The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection is a 68-disc box set by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on December 8, 2017, by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The packaging noted that it includes 67 albums that have been remastered, several of which were being made available on CD for the first time. Two of those, I Love My Lady and The Island, were debuting in their entirety for the first time anywhere, and 38 of the bonus tracks included had also previously gone unreleased.
| The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection | ||||
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| Box set by | ||||
| Released | December 8, 2017[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1956–1963 1967–2017 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 47:25:00 | |||
| Label | Sony Music Entertainment Legacy Recordings | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Background
editJohnny Mathis was surprised when Columbia Records notified him that they would be releasing a box set of everything he had recorded for the label.[2] Regarding the songs on the albums included, he explained that his early success gave him the freedom to choose what to record, saying, "[M]ost of the stuff I ever wanted to do, from the time I was a little kid growing up in San Francisco, I've been fortunate to be able to put them into recordings."[3] Upon receiving his own copy of the box set, he described it as "the greatest feeling I've ever had in my musical life."[4] He told The Arizona Republic, "I saw all of the years and years of dedication and working hard and learning and trying to improve… It's hard to explain to even the most devoted fans what you've gone through in your life."[5]
Critical reception
editIn his review of the box set for The Second Disc, Joe Marchese asserted, "What it reveals is that the history of Johnny Mathis is, put simply, the history of American music in the second half of the twentieth century."[6] In summation he wrote that Mathis's "consistence of quality and variation of style" were the most compelling reasons he had to recommend it.[6] Elmore Magazine's Suzanne Cadgène admired many qualities of the release, including the organization and labeling of the discs, the album cover reproductions, the extensive liner notes, and the "delicious" music.[7] In addition to noting how "handsomely designed" it was, Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times praised the box set for its inclusion of the two previously unreleased Mathis albums, stating, "Both demonstrate how nimble a singer Mathis has always been — and how curious a mind."[8] Brenda Nelson-Strauss of Black Grooves recommended the collection "if you're interested in a complete career retrospective with plenty of tempting bonus material and you have a large budget".[9] Michael P. Coleman of Sac Cultural Hub wrote, "We all know the hits, but the album cuts are equally breathtaking … [T]hese albums are bonafide masterpieces."[3]
Contents
editRecording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[10]
| Disc # | Album | Year | Bonus tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Mathis | 1956 |
|
| 2 | Wonderful Wonderful | 1957 | |
| 3 | Warm | ||
| 4 | Good Night, Dear Lord | 1958 | |
| 5 | Swing Softly | ||
| 6 | Merry Christmas | ||
| 7 | Open Fire, Two Guitars | 1959 | |
| 8 | Heavenly | ||
| 9 | Faithfully | ||
| 10 | The Ballads of Broadway | 1960 | |
| 11 | The Rhythms of Broadway | ||
| 12 | Johnny's Mood | ||
| 13 | I'll Buy You a Star | 1961 |
|
| 14 | Live It Up! | ||
| 15 | Rapture | 1962 | |
| 16 | Johnny | 1963 | |
| 17 | Romantically | ||
| 18 | Up, Up and Away | 1967 | |
| 19 | Love Is Blue | 1968 | |
| 20 | Those Were the Days |
| |
| 21 | Johnny Mathis Sings the Music of Bert Kaempfert |
| |
| 22 | Love Theme from "Romeo And Juliet" (A Time for Us) | 1969 |
|
| 23 | Give Me Your Love for Christmas | ||
| 24 | Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head | 1970 | |
| 25 | Close to You |
| |
| 26 | Love Story | 1971 |
|
| 27 | You've Got a Friend |
| |
| 28 | Johnny Mathis in Person: Recorded Live at Las Vegas | 1972 | |
| 29 | The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) |
| |
| 30 | Song Sung Blue |
| |
| 31 | Me and Mrs. Jones | 1973 |
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| 32 | Killing Me Softly with Her Song | ||
| 33 | I'm Coming Home | ||
| 34 | The Heart of a Woman | 1974 |
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| 35 | When Will I See You Again | 1975 | |
| 36 | Feelings |
| |
| 37 | I Only Have Eyes for You | 1976 | |
| 38 | Mathis Is... | 1977 | |
| 39 | Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me |
| |
| 40 | You Light Up My Life | 1978 | |
| 41 | That's What Friends Are For |
| |
| 42 | The Best Days of My Life | 1979 |
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| 43 | Mathis Magic | ||
| 44 | Different Kinda Different | 1980 |
|
| 45 | Friends in Love | 1982 |
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| 46 | I Love My Lady | 1981 | |
| 47 | A Special Part of Me | 1984 |
|
| 48 | Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole | 1983 | |
| 49 | Live | 1984 | |
| 50 | Right from the Heart | 1985 | |
| 51 | The Hollywood Musicals | 1986 |
|
| 52 | Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis | ||
| 53 | Once in a While | 1988 | |
| 54 | In the Still of the Night | 1989 | |
| 55 | The Island | ||
| 56 | In a Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington | 1990 | |
| 57 | Better Together: The Duet Album | 1991 | |
| 58 | How Do You Keep the Music Playing? | 1993 | |
| 59 | All About Love | 1996 | |
| 60 | Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren | 1998 | |
| 61 | Mathis on Broadway | 2000 | |
| 62 | The Christmas Album | 2002 | |
| 63 | Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album | 2005 | |
| 64 | A Night to Remember | 2008 | |
| 65 | Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville | 2010 | |
| 66 | Sending You a Little Christmas | 2013 | |
| 67 | Odds and Ends: That’s What Makes the Music Play | 2017 | |
| 68 | Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook |
Odds and Ends: That’s What Makes the Music Play
editTrack listing
editRecording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[10]
- "Teacher, Teacher" (Alternate Version) performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 2:37
- recorded 6/16/57
- "Wild Is the Wind" (Alternate Version) from Wild Is the Wind (1957); performed with Ray Ellis & His Orchestra (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 2:33
- rec. 10/31/57
- "Now That You've Gone (Puisque tu pars)" (Petula Clark, Norman Newell, Hubert Ballay) – 3:01
- rec. 11/2/67; previously unreleased
- "What to Do About Love" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:28
- rec. 5/31/60
- "Each Time We Kiss" (Clyde Otis, Colin Towns) – 2:39
- rec. 3/4/61
- "My Favorite Dream" (Lee Pockriss, Vance) – 2:55
- rec. 10/9/61
- "A Clock Without Hands" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:58
- "The Joy of Loving You" (Bart Howard) – 3:05
- above two rec. 3/29/62; above five from the album I'll Search My Heart and Other Great Hits
- "You Are There" (Johnny Mandel, Dave Frishberg) – 3:06
- "Fifty Fifty" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:19
- above two rec. 9/22/76; both previously unreleased
- "That's What Makes the Music Play" (Will Jennings, Roger Nichols) – 3:11
- "Let Me Be the One" (Nichols, Paul Williams) – 3:31
- above two rec. 9/27/76; both previously unreleased
- "El Amar y el Querer" (Manuel Alejandro, Ana Magdalena) – 4:13
- "Cosas Pequeñas" (Alejandro, Magdalena) – 3:11
- "Cuando Vuelvas a Casa" (Alejandro, Magdalena) – 4:00
- above three rec. 2/11/83; all three from his CBS Discos album Cuando Vuelvas a Casa
- Medley performed with Barbra Streisand – 4:43
a. "I Have a Love" from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim)
b. "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story (Bernstein, Sondheim)- rec. 11/30/92; from the Barbra Streisand album Back to Broadway
- "The Shadow of Your Smile" performed with Dave Koz and Chris Botti (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) – 5:22
- rec. 5/6/06; from the 2006 Mathis compilation Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration
Personnel
editCredits taken from the liner notes.[10]
- Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1, 2, 4)
- Robert Mersey – producer (track 3)
- Frank DeVol – producer (track 5)
- Irving Townsend – producer (tracks 6–8)
- Jerry Fuller – producer (tracks 9, 10)
- Roger Nichols – producer (tracks 11, 12)
- Jack Gold – producer (tracks 13–15)
- Barbra Streisand – producer (track 16)
- Phil Ramone – producer (track 17)
Box set personnel
editCredits taken from the liner notes.[10]
- Johnny Mathis – executive producer; vocals
- Adam Block – executive producer
- John Jackson – executive producer
- Didier C. Deutsch – compilation producer
- Mike Piacentini – compilation producer; mastering engineer
- Timothy J. Smith – A&R coordination
- Mark Neuman – product direction
- Jeremy Holiday – product direction
- William McKinney – project direction
- Tom Cording – press coordination
- Gabby Gibb – press coordination
- Matt Kelly – tape research
- Michael Kull – tape research
- Tina Ibañez – art direction & design
- James Ritz – liner notes
Images courtesy of Rojon Productions & Sony Music Photo Archives:
- CRPS
- Bob Cato
- Jeff Dunas
- Becky Fluke
- Don Hunstein
- Urve Kuusik
- Art Maillett
- Aaron Mollin
- Fred Mollin
- Ricky Robinson
- Rick Shaw
- Sandy Speiser
- David Vance
Chart positions courtesy of Joel Whitburn & Billboard Publications
References
edit- ^ "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (4 December 2017). "Johnny Mathis Talks 68-CD Box Set of Entire Catalog: Hear 3 Unreleased Tracks With CHIC". billboard.com. Retrieved 27 December 2023.:"When they said they were going to release all of my recordings that I've done," he laughs, "I said, 'You mean, all of them?'"
- ^ a b Coleman, Michael P. (9 February 2018). "Johnny Mathis plans Santa Rosa show, releases Box Set The Voice Of Romance". sacculturalhub.com. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Catlin, Roger (29 March 2018). "Johnny Mathis, The TVD Interview". thevinyldistrict.com. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Cordova, Randy (16 March 2018). "Singer Johnny Mathis on new box set, tour, possible autobiography". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"". theseconddisc.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Cadgène, Suzanne (8 December 2017). "Album Reviews > Johnny Mathis > "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"". Elmore Magazine. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (3 December 2017). "Notable box sets and period releases of 2017, including Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and Ella Fitzgerald". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Nelson-Strauss, Brenda (1 December 2017). "Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"". Black Grooves. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.