Editorial Reviews

This is the best soundtrack version to date of one of Irving Berlin's finest postwar musical showcases. The song "Easter Parade" went through several permutations before becoming its best-known version, appearing previously in the movie Holiday Inn long before it became the basis for Easter Parade, the MGM Technicolor musical starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Astaire, in a role originally intended for Gene Kelly, has a great showcase not only for his singing and dancing but also for playing the drums (his personal hobby) in the oft-overlooked number "Drum Crazy." And he and Garland make a fine duo, despite her burgeoning problems behind the scenes in the film -- her weight goes up and down alarmingly from one scene to another. The score is a celebration of old New York, incorporating a lot of Berlin's own history. "Shakin' the Blues Away" by Ann Miller, "A Couple of Swells" by Garland and Astaire, and "I Want to Go Back to Michigan" by Garland (a song that Berlin gave to Jessie Matthews to perform in the London production of his Music Box Review in 1925) are worth the price of this Rhino Records CD. The CD's fidelity and thorough annotation are superior to earlier soundtrack editions; anyone seriously interested in the score or the performers should opt for this. (The old MCA CD and LP releases and the MGM vinyl version are to be avoided except by completists.) Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

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