By 1935, Fred Astaire had become a film star, and he had also demonstrated appeal to record buyers by serving as the featured vocalist for Leo Reisman's Orchestra. That year, he signed as a solo recording artist to Brunswick Records. By recording studio versions of the songs he was singing in his... [+] Expand

By 1935, Fred Astaire had become a film star, and he had also demonstrated appeal to record buyers by serving as the featured vocalist for Leo Reisman's Orchestra. That year, he signed as a solo recording artist to Brunswick Records. By recording studio versions of the songs he was singing in his movies, he became a major recording star, scoring seven number-one hits over the next three years. This compilation contains 22 of the 30 tracks he recorded for Brunswick between 1935 and 1938, plus five tracks recorded in the early 1940s. The sequencing divides the songs by composer: eight tracks by Irving Berlin from the films Top Hat and Follow the Fleet; ten by George Gershwin from Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress; seven by Jerome Kern from Swing Time and You Were Never Lovelier; one by Bernard Hanighen from Seco nd Chorus; and one by Cole Porter from You'll Never Get Rich. Among these are all of Astaire's chart-toppers -- "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," and "Change Partners" -- as well as standards like the title song, "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails," "They All Laughed," "A Foggy Day," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and "Shall We Dance?." Sony Music, which owns the Brunswick catalog, probably would rather you bought its Columbia/Legacy compilation of the same material, Top Hat: Hits From Hollywood, which was released the same year as this one, but while boasting better sound, that set has only 16 tracks. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

• songs
• similar
• videos
• eyeviews
• reviews
• download directory