Search - Johnny Mathis :: Wonderful Wonderful / Johnny Mathis

Pure Genius

Dominick T. Armentano | Vero Beach, Florida USA | 03/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are the first two Johnny Mathis albums and to my ear, the best singing he's ever done. The first ablbum, slightly different than the U.S. release, contains "Wild is the Wind" and "Come to Me" as unexpected treats. But the absolute gems that have never been topped (and remember Johnny was only 22 years old here!) are "Stareyes" and "It Might as Well be Spring." "Stareyes" swings and Johnny is all over the lyric and melody. Absolutely perfect, even though it was done 45 years ago! And "Spring", well, it's the best version of this classic that I've ever heard. The soft delicate singing, the shifts in tempo, the emotion, Johnny was never better than this. And then to have all of the Wonderful, Wonderful album songs finally on a CD,well it's just a Wonderful. Finally, the quality of the sound on this CD import is perfection and the songs all sound better than the originals that some of us have played for 4 decades. [l."

TWO EARLY JOHNNY MATHIS CLASSICS

Giovanni | Chicago, IL | 08/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"are presented here from our friends at Sony UK in pristine form. They've provided us with some great "2fers" before, and have once again got me raving! While the first half of this CD, simply titled JOHNNY MATHIS, is available here with the tracks deleted from the original LP (Angel Eyes, Babalu, Im Glad There Is You and Caravan) this is a great import CD to have in your collection. Being Johnny's first recording, the "JOHNNY MATHIS" sides may find the listener hearing an almost unfamiliar voice. Johnny was in an unusually jazzy setting here, with jazz greats like Gil Evans, Miles Davis, and Ray Brown in the studio with him. His voice was almost too sweet in these recordings, but Im not knocking one of the greatest singers of all time here, this is just the first time I've heard his earliest work. His readings of STREET OF DREAMS and IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING are inspired, heartfelt and lovely. My favorite of this half of the CD would have to be the hit, COME TO ME, closely followed by the opener, WILD IS THE WIND (George Michael paid tribute to Johnny with a very sensuous reading of this song on his 1999 CD, Songs From The Last Century). Speaking of sensuous, the opener of WONDERFUL WONDERFUL's sides, "WILL I FIND MY LOVE TODAY" had me replaying it for over an hour, trying to decide which passages I liked best. A prophetic heartfelt plea, Johhny's voice was flawless here. I also loved the way Johnny handled the Cole Porter classic "ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT", and took one of the ultimate torch songs, "IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING" and put his own indelible stamp on this well-covered evergreen. Thank you once again, Sony UK!"

The Title Says It All!

cdhoyt | Tujunga, CA United States | 04/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first piece of music that ever touched my ears, was my mother's scratched crackling album of Johnny Mathis' Wonderful, Wonderful. And through the static and skipping this wonderful voice and lush orchestral arrangement could be heard!!! I was thrilled to finally buy the cd and hear the music as it should be heard. My particular favorites are Early Autumn, Wee Small Hours of the Morning and the swinging renditions of Too Close for Comfort and Old Black Magic. This is Johnny at his velvety best!!! Now if only sony imports or columbia could rerelease the album "Faithfully" on cd!!!!"