"Shockaholic" By: Carrie Fisher

First of all, let me start by saying I LOVE CARRIE FISHER! I've read all of her books and will listen to her talk about just about anything. She has a great wit, a captivating mind, and most importantly a terrific sense of humor about her all too unusual life and struggles with addiction and mental illness. "Shockaholic" is sort of a companion to her lat book "Wishful Drinking", which I've read more than once, then bought the audio book to listen to on my iPod whenever I need a good laugh. She also turned the book into a one woman show which eventually ended up as an HBO special and is available on dvd. Definitely check it out! It's basically the book in stand-up form. She's probably the most candid writer/celebrity alive today, she holds nothing back, and according to her mom, Debbie Reynolds is incapable of keeping a secret. There's an interview with her as a special feature on the dvd version of "Wishful Drinking" where she says, "Don't tell Carrie anything unless you want it to wind up in a book!"

The title refers to her fairly recent discovery of ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy). She mentions it briefly in the first book, but in this one, she explains in a little more depth how it plays with the memory. Her stream of consciousness writing style makes you feel like you're sitting at a kitchen table with a cup of coffee (or a martini and a xanax) dishing and reminiscing with an old friend. She goes into her relationship with her dad, Eddie Fisher, a lot more than she ever has before and explains how she finally came to figure out what kind of "relationship" worked for them. I found all of that particularly interesting, especially towards the end of his life. There's also, unexpectedly, a really great chapter a bout Michael Jackson, his quirks, their casual friendship (they were practically neighbors), and some wonderful anecdotes and observations about him and of course, Elizabeth Taylor.

Like "Wishful Drinking", "Shockaholic" is short (106 pages), sweet, funny, honest, and to the point. It's an amazing book for just about anyone because you'll ultimately relate to something in Carrie's seemingly un-relatable life. Her books have gotten me through some pretty dark times, so one can only hope she continues these little autobiographical memoirs for us to enjoy over and over again.

Judy Garland: The London Studio Recordings 1957-1964

Judy always had a special place in her heart for London. She loved the town ever since her first concert there at the Palladium in 1951. The people of England embraced her with open arms and she embraced them and their culture with great appreciation and mutual admiration.

In the 50's and 60's, she was one of the top-selling recording artists in the world under the Capitol/EMI label and it's never more apparent than when she worked in England. This set spans seven years and is comprised of recordings made at Abbey Road studios. The producers and engineers who worked on this are really a class act! The sound quality (not surprisingly) is off the charts and the material is a gold mine!

There are a total of 14 alternate takes, 12 of which have never been heard before and one ("Please Say, 'Ah'") that until now was completely undocumented and unheard. That alone is worth getting the set, but there are so many amazing things to hear! Judy's conversations with the guitarist about fixing the intro to "It Never Was You", The audience at the studio breaking into applause when she finishes "Hello, Bluebird", her hilariously accusing one of the engineers of being a pot head... I could go on, but you really should hear for yourself! The "Please Say, 'Ah'" number was recorded during the sessions for "I Could Go On Singing" as a demo with Saul Chaplin for Dirk Bogarde to learn and sing in the film. As the script and music progressed, clearly it had no place in the film, but the song itself is absolutely priceless! It's perky and adorable and Mort Lindsay's arrangement is of the highest quality.

At this stage in my life, hearing something that Judy has done that I haven't already heard is a pretty rare occurrence, but when it does happen, boy do I get excited! And in this case, ecstatic because the material here is incredible in itself! If you didn't know these tracks had never been heard before, you'd still enjoy them just because they're that great.

All in all, this is by far the best Judy release of 2011 and I really hope that whatever else is lurking in the vaults is made available for us to hear and enjoy. There is a reason why she's a legend and this cd is a perfect example of it.