The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection explained

The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection
Type:box
Artist:Johnny Mathis
Cover:Mathis-Voice.jpg
Released:December 8, 2017[1]
Recorded:1956–1963
1967–2017
Length:47:25:00
Label:Sony Music Entertainment
Legacy Recordings
Prev Title:Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:Christmas Time Is Here
Next Year:2023

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.

Background

Johnny 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

In 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 Magazines 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

Recording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[10]

Disc #AlbumYearBonus tracks
1Johnny Mathis1956
2Wonderful Wonderful1957
3Warm
4Good Night, Dear Lord1958
5Swing Softly
6Merry Christmas
7Open Fire, Two Guitars1959
8Heavenly
9Faithfully
10The Ballads of Broadway1960
11The Rhythms of Broadway
12Johnny's Mood
13I'll Buy You a Star1961
14Live It Up!
15Rapture1962
16Johnny1963
17Romantically
18Up, Up and Away1967
19Love Is Blue1968
20Those Were the Days
21Johnny Mathis Sings the Music of Bert Kaempfert
22Love Theme from "Romeo And Juliet" (A Time for Us)1969
23Give Me Your Love for Christmas
24Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head1970
25Close to You
  • "Caroline" (Bodie Chandler) – 2:44
    • rec. 5/13/70; previously unreleased
26Love Story1971
27You've Got a Friend
281972
29The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)
  • "Remember the Good" (Mickey Newbury) – 3:06
    • rec. 1/27/72; previously unreleased
30Song Sung Blue
31Me and Mrs. Jones1973
32Killing Me Softly with Her Song
33I'm Coming Home
34The Heart of a Woman 1974
  • "Fifty Fifty" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:22
  • "Nothing in This Whole World" (unknown) – 4:14
    • above two rec. 5/28-29/74; both previously unreleased
35When Will I See You Again1975
36Feelings
  • "Crazy Little Love Makin' Ways" (Rose McCoy, Robert Mersey) – 2:56
  • "Let's Go On From Here" (Kenneth Crouch) – 2:54
    • above two rec. 3/25/75; both previously unreleased
37I Only Have Eyes for You 1976
38Mathis Is... 1977
39Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
  • "Experience" (unknown) – 4:17
    • rec. 9/30/77; previously unreleased
  • "If It's Magic" (Stevie Wonder) – 3:36
    • rec. 6/14/77
40You Light Up My Life 1978
41That's What Friends Are For
  • "Comme ci, comme ça" performed with Deniece Williams (J. S. Stewart) – 2:58
    • rec. 4/26/78; previously unreleased
  • "Without Us" from Family Ties; performed with Deniece Williams (Jeff Barry, Tom Scott) – 4:02
    • rec. 10/21/82
  • "So Deep in Love" performed with Deniece Williams (Barry, Bruce Roberts) – 4:32
    • rec. 10/21/82; previously unreleased
42 The Best Days of My Life 1979
  • "I Never Said I Love You" (Hal David, Archie Jordan) – 3:38
    • rec. 8/23/78
43Mathis Magic
44Different Kinda Different 1980
  • "In Love with Love" (Jimmy Scott) – 3:19
  • "Time for Love" (Don Ferris, Jack Lloyd) – 4:23
  • "Wondering Why" (Ainsworth Prasad, Tamra Smith) – 3:38
    • above three rec. 11/27/79; all three previously unreleased
  • "When Am I Going to Get Over You" (unknown) – 3:30
    • rec. 12/6/79; previously unreleased
  • "Three Times a Lady" (Lionel Richie) – 4:15
    • rec. 3/5/80
45Friends in Love 1982
46I Love My Lady1981
47A Special Part of Me 1984
  • "Simple" (Vocal Version) (Marvin Morrow, Keith Stegall) – 5:55
  • "Simple" (Instrumental Version) (Morrow, Stegall) – 4:52
    • above two rec. 4/13/83
48Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole1983
49Live1984
50Right from the Heart 1985
51The Hollywood Musicals 1986
52Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis
53Once in a While1988
54In the Still of the Night1989
55The Island
56 1990
571991
58How Do You Keep the Music Playing?1993
59All About Love 1996
60 1998
61Mathis on Broadway 2000
62The Christmas Album 2002
63 2005
64A Night to Remember 2008
65 2010
66Sending You a Little Christmas 2013
67Odds and Ends: That’s What Makes the Music Play2017
68Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook

Odds and Ends: That’s What Makes the Music Play

Track listing

Recording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[10]

  1. "Teacher, Teacher" (Alternate Version) performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 2:37
    • recorded 6/16/57
  2. "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
  3. "Now That You've Gone (Puisque tu pars)" (Petula Clark, Norman Newell, Hubert Ballay) – 3:01
    • rec. 11/2/67; previously unreleased
  4. "What to Do About Love" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:28
    • rec. 5/31/60
  5. "Each Time We Kiss" (Clyde Otis, Colin Towns) – 2:39
    • rec. 3/4/61
  6. "My Favorite Dream" (Lee Pockriss, Vance) – 2:55
    • rec. 10/9/61
  7. "A Clock Without Hands" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:58
  8. "The Joy of Loving You" (Bart Howard) – 3:05
  9. "You Are There" (Johnny Mandel, Dave Frishberg) – 3:06
  10. "Fifty Fifty" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:19
    • above two rec. 9/22/76; both previously unreleased
  11. "That's What Makes the Music Play" (Will Jennings, Roger Nichols) – 3:11
  12. "Let Me Be the One" (Nichols, Paul Williams) – 3:31
    • above two rec. 9/27/76; both previously unreleased
  13. "El Amar y el Querer" (Manuel Alejandro, Ana Magdalena) – 4:13
  14. "Cosas Pequeñas" (Alejandro, Magdalena) – 3:11
  15. "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
  16. 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)
  17. "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

Personnel

Credits taken from the liner notes.[10]

Box set personnel

Credits taken from the liner notes.[10]

Images courtesy of Rojon Productions & Sony Music Photo Archives:

Chart positions courtesy of Joel Whitburn & Billboard Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection - Johnny Mathis. allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. 12 December 2017.
  2. Web site: Johnny Mathis Talks 68-CD Box Set of Entire Catalog: Hear 3 Unreleased Tracks With CHIC . Caulfield . Keith . billboard.com . 4 December 2017 . 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?'"

  3. Web site: Johnny Mathis plans Santa Rosa show, releases Box Set The Voice Of Romance . Coleman . Michael P. . sacculturalhub.com . 9 February 2018 . 27 December 2023.
  4. Web site: Johnny Mathis, The TVD Interview . Catlin . Roger . thevinyldistrict.com . 29 March 2018 . 27 December 2023.
  5. Web site: Singer Johnny Mathis on new box set, tour, possible autobiography . Cordova . Randy . . 16 March 2018 . 27 December 2023.
  6. Web site: Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection" . theseconddisc.com. 13 December 2017 . 22 December 2017.
  7. Web site: Album Reviews > Johnny Mathis > "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection" . Cadgène . Suzanne . . 8 December 2017 . 27 December 2023.
  8. Web site: Notable box sets and period releases of 2017, including Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and Ella Fitzgerald . Wood . Mikael . . 3 December 2017 . 27 December 2023.
  9. Web site: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection" . Nelson-Strauss . Brenda . Black Grooves. 1 December 2017 . 27 December 2023.
  10. (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.