"I couldn't live without this CD. I'm a HUGE (emphasis on that) Julie Andrews fan and this is 7th CD of hers that i bought (I now have 29).Oh, that unmatchable voice! Oh, those incredible high notes! Her voice is just amazing. God really must have spend extra creating that one. Her voice is so clear and when he hits those high notes (those tremendous high notes) there's no cracking, no squeaking, no screeching, they are perfectly done. And she does it with such ease! It's unbelievable! And she can sing so many different kinds of music.
This CD goes through many of her early hits, unfortunately stopping in 1967 with "Thoroughly Modern Millie", which left out the wonderful works that came after it. The mega-musical "STAR!", "Darling Lili", "Victor/Victoria", etc.
There are two numbers on this CD that I will admit are my favorites. "Big D" which is sung with Julie's best friend Carol Burnett and "O The Days Of The Kerry Dancing". "Big D" never fails to send me into hysterical laughter. You hear Julie TRYING to create a southern drawl (which is hard because she's British) and Carol's natural southern drawl (she was born in San Antonio Texas). Julie's accent turns out as something between Eliza Doolittle- like Cockney and Gaelic, but you can tell that Julie knows she's not mastering it, but she's having the time of her life doing it anyway!
All in all, this is a must for ANYONE. Whether you're a Julie fan (I think it's hard NOT to be a Julie fan), a musical theater fan or a just a person looking for a cool CD, this is for you! You won't be dissapointed. Julie has never dissapointed me!
Buy this CD Now, and enjoy listening to it!One last thing: the only thing that may get you about this CD is that you won't be able to sing along. Everyone loves to sing along to everything, but you can't with this CD. For a few reasons. One: All you will wanna hear is Julie's glorious voice. Two: If you TRY to sing along, you'll get frustrated when you can't hit the notes Julie hits! Haha!
Have fun!"
Absolutely Wonderful!
Kenley Ostry | Akron, Ohio USA | 11/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the best Julie cd ever released. It has such a good variety of her music from her career, its lovely! I enjoy the songs that I have never heard before, like Big D, Baubles Bangles and Beads,etc. I wish more songs from The Sound of Music were on there and definately Le Jazz Hot from Victor Victoria. Anyways..this is a must buy cd! Everyone will enjoy it."
A nice encapsulation of Andrews' early career
Dewey Mee | ELLENSBURG, WA. | 04/17/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This retrospective is a nice encapsulation of Julie Andrews' early career. The best tracks are Julie's "Simple Folk" duet with the charmistic Richard Burton from CAMELOT, her clowning with Carol Burnett on "Big D" from their 1962 Carnegie Hall TV Concert, and the numbers from her star-making role as Liza Doolittle in that dream of a show MY FAIR LADY. But then Hollywood came along, and she was typecast for two decades after MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Julie Andrews has always been more versatile than her critics, and many of her fans, have given her credit for. She really deserves the Big Box Set treatment, like those given divas Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand,--one that includes songs from her neglected movies STAR! and DARLING LILI, as well as her Academy Award nominated "Le Jazz Hot" role, VICTOR/VICTORIA."
The BEST of Julie Andrews
Jay Dickson | Portland, OR | 10/25/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you ever wanted to hear a song sung EXACTLY the way the composer wanted it sung, you can't do better than Julie Andrews, with her absolute exquisite diction (it is probably the single best ever of any singer ever) and her shimmering silvery voice with its amazing multi-octave reach. This disc only goes up to the late 60s, but that really is Julie's best period: you get her most beautiful songs from her stage hits MY FAIR LADY and CAMELOT (with the possible exception of "Then You may take Me to the Fair," which does show off her comic gifts) and from MARY POPPINS, as well as some of her greatest album recordings. I can't imagine a more perfect rendition of Borodin's "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" or Rodgers' and Hart's "Falling in love with Love" or Kurt Weill's "This is New." And then there's "Thoroughly Modern Millie".... there is just no one to compare to Julie Andrews."
Worn out playing it so much
Linda Hoopes | Greenwood, Indiana USA | 07/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a wonderful CD. It has all Julie's early great songs. Her young voice is so refreshing. Listening to it brings back those wonderful memories of her of years past. This CD is a must for the Julie Andrews collectors. One's collection is not complete without it."