Search - Various :: Better Together - The Duet Album

An essential CD for all who love romantic music.

Justo Roteta | Los Angeles, California United States | 09/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This fine compilation finds one of the all-time greatest romantic crooners duetting with some great Soul and Pop divas. Of course, Mr. Mathis' duets with Dionne Warwick and Deniece Williams were major hits but this is a CD that's great from beginning to end. His duets with Patti Austin ("You Brought Me Love"), Jane Olivor ("The Last time i felt Like This") and Angela Bofill ("You're A Special Part Of Me") are simply superb and should be your real reasons for buying this CD. Romantic music at its finest!"

Johnny and his buddies raise the bar--and score a huge serie

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Better Together: The Duet Album is a rather strong Johnny Mathis album; and I am baffled as to why this fine album is out of print. The quality of the sound is simple excellent and the artwork is great. Johnny sings with some mighty talented ladies on this duet album; it's a must for Johnny's fans as well.



"Better Together" starts the album; and this tune features Johnny Mathis singing a wonderful, lushly arranged duet with Regina Belle. Together Johnny Mathis and Regina Belle make this a very memorable number and I love it! "Better Together" makes a strong beginning to this album. "You Brought Me Love" is simply beautiful; Johnny sings this passionately alongside Patti Austin. Patti Austin always sang so wonderfully and together with Johnny this make "You Brought Me Love" a truly awesome ballad. The musical arrangement to accompany Johnny and Patti lacks nothing--it's all THAT good.



"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" is one of my very favorite duets on this CD; Johnny and Deniece Williams sing this perfectly and their voices enhance the natural beauty of this number. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late is a sad song but yet the melody is so pretty you can't help but feel great anyway whenever you hear it. "It's All In The Game" has Johnny singing his heart out with Take 6; together these artists do this one up right and "It's All In The Game" is easily a major highlight of this album.



"Love Won't Let Me Wait" is a beautiful cover done by Johnny with Deniece Williams; they sing this flawlessly and the lush musical arrangement is very well done and thoughtful at once. "The Last Time I Felt Like This" comes from a movie with Alan Alda entitled Same Time, Next Year; and Johnny sings this with Jane Oliver; together they sing passionately with all their hearts and souls. Excellent!



"In The Still Of The Night" has Johnny teaming up again with Take 6; sometimes it seems like Take 6 is singing off key; this is certainly intentional but it makes this number my least favorite on this CD. Johnny, however, does his usual spectacular job.



"You're All I Need To Get By" has Johnny yet again with Deniece Williams; together they make this sound fresh and new; what a great cover of this song!



Overall, with the one exception of "In The Still Of The Night," this is certainly a very strong duets CD. Johnny Mathis fans should get this and enjoy; people who enjoy duets and classic pop vocals will also love this album.

"

One of the first of the "duets" albums

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 10/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With the recent release of Tony Bennett's duets album, I was reminded of an album in my collection that I had not reviewed: "Better Together: The Duet Album" from 1991. At the time of the album's release, Johnny Mathis had been a musical legend for almost four decades.



During the late fifties and early sixties, Mathis had been one of the most dominant singers in popular music. He is still a major draw on the concert stage domestically, especially in Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as international venues.



"The Duet Album" finds Mathis paired with female singers, for the most part, that perfectly compliment his unique voice, most notably Dionne Warwick and Deniece Williams, both featured on two songs, respectively. Mathis and Williams scored a number one hit with "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," featured on this album.



However, it's the pairing of Mathis and a cappella MALE virtuosos, Take 6, ("It's All in the Game" and "In the Still of the Night") that is the album's best. Mathis may have had an earlier success with an album entitled "Heavenly" but it is his soothing vocals, backed by the all-encompassing sound of the sextet, that is truly sent from above.



Observation: Mathis celebrated his seventy-first birthday on September 30th."