The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection

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
Box set by
Johnny Mathis
ReleasedDecember 8, 2017[1]
Recorded1956–1963
1967–2017
Genre
Length47:25:00
LabelSony Music Entertainment
Legacy Recordings
Johnny Mathis chronology
Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook
(2017)		 The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection
(2017)

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."[2] In summation he wrote, "Since Johnny Mathis's recording debut, virtually everything has changed about the sound of music, not to mention the music industry. But Mathis has held steadfast to his core values as an artist, and as a 'singer's singer,' as he’s happily traversed from genre to genre. That consistence of quality and variation of style makes the immersive journey contained in The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection one well worth taking for any fan or collector of American popular song. Basking in the glow of this nostalgic trip, you just might get misty yourself."[2]

Contents

Recording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[3]

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
  • "Caroline" (Bodie Chandler) – 2:44
    • rec. 5/13/70; previously unreleased
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)
  • "Remember the Good" (Mickey Newbury) – 3:06
    • rec. 1/27/72; previously unreleased
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
  • "Fifty Fifty" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:22
  • "Nothing in This Whole World" (unknown) – 4:14
    • above two rec. 5/28-29/74; both previously unreleased
35 When Will I See You Again 1975
36 Feelings
  • "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
37 I Only Have Eyes for You 1976
38 Mathis Is... 1977
39 Hold 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
40 You Light Up My Life 1978
41 That'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
43 Mathis Magic
44 Different 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
45 Friends in Love 1982
46 I Love My Lady 1981
47 A 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
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

Track listing

Recording dates and release information taken from the liner notes.[3]

  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

Personnel

Credits taken from the liner notes.[3]

Box set personnel

Credits taken from the liner notes.[3]

  • 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:

Chart positions courtesy of Joel Whitburn & Billboard Publications

References
  1. "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. "Holiday Gift Guide Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection"". theseconddisc.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  3. (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
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