Johnny Mathis: the Complete Thom Bell sessions

[carole cucumber]

http://theseconddisc.com/release/life-is-a-song-worth-singing-the-complete-thom-bell-sessions/

Release date: March 10, 2015

[theboyfromxtown]

Carole.....you know how to make a guy open his wallet!

lol

[Ryon6]

Thanks Carole for the heads up. Looking forward to the release date.

[no_place_like_motown]

Thanks, Carole. It's great to see "Mathis Is" is finally coming on CD. I'm on board!!!

[alanh]

I'm really looking forward to this. It'll be a treat to hear the instrumental tracks to appreciate the Thom Bell sound in all its glory..........and of course to get 'Mathis Is' on CD. Roll on March!

[mr_june]

As soon as I saw this thread I quickly clicked on it. The I'm Coming Home album is so underrated that it's ridiculous. Looking forward to hearing the second album for the first time. I'm all over this and a thank you to Carol also.

[tsull1]

Did someone mentioned Thom Bell? When I hear that name I come running like a hungry dog.

I'll be getting this.

[RobertZ]

Well these posts now have me interested in Mr. Mathis' Bell reissues! Let's hope now for the Chic album!

[greg jones]

I'm waiting for the Jack Gold produced "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" album to be released on CD!!!

[theboyfromxtown]

Well these posts now have me interested in Mr. Mathis' Bell reissues! Let's hope now for the Chic album!

The tracks for that album have been on youtube over the years

[mr_june]

Better yet is to have the two albums in High Resolution.

[Mark Desjardines]

RobertZ, totally agree with you hoping for the Chic produced Johnny Mathis sessions will be released at some point. Several tracks were on the Chic Box Set sone years back. A deep internet search will turn up all the recordings, and they are quite good!

[stephanie]

I heard Johnny Mathis say in an interview once that he really enjoyed doing these sessions it was different for him and he liked doing something outside of the box.

[theboyfromxtown]

Anyone got it?

[sophisticated_soul]

I did John. I had been waiting patiently since this release was announced. Johnny is my favorite male vocalist and “I’m Coming Home” is one of my all time favorite albums by anyone. And it was well worth the wait. I received it a few days ago and have been playing it over and over.

Disc One: The 2003 CD release of “I’m Coming Home” sounded very good, but has been greatly improved in this 2015 edition. The sound is warm, clear and pristine. The single versions of “I’m Coming Home” [[stereo) and “Life Is a Song Worth Singing” [[mono edit) are perfect bonus tracks, along with the beautiful instrumental tracks of “I’m Stone In Love With You” and “And I Think That’s What I’ll Do”.

Disc Two: Back in the day [[1977), I was a tad disappointed in “Mathis Is”. I had hope for another “I’m Coming Home”. But I didn’t feel “Mathis Is” was quite as soulful as ICH. As a standalone album MI is a wonderful project, but I always tended to compare it to ICH. I appreciate MI more now and love having it on CD. “Loving You-Losing You” is a great track [[presented here in the stereo album version and the mono single version), as are “Hung Up In The Middle Of Love” and “Heaven Must Have Made You Just For Me”. In addition to the single version of “Loving You-Losing You” there are five additional bonus tracks either written and or produced by Thom Bell from Mathis albums recorded between 1972 and 2008.

Liner notes are plentiful and informative, album cover art [[front and back) is included. This project is a must for any Mathis fan and has appeal beyond his considerable fan base.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

My copy arrived last Tuesday. It's gorgeous from beginning to end. Johnny is hoping to convince Thom Bell to produce another album project together again. Let's hope he succeeds!

The new Second Disc label is off to a perfect start with this, their first CD release.

[theboyfromxtown]

Thanks Joseph and Gary. It's released in the UK tomorrow.

[arr&bee]

Is there anyone johnny didn't work with in his long great career,now i bet somewhere there is an lp from motown,whose got it??

[alanh]

Not Motown, but he had an album produced by Johnny Bristol in 1974, called 'The Heart Of A Woman'. Maybe that'll appear on CD soon too.

[dvus7]

Not Motown, but he had an album produced by Johnny Bristol in 1974, called 'The Heart Of A Woman'. Maybe that'll appear on CD soon too.

Thom Bell produced an album on the Temptations at Motown..

[no_place_like_motown]

Thom Bell produced an album on the Temptations at Motown..

It's a great album...would love to see it get the CD treatment.

[mr_june]

I agree that you couldn't help but compare the two albums. The first one is by far the better of the two as there is not one bad song and all the songs can stand on their own. I can't say that about "Mathis Is." Still I was glad to be able to hear it again [[had the LP some years ago). I hope projects like this continue to pop up.

[Bokiluis]

I love how passionate everyone has been about this album that I went to Amazon and ordered it. Thanks! I couldn't find "Mathis Is" however.
And the Chic tracks are compelling on the Nile Rodgers compilation. I wonder if they have unreleased tracks on "diana".....save for the recently announced "Queen" which I don't believe has even been recorded. Most of the Chic produced albums like Sister Sledge or Debbie Harry have no more than 8-10 tracks.
i often buy albums when the reviews are so strong. So thanks again, my copy arrives tomorrow.

[sophisticated_soul]

^Both albums,"I'm Coming Home" and "Mathis Is", are included in the compilation, along with 10 bonus tracks.:)

[jack020]

Found 2 perfect copies / JM albums at our local flea market yesterday:
A quadraphonic version ofThe First Time Ever [[I Saw Your Face) with Bell & Creed's Betcha By Golly Wow
and The Heart Of A Woman as a replacement for a damaged copy.:)

[theboyfromxtown]

This is a wonderful album. I 'd recommend it to Thom Bell fans

[paul_nixon]

This is a wonderful album. I 'd recommend it to Thom Bell fans

Me too John love both these album Real Gone has done a fabolus job with these they sound really fresh.

[jack020]

Received it yesterday and playing it now!:)

[jaybs]

Still waiting............ been in the post since last Friday haha

[REDHOT]

This is Johnny Mathis at his best,i can't wait to get Johnny Mathis the complete Thom Bell Sessions,it's Classic Johnny Mathis,love the whole cd,I'm Coming Home,one of my fav track's is I Just Wanted To BE Me,love it.