Originally Posted by
sophisticated_soul
Johnny Mathis “The Great New American Songbook”
This is not meant to be an unbiased review of the album but rather my musings on the latest chapter in the career of an artist I have admired for decades.
I grew up listening to Johnny because my Mom was a big fan. Then starting with his work of the early 70’s [[i.e. “Coming Home”) he became my Johnny Mathis, and I have remained a steadfast fan ever since.
The fact that there is a latest chapter is amazing in itself. Mathis has been recording and performing consistently for the past sixty-one years. And at 82 years young shows no signs of stopping.
This latest chapter is classic Mathis. Great song choices and sterling production are givens with a Mathis project; he always surrounds himself with the very best. And the covers formula [[be it Tin Pan Alley or Diane Warren) has always worked well for Mathis because his voice is the show. Those two things come together very well with “New American Songbook”.
It’s a catchy title but I feel it is a bit of a misnomer. I think The Great American Songbook was the era when songwriters [[Tin Pan Alley to The Brill Building) were king. The song was the thing and traditionally [[especially with Tin Pan Alley) many different artists would record the same song, with competing versions giving the song more exposure, more of a chance to become a classic. Things are just not done that way anymore, so in my opinion there is no new American Songbook. Today there are occasional songs [[i.e. “The Look of Love") that maintain mass public appeal and lend themselves well to continued interpretation, that may then become classics, but that’s different concept.
This album might better have been titled “Mathis Now”. The songs are great but I don’t consider any of them songbook or even modern classics at this point. That said, Johnny performs them in his inimitable style and seems to really enjoy doing so.
More than on any of his more recent projects I clearly hear the aging of his magnificent voice, there seems to be a bit more of a strain. I am absolutely not saying he sounds bad, quite the contrary he has maintained his instrument impressively well but his voice is aging as would be expected.
I’ve played the album twice and I’ve really enjoyed listening to it. First impressions, I really like his version of Adele’s “Hello” though he does a sound a bit strained. I love his version of Pharrell’s “Happy”, his optimism is contagious. I pretty much like all the performances, though I thought “I Believe I Can Fly” would be a better fit, maybe a few more listens. All in all, a welcome chapter.
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From Columbia Records via Newswire:
LEGACY RECORDINGS TO RELEASE
The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection
Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is set to release The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection, the definitive Johnny Mathis career-spanning box set at the end of the year. The 68-disc set comes as a part of the continued celebration of the enduring musical achievements of Johnny Mathis [[who first signed with Columbia Records in 1955.) Legacy has worked closely with Mathis on the curation of his Columbia catalog, pouring through the label's deep archive of studio and live material, restoring and remastering tracks for digital release. Within this vast career-spanning boxset, Legacy Recordings has included 62 Columbia albums that have been remastered [[25 of which are available on CD for the very first time), two previously unreleased albums, a 2-disc collection featuring 40 previously unreleased songs as well as Johnny Mathis Sings The Great New American Songbook
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