The Complete London Sessions [Box set] [Import] [Original recording remastered]

1. 'Fascinating Rhythm': The Whichness Of The Whatness
2. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Oh, Gee! Oh, Gosh!
3. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Hang On To Me
4. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Fascinating Rhythm
5. 'Fascinating Rhythm': The Half Of It, Dearie, Blues
6. 'Fascinating Rhythm': I'd Rather Charleston
7. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Swiss Miss
8. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Funny Face
9. 'Fascinating Rhythm': The Babbit And The Bromide
10. 'Fascinating Rhythm': High Hat
11. 'Fascinating Rhythm': My One And Only
12. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Not My Girl
13. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Louisiana
14. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Puttin' On The Ritz
15. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Crazy Feet
16. 'Fascinating Rhythm': After You, Who?
17. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Night And Day
18. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Flying Down To Rio
19. 'Fascinating Rhythm': Music Makes Me

Tracks:

1. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Top Hat, White Tie And Tails
2. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': A Fine Romance
3. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': You Worry Me
4. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': A Foggy Day
5. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': City Of The Angels
6. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': My Eyes Adored You
7. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Dance In the Old Fashioned Way
8. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Isn't This A Lovely Day
9. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': I'm Building Up To An Awful Let Down
10. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': The Wailing Of The Willow
11. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Easy To Remember
12. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Not My Girl
13. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': I Love Everybody But You
14. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': One For My Baby
15. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': That Face
16. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Something's Gotta Give
17. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man
18. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': Night And Day
19. 'Top Hat, White Tie And Tails': They All Laughed

Tracks:

1. 'Life Is Beautiful': Cheek To Cheek
2. 'Life Is Beautiful': Life Is Beautiful
3. 'Life Is Beautiful': They Can't Take That Away From Me
4. 'Life Is Beautiful': Attitude Dancing
5. 'Life Is Beautiful': Wonderful Baby
6. 'Life Is Beautiful': Session Sound Bites - Part One - Fred Astaire (With Bing Crosby)
7. 'Life Is Beautiful': A Couple Of Song And Dance Men
8. 'Life Is Beautiful': Top Billing
9. 'Life Is Beautiful': Roxie
10. 'Life Is Beautiful': Spring, Spring, Spring
11. 'Life Is Beautiful': How Lucky Can You Get
12. 'Life Is Beautiful': Mr. Keyboard Man
13. 'Life Is Beautiful': In The Cool, Cool Cool Of The Evening
14. 'Life Is Beautiful': I've A Shooting Box In Scotland
15. 'Life Is Beautiful': Sing
16. 'Life Is Beautiful': Pick Yourself Up
17. 'Life Is Beautiful': Top Billing - Reprise
18. 'Life Is Beautiful': Session Sound Bites - Part Two
19. 'Life Is Beautiful': That's Entertainment

Album Details

Customer Reviews:

essential delight.......2004-06-05

the recording dates range from the 20s to the 70s. the early sessions are important in that we have recordings here of him with both his sister and george gershwin.
the 70s sessions have great sound and are infectuous fun.
a marvellous collection and reminder of a bygone era which had more style than our own.

The Best!.......2003-05-03

Disc one contains tracks spanning from 1923 to 1933, and is interesting for a variety of reasons. Not only is George Gerswin is backing Fred on a few tracks, you also get to listen to Fred singing duets with his first showbiz partner, sister Adele Astaire. It gives you an idea of how great a team they were, and what Fred was up to in his pre-Hollywood career. These 70-80 year old recordings (!) decidedly has a "scratchy" 78 rpm feel to them, but that just adds to the charm. Some of them have held up very well, are quite catchy and easy to get hooked on. Just don't be surprised if see a few heads turning at work as you find yourself crooning "I'd Rather Charleston"!

Now skip ahead 42 years, and you've got disc 2 and 3! In the summer of 1975 Fred Astaire made 3 albums in London: "Attitude Dancing", "They Can't Take These Away From Me", and "A Couple Of Song And Dance Men". All the songs from these sessions have been digitally re-mastered and they sound fantastic! Believe me; I have all 3 albums on vinyl and they never sounded better! (One question though; why aren't the songs on disc 2 and 3 in chronological order? Surely that would have been an easy thing to do?)

Although some of the arrangements on disc 2 and 3 has a decidedly 1970's flavor to them ("Attitude Dancing" in particular) which in retrospect may seem "below" he timeless talents of Fred Astaire, most of the arrangements of the Astaire classics like "Top Hat White Tie And Tails", "Night And Day" etc) are beautifully done, and a joy to listen to.

Also included are songs written by Fred himself, "Life Is Beautiful" and "City Of The Angels" to name just two, serve as a reminder as to what an incredibly multitalented artist he was.

The above alone easily warrants the 5 stars I've given it, but how about this for an add-on: Eleven duets with Bing Crosby! Finally; all of their 1975 recordings gathered in one place! The only thing missing is the solo ("Change Partners") Bing did for this project. I realize that this is a Fred Astaire CD, but for the sake of chronology I still think it should have been included. And if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a fly on the wall during those Astaire/Crosby sessions, the inclusion of some really rare session sound bytes gives you an idea of how it must have been. How cool is that?

This whole album is kind of like a bag of chips; once you've started listening to it, you can't stop playing it, over and over again. But unlike oily potato snacks, this collection will leave you feeling wonderful and energized, as a matter of fact, you might find yourself dancing across the floor, attempting to match the creative Pete Moore arrangements with creative moves your own!

To me Fred Astaire will always be a testament to a time when talent, grace and charm were determining factors as to who made it to the top of the entertainment world, and this album will show you, in an accessible way, what he was all about.

P.S.
If you like jazz, and this albums only wets your appetite for Astaire music, you should definitively check out "Steppin' Out". With "sidemen" like Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown, it's nothing short of brilliant.

Average customer rating:

Complete Florence/London Sessions Giampaolo Tofani Manufacturer: Beat It ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000NJVXFE Release Date: 2007-02-19

Tracks:

1. Everytime
2. We Gotta Move
3. What A Beautiful Life
4. Travelling
5. Feeling
6. Music Man
7. Waiting
8. Why Don't You Understand
9. Money
10. Carry On (You Have To)
11. Everybody Knows My Baby
12. Il Tempo Sopra Noi
13. Everytime
14. In The Morning
15. Somebody Else
16. Everything
17. That's Alright
18. We Could Be Happy
19. La Pera Matura

Average customer rating:

The Complete London Sessions Fred Astaire Manufacturer: Music for Pleasure ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Tin Pan Alley | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000092Q77 Release Date: 2003-04-29

Tracks:

1. Whichness of the Whatness
2. Oh Gee, Oh Gosh
3. Hang on to Me
4. Fascinating Rhythm
5. Half of It, Dearie, Blues
6. I'd Rather Charleston
7. Swiss Miss
8. Funny Face
9. Babbit and the Bromide
10. High Hat
11. My One and Only
12. Not My Girl
13. Louisiana
14. Puttin' on the Ritz
15. Crazy Feet
16. After You, Who?
17. Night and Day
18. Flying Down to Rio
19. Music Makes Me

Tracks:

1. Top Hat, White Tie and Tails
2. Fine Romance
3. You Worry Me
4. Foggy Day
5. City of the Angels
6. My Eyes Adored You
7. Dance in the Old Fashioned Way
8. Isn't This a Lovely Day?
9. I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown
10. Wailing on the Willow
11. It's Easy to Remember
12. Not My Girl
13. I Love Everybody But You
14. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)
15. That Face
16. Something's Gotta Give
17. I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man
18. Night and Day
19. They All Laughed

Tracks:

1. Cheek to Cheek
2. Life Is Beautiful
3. They Can't Take That Away from Me
4. Attitude Dancing
5. Wonderful Baby
6. Session Sound Bites, Pt. 1 - Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby
7. Couple of Song and Dance Men
8. Top Billing
9. Roxie
10. Spring, Spring, Spring
11. How Lucky Can You Get
12. Mr. Keyboard Man
13. In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
14. I've a Shooting Box in Scotland
15. Sing
16. Pick Yourself Up
17. Top Billing (Reprise)
18. Session Sound Bites, Pt. 2
19. That's Entertainment!

Average customer rating:

Complete London Sessions Fred Astaire Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B0000DEMTX Release Date: 1999-08-03

Music: