Solid!

Fred Astaire

Steppin' Out: Astaire Sings

Verve

Fred Astaire sang and danced his way through many of Hollywood's most memorable musicals. He was a dapper and talented performer and a favorite of composer Irving Berlin. With his quiet, smooth vocal style, Astaire had the opportunity to launch many of his era's most popular songs. Though not the best singer to ever vocalize a note, Astaire nonetheless had the natural ability to deliver a tune with a precision and clarity that was second to none. Listening to Astaire sing is like watching him dance. It is a perfect rhythm that never misses.

This collection of Astaire songs is a selection of tunes from a larger recording session for a 1952 multi-album project entitled The Fred Astaire Story. The project was a documentation of Astaire's career up to that point, taking songs from his many appearances on stage and on film. Astaire had worked with almost every major American composer of the century thus far. The project was as much of a documentation of American popular song during the first half of the twentieth century as it was of Astaire himself. Cole Porter is represented (''Night and Day,'' ''I Concentrate on You'') as is Irving Berlin (''Steppin' Out with My Baby,'' ''Cheek to Cheek''), Jerome Kern (''The Way You Look Tonight'') and the Gershwin Brothers (''Let's Call the Whole Thing Off''). Backed by an all-star jazz combo, with the likes of Oscar Peterson and Barney Kessel, Astaire gives each of these tunes a spin that is at the same time full-bodied and gentle, making this an excellent sampling of classic American pop music done with the style and grace it often deserves but doesn't always get. Truly excellent.

Track Listing

• 1. Steppin' Out with My Baby
• 2. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
• 3. Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails
• 4. They Can't Take That Away from Me
• 5. Dancing in the Dark
• 6. 'S Wonderful
• 7. The Way You Look Tonight
• 8. They All Laughed
• 9. I Concentrate on You
• 10. Night and Day
• 11. A Fine Romance
• 12. Nice Work If You Can Get It
• 13. The Continental
• 14. I Won't Dance
• 15. You're Easy to Dance With
• 16. Change Partners
• 17. Cheek to Cheek