The Hostess With the Mostest (Ethel Merman); Steppin' Out With My Baby (Fred Astaire); I Got the Sun in the Morning (Betty Hutton); Mandy! (Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, George Murphy, Ann Sothern); Blue Skies (Al Jolson); Isn't This a Lovely Day [To Be Caught in the Rain] (Fred Astaire); Shaking the Blues Away (Ann Miller); Heat Wave (Ethel Merman); Vaudeville Medley from Easter Parade (Judy Garland and Fred Astaire); Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (Al Jolson); A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody (Allan Jones [for Denis Morgan]); Top Hat, White Tie and Tails (Fred Astaire); Colonel Buffalo Bill - [Outtake]; Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn and Geraldine Wall); You Can't Get a Man With a Gun (Betty Hutton); Marching Along with Time [Outtake] Ethel Merman; They Say It's Wonderful [Outtake] (Judy Garland and Howard Keel); Cheek to Cheek (Fred Astaire); After You Get What You Want, You Don't Want It (Marilyn Monroe); Anything You Can Do [Outtake] (Judy Garland and Howard Keel); You're Just in Love (Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor); Let's Face the Music and Dance (Fred Astaire); Easter Parade (Fred Astaire and Judy Garland); There's No Business Like Show Business (Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn and Louis Calhern); Alexander's Ragtime Band (Alice Faye)

Just a glance at the list of songs and artists above is enough to make the mouth water. These are, of course, classics and treasured memories for so many film fans so they are above criticism. Highlights for me must be all the Fred Astaire and Judy Garland songs plus "The Hostess with the Mostess" and "You're Just in Love" belted out by the great Ethel Merman and the Marilyn Monroe number. Some tracks are making their first CD appearance and many are in stereo for the first time. Many of the  outtakes must be the most interesting items in this collection. As usual the Rhino documentation is very impressive - a 24 page booklet crammed with interesting notes and lots of pictures.

Reviewer

Ian Lace

More information about Turner Classic Movies and its program schedule can be found at <http://tcm.turner.com> while information about this and all other TCM/Rhino soundtrack releases can be obtained from Stephen K. Peeples e-mail: skpeeples@earthlink.net

Reviewer

Ian Lace