The Letter (Judy Garland album)

The Letter
Studio album by Judy Garland
Released	May 4, 1959
Recorded	January 15-16, 1959
Genre	Vocal jazz
Length	57:14
Label	Capitol
Judy Garland chronology
Garland at the Grove (1959) The Letter (1959) That's Entertainment! (1960)

The Letter is a 1959 concept album by American vocalist Judy Garland arranged by Gordon Jenkins.^[1]

Chronicling a relationship, the album features John Ireland.

Reception

The Allmusic review by John Bush awarded the album three stars and said "Jenkins' ambitious concept was written well and executed perfectly, and no one was better than Garland for a dramatic romantic role encompassing hope and humor...The Letter suffers, as all but the best concept albums do. Ireland is no match for Garland...and the few audio concepts on display tend toward gimmicks. In all, The Letter is a fair concept album, its interruptions annoying but its overall power raised by the twin talents of Garland and Jenkins...The original three-track stereo recording is exquisite, and upon its initial release, special copies of "the letter" were placed in envelopes and taped to the front of each record jacket".^[1]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Track listing

1. "Beautiful Trouble" - 4:18
2. "Love in the Village" - 4:32
3. "Charley's Blues" - 3:27
4. "The Worst Kind of Man" - 3:58
5. "That's All There Is, There Isn't Any More" - 2:50
6. "Love in Central Park" - 4:34
7. "The Red Balloon" - 2:24
8. "The Fight" - 3:34
9. "At the Stroke of Midnight" - 4:30
10. "Come Back" - 4:36
11. "Beautiful Trouble" - 1:48

All music and lyrics written by Gordon Jenkins.

Personnel

• Judy Garland - vocals
• John Ireland
• Gordon Jenkins - arranger

References