Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart Review

07/13/2005 6:18 AM, AMG


Though you wouldn't discover it by looking at the cover or even reading Tony Watts' error-filled liner notes, this 22-track British compilation is drawn from Judy Garland's studio recordings for Decca Records between 1938 and 1945. Most of her major hits of the period -- "Over the Rainbow" (from The Wizard of Oz), "I'm Nobody's Baby" (from Andy Hardy Meets Debutante), "For Me and My Gal" (with Gene Kelly, from For Me and My Gal), "The Trolley Song" (from Meet Me in St. Louis), and "Yah-Ta-Ta, Yah-Ta-Ta" (with Bing Crosby) -- are included, the most notable omission being "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe." There are also some interesting obscure tunes, such as "The Jitterbug," a song cut from The Wizard of Oz but released as the B-side of "Over the Rainbow," and a duet with Johnny Mercer on Cole Porter's novelty song "Friendship." Sound quality is adequate (which is to say, there is audible hiss), but does not compare to the legitimate MCA/Decca reissues of this material, notably the 1994 box set The Complete Decca Masters (Plus). ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide