 1962 for I Could Go On Singing, heard back to back is a magnificent revelation in orchestrations and singing style. The difference between her MGM and Decca recordings of the same song is often minute, but often not, as is the case of her initial 1945 MGM recording of ‘On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe’ and her Decca New York session that same year at which she did a lower-keyed ‘chamber’ version of the number. Fascinating listening. No back to back MGM/Decca/Columbia/Capitol set has ever been released, and I thought it was about time.”

After the jump, we have more information on the box set as well as the complete track listing!

The Garland Variations draws on recordings from the Decca, MGM, Capitol and Columbia labels, all of which currently reside in the U.K. public domain. Peter Rynston has remastered, and Andrew Aitken has designed the box set. It features new essays by James Fisher of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; The Judy Room founder Scott Brogan; Broadway’s Christine Andreas (who has portrayed Garland onstage); and Laurent Valière, a journalist at Radio France and producer/host of the program 42nd Street.

The Garland Variations – Songs She Recorded More Than Once is scheduled to arrive on October 27 and can be pre-ordered below!

Judy Garland, The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP, 2014) (Amazon U.S. TBD / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. Everybody Sing – MGM
2. Everybody Sing – Decca
3. (Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You – MGM
4. (Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You – Decca
5. Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – MGM
6. Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – Decca
7. Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart – Capitol
8. It Never Rains But What It Pours – MGM
9. It Never Rains But What It Pours – Decca
10. In Between – MGM
11. In Between – Decca
12. Ten Pins In The Sky – MGM
13. Ten Pins In The Sky – Decca
14. The Jitterbug – MGM
15. The Jitterbug – Decca
16. Over The Rainbow – MGM
17. Over The Rainbow – Decca
18. Over The Rainbow – V-Disc
19. Over The Rainbow – Capitol
20. Over The Rainbow – Capitol
21. Figaro – MGM
22. Figaro – Decca
23. I’m Just Wild About Harry – MGM
24. I’m Just Wild About Harry – Decca
25. Swanee – Decca
26. Swanee – Capitol

CD 2

1. Embraceable You – Decca
2. Embraceable You – MGM
3. Embraceable You – Decca
4. I’m Nobody’s Baby – MGM
5. I’m Nobody’s Baby – Decca
6. Buds Won’t Bud – MGM
7. Buds Won’t Bud – Decca
8. Our Love Affair – MGM
9. Our Love Affair – Decca
10. It’s A Great Day For The Irish – MGM
11. It’s A Great Day For The Irish – Decca
12. It’s A Great Day For The Irish – Capitol
13. A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – MGM
14. A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – Decca
15. A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow – Capitol
16. Danny Boy – MGM
17. Danny Boy – Capitol
18. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – MGM
19. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – Decca
20. How About You? – MGM
21. How About You? – Decca
22. F.D.R. Jones – MGM
23. F.D.R. Jones – Decca
24. For Me And My Gal – MGM

CD 3

1. For Me And My Gal – Decca
2. After You’ve Gone – MGM
3. After You’ve Gone – Capitol
4. After You’ve Gone – Capitol
5. I Got Rhythm – MGM
6. I Got Rhythm – Decca
7. But Not For Me – MGM
8. But Not For Me – AFRS
9. But Not For Me – Decca
10. Bidin’ My Time – MGM
11. Bidin’ My Time – Decca
12. Could You Use Me? – MGM
13. Could You Use Me? – Decca
14. Boys and Girls Like You And Me – MGM
15. Boys and Girls Like You And Me – Decca
16. The Trolley Song – MGM
17. The Trolley Song – Decca
18. Meet Me In St. Louis – MGM
19. Meet Me In St. Louis – Decca
20. Skip To My Lou – MGM
21. Skip To My Lou – Decca
22. The Boy Next Door – MGM
23. The Boy Next Door – Decca
24. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – MGM
25. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Decca

CD 4

1. It’s A Great Big World – MGM
2. It’s A Great Big World – Decca
3. On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – MGM
4. On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – Decca
5. On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe – Decca
6. In The Valley (Where The Evening Sun Goes Down) – MGM
7. In The Valley (Where The Evening Sun Goes Down) – Decca
8. March Of The Doagies – MGM
9. March Of The Doagies – Decca
10. Swing Your Partner Round And Round – MGM
11. Swing Your Partner Round And Round – Decca
12. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Decca
13. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Capitol
14. I Wish I Were In Love Again – Decca
15. I Wish I Were In Love Again – MGM
16. Last Night When We Were Young – MGM
17. Last Night When We Were Young – Capitol
18. The Man That Got Away – Columbia
19. The Man That Got Away – Capitol
20. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody) – Capitol
21. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody) – Capitol
22. Judy’s Olio – Capitol

CD 5

1. Judy’s Olio – Capitol
2. Judy At The Palace – Capitol
3. Judy At The Palace – Capitol
4. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe – Capitol
5. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe – Capitol
6. Lucky Day – Capitol
7. Lucky Day – Capitol
8. Come Rain Or Come Shine – Capitol
9. Come Rain Or Come Shine – Capitol
10. By Myself – Capitol
11. By Myself – Capitol
12. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Capitol
13. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Capitol
14. Do It Again – Capitol
15. Do It Again – Capitol
16. It Never Was You – Capitol
17. It Never Was You – Capitol
18. It Never Was You – Capitol