I Used to Be Color Blind - Fred Astaire, Berlin, Irving
The Continental - Fred Astaire, Conrad, Con
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off - Fred Astaire, Gershwin
Change Partners - Fred Astaire, Berlin, Irving
'S Wonderful - Fred Astaire, Gershwin, George &
Lovely to Look At - Fred Astaire, Fields
They All Laughed - Fred Astaire, Gershwin, Ira
Cheek to Cheek - Fred Astaire, Berlin, Irving
Steppin' Out With My Baby - Fred Astaire, Berlin, Irving
The Way You Look Tonight - Fred Astaire, Fields
I've Got My Eyes on You - Fred Astaire, Porter, Cole
Dancing in the Dark - Fred Astaire, Dietz
The Carioca - Fred Astaire, Eliscu, Edward
Nice Work If You Can Get It - Fred Astaire, Gershwin
New Sun in the Sky - Fred Astaire, Dietz
I Won't Dance - Fred Astaire, Hammerstein, Oscar
Fast Dance - Fred Astaire, Hammerstein
Top Hat, White Tie and Tails - Fred Astaire, Berlin
No Strings, I'm Fancy Free - Fred Astaire, Berlin
I Concentrate on You - Fred Astaire, Porter
Track Listings (17) - Disc #2
I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket - Fred Astaire, Berlin, Irving
A Fine Romance - Fred Astaire, Fields
Night and Day - Fred Astaire, Porter, Cole
Fascinatin' Rhythm - Fred Astaire, Gershwin
I Love Louisa - Fred Astaire, Dietz
Slow Dance & Medium Dance - Fred Astaire, Lib, Ad
They Can't Take That Away from Me - Fred Astaire, Gershwin, George
You're Easy to Dance With - Fred Astaire, Berlin
A Needle in the Haystack - Fred Astaire, Conrad
So Near and Yet So Far - Fred Astaire, Porter, Cole
A Foggy Day - Fred Astaire, Gershwin
Oh, Lady Be Good - Fred Astaire, Gershwin
I'm Building Up to an Awful Let Down - Fred Astaire, Astaire, Fred
Not My Girl - Fred Astaire, Astaire
Jam Session for a Dancer - Fred Astaire, Peterson
The Astaire Blues, Version 1 - Fred Astaire, Peterson
The Astaire Blues, Version 2 - Fred Astaire, Peterson
Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Flip Phillips (tenor sax), Oscar Peterson (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Alvin Stoller (drums) accompanied Fred on the 1952 sessions. Fred may not have been the best sin... more »ger of his generation but he knew his limitations and how to work within them. He had a pleasant voice and had a good feel for a song. His other talents, particularly as a dancer, made him ideal for Hollywood musicals and it was through that medium that Fred became the original singer of many popular classics. Fred had number one hits in America with Night and day, Cheek to cheek, I'm putting all my eggs in one basket, The way you look tonight, A fine romance, They can't take that away from me, Nice work if you can get it and Change partners. He also made the top ten with many other songs including I love Louisa, New sun in the sky, No strings, Top hat white tie and tails, Isn't this a lovely day, I'm building up to an awful letdown, Let's call the whole thing off, They all laughed, A foggy day and I used to be color blind. Fred re-recorded all those songs in 1952 but he seems to have missed out some important songs including Let yourself go and Let's face the music and dance, which were both huge hits in 1936 (they were actually two sides of the same single) and remain among the most popular songs of the era. There are other songs here that are indelibly associated with Fred but were not hits for him including S'wonderful, Putting on the Ritz, The continental, Stepping out with my baby, Dancing in the dark, Fascinating rhythm and the song that started it all for him, Oh lady be good. With extensive liner notes describing Fred's career, this double-CD provides a great introduction to his music.« less
Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Flip Phillips (tenor sax), Oscar Peterson (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Alvin Stoller (drums) accompanied Fred on the 1952 sessions. Fred may not have been the best singer of his generation but he knew his limitations and how to work within them. He had a pleasant voice and had a good feel for a song. His other talents, particularly as a dancer, made him ideal for Hollywood musicals and it was through that medium that Fred became the original singer of many popular classics. Fred had number one hits in America with Night and day, Cheek to cheek, I'm putting all my eggs in one basket, The way you look tonight, A fine romance, They can't take that away from me, Nice work if you can get it and Change partners. He also made the top ten with many other songs including I love Louisa, New sun in the sky, No strings, Top hat white tie and tails, Isn't this a lovely day, I'm building up to an awful letdown, Let's call the whole thing off, They all laughed, A foggy day and I used to be color blind. Fred re-recorded all those songs in 1952 but he seems to have missed out some important songs including Let yourself go and Let's face the music and dance, which were both huge hits in 1936 (they were actually two sides of the same single) and remain among the most popular songs of the era. There are other songs here that are indelibly associated with Fred but were not hits for him including S'wonderful, Putting on the Ritz, The continental, Stepping out with my baby, Dancing in the dark, Fascinating rhythm and the song that started it all for him, Oh lady be good. With extensive liner notes describing Fred's career, this double-CD provides a great introduction to his music.
CD Reviews
Fred Astaire a jazz singer?
J. Weinberger | New York | 12/19/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The short answer is: yes. A surprisingly good set at an affordable price."
1952 re-recordings of Fred's greatest songs
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 12/30/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Some people will never accept re-recordings, assuming that the originals are always best (they often are, but not always) and that any re-recordings are made just to make money (sometimes true but not always). There have been many reasons for re-recordings but one of them, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century, was to take advantage of superior recording technology. Fred recorded the original versions of most of these songs in the twenties and thirties using technology far more primitive than that available in 1952 (which was still primitive by modern standards). But if you can't accept re-recordings, don't buy this.
Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Flip Phillips (tenor sax), Oscar Peterson (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Alvin Stoller (drums) accompanied Fred on the 1952 sessions.
Fred may not have been the best singer of his generation but he knew his limitations and how to work within them. He had a pleasant voice and had a good feel for a song. His other talents, particularly as a dancer, made him ideal for Hollywood musicals and it was through that medium that Fred became the original singer of many popular classics.
Fred had number one hits in America with Night and day, Cheek to cheek, I'm putting all my eggs in one basket, The way you look tonight, A fine romance, They can't take that away from me, Nice work if you can get it and Change partners. He also made the top ten with many other songs including I love Louisa, New sun in the sky, No strings, Top hat white tie and tails, Isn't this a lovely day, I'm building up to an awful letdown, Let's call the whole thing off, They all laughed, A foggy day and I used to be color blind. Fred re-recorded all those songs in 1952 but he seems to have missed out some important songs including Let yourself go and Let's face the music and dance, which were both huge hits in 1936 (they were actually two sides of the same single) and remain among the most popular songs of the era.
There are other songs here that are indelibly associated with Fred but were not hits for him including S'wonderful, Putting on the Ritz, The continental, Stepping out with my baby, Dancing in the dark, Fascinating rhythm and the song that started it all for him, Oh lady be good.
With extensive liner notes describing Fred's career, this double-CD provides a great introduction to his music."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1