| 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.
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]
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]
Recording 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 | 1972 | ||
| 29 | The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) |
| |
| 30 | Song Sung Blue |
| |
| 31 | Me and Mrs. Jones | 1973 |
|
| 32 | Killing Me Softly with Her Song | ||
| 33 | I'm Coming Home | ||
| 34 | The Heart of a Woman | 1974 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 43 | Mathis Magic | ||
| 44 | Different Kinda Different | 1980 |
|
| 45 | Friends in Love | 1982 |
|
| 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 | 1990 | ||
| 57 | 1991 | ||
| 58 | How Do You Keep the Music Playing? | 1993 | |
| 59 | All About Love | 1996 | |
| 60 | 1998 | ||
| 61 | Mathis on Broadway | 2000 | |
| 62 | The Christmas Album | 2002 | |
| 63 | 2005 | ||
| 64 | A Night to Remember | 2008 | |
| 65 | 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 | ||
Recording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[10]
Credits taken from the liner notes.[10]
Credits taken from the liner notes.[10]
Images courtesy of Rojon Productions & Sony Music Photo Archives:
Chart positions courtesy of Joel Whitburn & Billboard Publications
"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?'"