Search - :: Vol. 1-3-Ginger & Fred

Fred Astaire's 1930s studio recordings for Brunswick have been repackaged many times, but Ginger and Fred is a long-overdue collection of the actual soundtracks of the six primary Astaire-Rogers films: The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, and Carefree. While the Brunswick recordings were nicely compressed for radio play, these three CDs offer the bonuses of Ginger's vocals, the dance music (including all 16 minutes of "The Continental"!), other rarities, and snatches of dialogue that help capture the films nicely. And of course the songs themselves are some of the best American music ever written. While casual listeners might prefer the two-CD Rhino release Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers at RKO, the dedicated fan will want the complete soundtracks included on this Chansons Cinéma package. Each CD includes notes in English and French as well as full song, production, and cast credits. --David Horiuchi