Customer Reviews

Easter Parade: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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Reservations about the recording quality are inevitable, and of course when Astaire was involved the songs are always better when you can watch him dance and hear his tapping, but that said, there is no greater American musical in my opinion than this one. The title song, simple as it is, is so evocative of New York and the 40s and the hope of a new season that I almost cry every time I hear it. To me, it is the best song Berlin ever wrote and one of the very few best American songs ever written. The rest of the disc is one great number after another, with Judy Garland in top form and Fred Astaire constantly revealing that it is phrasing and timing more than a great voice that make a great singer, which he undoubtedly is. Indispensible music.

This is one of the first MGM films to receive the full soundtrack treatment from Turner/Rhino. All of the songs and underscoring are included, plus two outtakes and an extended version of one track. The results are wonderful and with the exception of a couple of tracks the sound is very good. Unfortunately the original multi-miked recordings did not survive, resulting in the inablility to mix the music to true stereo as has been done with so many of the subsequent MGM soundtrack releases. The only surviving recordings are the monaural mix down tracks of the orchestral parts and a separate vocal track. Fortunately these tracks do not include the dialogue, tapping, and foley of the final film soundtrack elements. There is a noticable lack of fidelity on "A Couple of Swells" due to the fact that a recording disc was all that survived. No version of "I Want to Go Back to Michigan" could be found, so the version heard here is straight from the film soundtrack and includes the applause at the end of the song. No dialogue or other distractions were used in the sequence, thank goodness, so the result is fine. "Mr. Monotony" and the extended "Better Luck Next Time" will thrill the Garland fans out there.

Easter Parade, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) musical ever produced, has it all! The wonderful songs of the inimitable Irving Berlin and of course, the classic performances of its stars, the great Fred Astaire and the enchanting Judy Garland. The music continues to thrill and entertain audiences decades later. The songs are as fresh as when the film made its debut. Everyone knows that Fred Astaire is synonymous with dance, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to actually really listen to his singing, and I was impressed. You'll enjoy this soundtrack.

i love the movie so naturally i love the soundtrack. all the music is on here as well as the songs. i'd reccomend buying the movie first and if you like that, definitely purchase the soundtrack.

EASTER PARADE was one of the biggest-grossing musicals ever made at M-G-M, with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in their only big-screen pairing. Ann Miller also puts in a fabulous performance.

Irving Berlin's score includes the classic Title Song as well as the infectious "Drum Crazy", wistful "I Want to Go Back to Michigan", the romantic plea "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" and the showstopping "Shakin' the Blues Away".

Judy Garland, at the zenith of her film career, is luminous and Fred Astaire is charmingly comedic. Ann Miller belts out "Shakin' the Blues Away" in the film's tapdancing showstopper. Peter Lawford also gets to sing a fine little ditty called "A Fella with an Umbrella".

Sound quality is very impressive for a soundtrack of late-40's vintage. Another winner from TCM/Rhino soundtracks!

What a great CD. It is just so good. It is full of wonderful Irving Berlin songs sung by brilliant stars such as Judy Garland, Fred Astaire and Ann Miller. Song highlights include Judy's outtake of 'Mr. Monotony',and 'When The Choo Choo Leaves For Alabam'', Fred Astaire's 'Steppin' Out With My Baby' and Ann Miller singing (and tapping) to 'Shakin' The Blues Away'. This CD has a wonderful array of songs that will keep you singing them for hours. (I did) All in all, an absolutely excellent CD!

~~~This GREAT MGM CLASSIC, "Easer Parade" is a FANTASTIC MOVIE, MUST SEE MOVIE for EVERYONE! Everyone needs to see this great movie, especially those who love a CLASSIC, a MUSICAL, FRED ESTAIRE AT HIS BEST (coming back after his 3rd retirement LOL), THE INCOMPARABLE JUDY GARLAND, and SO MANY MORE GREAT STARS AND CHARACTERS! The "Drum Scene" early on in the movie is about the BEST DANCING I'VE EVER SEEN FRED ESTAIRE DO! There are movements and things he does in this scene that you just don't see in any of his other movies. It will have your mouth dropping, your remote control rewinding over and over again in disbelief (Did Fred REALLY DO THAT?) and it will warm your heart with it's CONTINUAL, NEVER BORING, STORY LINE THAT JUST WON'T QUIT! As a huge Classic movie fan, this RIGHT AT THE TOP WITH ME! And I'm pretty tough on these older movies if they are not worth watching! But this one is NOT WORTH MISSING!! If you are lucky enough to find the VERION WITH A TWO MOVIE SET, it will come with a SECOND COMPLETE RECORDING of the entire movie as it originally is, but with wonderful COMMENTARY by FRED ESTAIRS' DAUGHTER, and JUDY GARLANDS BIOGRAPHER, JOHN FRICKLE speaking softly in the background. The two of them work off each other perfectly as they answer things like: "HOW DID THEY DO THAT" OR "HOW DID THEY DECIDE WHO WAS TO ACT IN THIS MOVIE" and MANY JUICY NUGGETS ABOUT what was going on in Hollywood at that time, especially pertainting to THIS MOVIE, then you MUST SEE AND HEAR THIS AWESOME COMMENTARY! You will thoroughly enjoy the MIRIADS of INFORMATION about the makings of this movie, it's actors, and as I said, juicy bits of Hollywood at that time period. Even if you are NOT a Classic Movie Lover, this is still a MUST SEE! Not having all that much to do with Easter itself, or the parade, it DOES have LOADS of INFORMATION ABOUT LOVE, ROMANCE, UNBEIVALBE TALENT, DANCING AND SONG, PROVING YOURSELF, WORKING HARD, AND JUST GOOD OLD, CLEAN, AND INSPIRING FUN!
Another NOT TO BE LOOKED OVER CHARACTER in this film is ANN MILLER!!! In my opinion, Ann Miller was the "Gene Kelly" of the classic musical dance profession!! No one moved like Ann Miller!!! And her legs seem to go on forever. Her wit, her character, and her part in this picture is just ANOTHER PERFECT FIT TO A PERFECT MOVIE! The GORGEOUS PETER LAWFORD is at his most CHARMING BEST too, and works off of the other three actors PERFECTLY! And his acting superb!
There is so much more to say about this film but I'd never get it all conveyed, even if I had a book to do so. YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE THE MOVIE TO KNOW WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT. You will watch it over and over again as it is impossible to take in SO MUCH TALENT, SO MANY GREAT SCENES, AND SUCH A GREAT, QUICK MOVING STORY LINE, that you'll HAVE TO SEE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.
AND KIDS JUST LOVE THIS MOVIE TOO! Easter Parade (Two Disc Special Edition)

Made me want to see the video again for the up-teenth time.