Judy Garland – The Two-a-day Is Back In Town: Closing Night At The Palace

Act 3 by Lawrence Schulman Act 1 of Judy Garland's life (1922-1969) could be said to be her years in vaudeville in the 1920s and early 1930s when she toured with her two sisters as The Gumm Sisters. Act 2 was her years at Mayfair Pictures, Vitaphone, 20th Century-Fox, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where she made shorts and feature films between 1935 and 1950. Act 3 was when she left MGM and began a career on the concert and nightclub stage. This last act began in 1951 with her historic runs first at the London Palladium and then at the New York Palace. The more ripened Garland now had a whole repertoire of songs - from her movies and recordings, as well as new ones, like Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody, that she could tap into for her stage shows. Now she was a seasoned entertainer who, although she had first sung in concert in Philadelphia in 1943, had yet to conquer the art of stage performance, which was in reality simply a return to her vaudeville roots as a child. So, Act 3 was a logical last act after Acts 1 and 2, and a fitting culmination and conclusion to Garland's illustrious career. Restored from a new transfer of original transcription discs and other sources by famed audio engineer John H. Haley, Garland's last Palace performance on February 24, 1952 has never sounded as good as on this JSP Records release, and now it is also heard complete. Garland would play the Palace again in 1956 and 1967, but it was the overwhelming success of this initial engagement that gave her wings to conquer other concert stages in the years to come. As the cover of the 1967 LP released to mark her return there states, Garland was at home at the Palace. On stage, on record, and on television, Garland performed her Palace medley in remembrance of all the legendary stars who played the theater before her.
Restored from a new transfer of original transcription discs and other sources by famed audio engineer John H Haley, Garland's last Palace performance on February 24, 1952 has never sounded as good as on this JSP Records release, and now it is also heard complete. The historic run, which had begun on October 16, 1951, was originally booked for four weeks but was extended to nineteen by popular demand. Life magazine called it "a miracle," Variety "a tour-de-force of no small caliber." Many in the public called it one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Today it is a privilege to hear the closing night of this unforgettable show that brought Garland to a new level of performing artistry.

Track Listing:
1. Overture (first release)  -   2. Chorus introduction (Judy’s Boyfriends) -   3. Call the Press/On the Town (Judy & her Boyfriends) -   4. Judy at the Palace Medley -   5. Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody -   6. Introduction of Hugh Martin / Judy’s Olio -   7. This is Our Spot (Judy’s Boyfriends) -   8. Get Happy (Judy & her Boyfriends) -   9. What Next? What’ll She Do Now? (Judy’s Boyfriends) -   10. A Couple of Swells (Judy & Jack McClendon) -    11. The Trolley Song (instrumental) -   12. Over the Rainbow -   13. Over the Rainbow (instrumental) -   14. Love (Hugh Martin, piano) -   15. Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow (Hugh Martin, piano) -   16. Liza (Hugh Martin, piano) -   17. Judy introduces Lauritz Melchior -   18. Auld Lang Syne (Melchior and audience) -   19. Over the Rainbow (concluding instrumental) -   BONUS TRACK:  20. After You’ve Gone (Hugh Martin, piano), from an unknown other night.