Fred Astaire - Fred Astaire at MGM (CD)

All Music Guide

Fred Astaire appeared in 30 movie musicals between 1933 and 1957, 11 each for the RKO and MGM studios. Most of the RKO pictures were made in the 1930s and co-starred Ginger Rogers; they are Astaire's best-known film work. But the MGM films, most of them made between 1944 and 1957, were often lavish, color spectaculars, and some of them, notably Easter Parade and The Barkleys of Broadway (a reunion with Rogers), were big box office hits. Astaire made few studio recordings during the period, and in those days soundtracks were only beginning to be released on record. So, this two-CD set, a compilation of 39 of Astaire's soundtrack performances at MGM running over two and a half hours, is a valuable document. One must imagine Astaire and his various partners (among them Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Jane Powell) dancing during the extended musical interludes, and the elaborate arrangements for large orchestra and chorus sometimes swamp the sterling efforts of such songwriters as Irving ...Berlin, Howard Dietz, George and Ira Gershwin, Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Arthur Schwartz, and Harry Warren. It must be noted, too, that with a handful of exceptions ("Steppin' Out With My Baby," "Easter Parade," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "That's Entertainment," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan"), the compositions are not among the songwriters' best and far inferior to the material Astaire had to work with at RKO. Still, these are some of the best performances of the last part of Fred Astaire's career as a musical entertainer. - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less