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Two gems from Johnny Mathis' mid 60s years at Mercury Records – one classic album, and another previously unreleased session! First up is Love Is Everything – an album that's got Johnny working with arranger Glenn Osser – who always seemed to set the right tone to unlock the best side of Mathis' 60s vocals. Orchestrations are lush, but never sleeping – and have that wonderful pillow of sound approach that really lets Johnny open up and soar vocally. Titles include "A Thousand Blue Bubbles", "Never Let Me Go", "This Is All I Ask", "People", "One More Mountain", and "Go Away Little Girl". Next up is Broadway – a record that was recorded for Mercury, yet never issued at the time! The album's got a nicely unusual feel – a range of songs that really moves past the usual ballads and love songs you might normally know from Johnny Mathis – and which, at some times, shows sides that are a bit more upbeat and playful. Titles include "Get Out Of Town", "Manhattan", "Don't Rain On My Parade", "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love", "Ridin High", "She Loves Me", and "Ain't It De Truth".

A pair of gems from Johnny Mathis' years at Mercury Records – back to back on a single CD! First up is So Nice, an album that definitely lives up to its title – with a sound that extends strongly from the lushness of Mathis' early 60s recordings, but which also has a bit of a nod to the late 60s scene too – thanks to tunes from Marcos Valle, Michel Legrand, Burt Bacharach, and others! Glenn Osser handles most of the arrangements – in that shimmering strings style that always seemed to work best for Johnny during this period – a mode that never overshadows his vocals, and really lets that Mathis magic unfurl – on titles that include "The Music That Makes Me Dance", "I Will Wait For You", "So Nice", "Elusive Butterfly", "What Now My Love", and "What The World Needs Now Is Love". Johnny Mathis Sings is the final Johnny Mathis album for Mercury Records – and one of our favorites from the time! There's a nice little bounce to some of these cuts that really opens Johnny up – a style that's never too groovy, but which brings in some slight 60s syncopation to the rhythms – albeit in a gentle sort of way. Strings and horns shimmer over the top, next to Johnny's great vocals – which are still the center stage of the session – almost a bit more mature, and sounding wonderful on cuts that include "Strangers In The Night", "Who Can Say", "I Wish You Love", "The Second Time Around", "Sunny", "Saturday Sunshine", and "Eleanor Rigby".

A sweet 80s set from Johnny Mathis – one of those great later albums when he brought a good deal of soul into the mix! The feel here is almost more modern R&B than the vocal jazz mode that first brought Johnny fame – and it turns out that the Mathis mode is wonderful for such a setting – rich and full of feeling, and arguably better than some of his younger contemporaries on the charts! The ballads are beautiful, but there's also a few surprising midtempo numbers – and titles include a sublime remake of "Love Won't Let Me Wait", done with Deniece Williams – plus "Love Never Felt So Good", "Simple", "Priceless", "One Love", "Right Here & Now", and "Lead Me To Your Love" – plus "You're A Special Part Of Me", a duet with Angie Bofill. CD features two bonus tracks – "Simple (single vocal)" and "Simple (inst)".

Two Johnny Mathis gems from his years at Mercury Records – back to back on a single CD! Sweetheart Tree is a unique album – in that it represents some unusual London sessions from Johnny Mathis – material recorded in the UK with different arrangers than usual – including Tony Osborne, Alyn Ainsworth, and Allyn Ferguson – all of whom help give Mathis a slight change of flavor here! The new talents make for a fresh change – and the album also brings in a few US tracks too, with work by Glenn Osser and Lincoln Mayorga – on titles that include "Symphony", "The Skye Boat Song", "A Wonderful Day Like Today", "Clopin Clopant", "This Is Love", and "I'll Close My Eyes". The Shadow Of Your Smile is a record that has the singer both hitting classic modes, and stretching out towards some of the hip changes in 60s music as well! The mix of tunes is very nice – with a few Beatles tunes, some bossa tracks, and a few more standard numbers to round out the mix – all arranged with some inventive rhythms by John Pisano, Glenn Osser, Jack Elliott, and Tony Osborne – in ways that make for a nice sense of variety throughout the record. Titles include a great reading of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" – plus "Quiet Nights", "Michelle", "Taste Of Honey", "Melinda", "Come Back To Me", "Something's Coming", and "Moment To Moment".

A pair of Mercury Records albums from Johnny Mathis – on CD for the first time ever! Tender Is The Night is tremendous work from Johnny's short years on Mercury – a set that has the singer hitting a new level of maturity in his music – thanks in part to arrangements from Don Costa! Costa's scored plenty of singers before this set – but with Johnny, he hits a level of sophistication that's really amazing – the depth of tones and colors that Frank Sinatra was getting on his late 60s years at Reprise – perfect for the new level of expression that Mathis was hitting in his vocals. There's loads of numbers here that go way beyond what you might expect from the usual hits from Johnny – and titles include "Laura", "No Strings", "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes", "Forget Me Not", and "Tomorrow Song". Wonderful World Of Make Believe features Mathis working with arranger Allyn Ferguson – who often gives Johnny the same sort of shimmering charts he might get from Glenn Osser, but who takes a bit more liberties here with the "make believe" modes promised in the title! Lots of the tunes are numbers from shows – but those of a whimsical, wistful variety – postwar tunes with a fantasy vibe that's perfect for the inherent sense of longing in Mathis' vocals. Titles include "Shangri La", "House Of Flowers", "Beyond The Sea", "Camelot", "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", "Sands Of Time", and "When You Wish Upon A Star".

A pair of Mercury Records albums from Johnny Mathis – back to back on a single CD! First up is This Is Love – a record that really sparkles, thanks to backings from Allyn Ferguson, done in that perfect mix of soft strings and shimmering brass that seems to work best for the vocals of Johnny Mathis! The album's got a feel that's full, but never in a too-lush or sleepy way – that perfect balance you find on Johnny's key classics from the early years – of which this album is certainly a real standout. Ferguson's backings have a subtle sense of drama, but never overdone – and titles include "Over The Weekend", "More", "You Love Me", "Poinciana", "The Touch Of Your Lips", and "Just Move Along Meadowlark". Ole is an unusual Latin-themed album from Johnny Mathis – one that uses the drama of Spain, the exotic sounds of South America, and even a bit of bossa nova – all to help Johnny hit some new styles in his music! Backings are by Allyn Ferguson, and still cast perfectly for Mathis' vocals – so that while sounding fresh, the album also has a strong quality that ties it to other Johnny Mathis albums of the time – particularly the overlooked gems he cut for Mercury Records. Titles include "Samba De Orfeu", "Manha De Carnaival", "Serenata", "Bachianas Brasileiras", "Granada", and "Without You".

A classic from Johnny Mathis' second run at Columbia! Up Up & Away is Mathis' first set back at the label after a brief hiatus – a record that shows a newly mature style that's wonderfully suited for Johnny's amazing voice! Mathis tones are every bit as perfect as before – but he's also got a maturing approach to the lyrics that's really nice – maybe a bit more pause, or thoughtfulness, which only increases the sense of feeling in the tunes. Of course, the great charts by Glenn Osser also help too – lush, but never sleepy, and showing their own sort of maturation too. Titles include "Misty Roses", "Drifting", "When I Look In Your Eyes", "I Thought Of You Last Night", "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", and "Where Are The Words".

A wonderful little package – way more than just a collection of soundtrack work by Italian maestro Riz Ortolani – and instead, a fully-fleshed look at his long career – with vocal, instrumental, and even some jazz titles too! The 4CD set comes in a book-styled package – with some great images from Ortolani's career in the middle, and notes in Italian – and the CDs break things up beautifully, to offer a rich look at the music in ways we hardly would have expected – showing lots of aspects of Riz's career we've never heard on CD! CD 1 features famous film themes – including "Sweet Dreams", "Africa Addion", "Yellow Rolls Royce", "The Great Dreamer", and many others. CD 2 features vocal and instrumental interpretations of Ortolani's compositions – with tracks by Jack Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Fabio Boltro, Aretha Franklin, Shirley Bassey, Erroll Garner, Johnny Mathis, Julie London, Matt Monro, and others. CD 3 is titled Unforgettable Love – and features loads of sweet 60s instrumentals, all with a soundtracky sort of feel – including "Magic Man", "Una Casa A Roma", "Lui Lui Lui", "My Blue", "Un Amore Cosi Tenero", "Easy Life", "Til Love Touches Your Life", and "True Confession". And CD 4 is the most striking of all – some rare jazz tracks swung strongly by Ortolani, most of them larger ensemble numbers – with titles that include "The Cold Nose", "St Francisco Railways", "Miami Beach", "Free Dixie", "Please Another Ball", "The Day Of Anger", and "Unna Sull'Altra".

Two Arista groovers from Dionne Warwick – back to back on a single CD! How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye has Dionne Warwick stepping out strongly with some great production help from Luther Vandross – who gives the lady a groove that's possibly even tighter than on her other Arista albums, really shaking off some of her more familiar modes, and going for a powerful 80s sound. There's still some good ballads to balance out the upbeat cuts, too – and these really glow with the classy Vandross touch. Titles include "So Amazing", "Got A Date", "I Can Let Go Now", "What Can A Miracle Do", "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye", and "I Do It Cause I Like It". Friends In Love has Dionne Warwick working in warm, mature territory – a sound that's a bit more like the vibe she explored on her late 70s records – a maturing past the original Bacharach years, with an all-adult style that really works with her voice. Titles include duets with Johnny Mathis on "Got You Where I Want You" and "Friends In Love" – plus "Never Gonna Let You Go", "Can't Hide Love", "Betcha By Golly Wow", "More Than Fascination", "For You", and "A Love So Right".

One of the boldest records we've ever heard from bassist Per Zanussi – quite possibly because it features a thirteen-member ensemble – exploding out with a heck of a lot of power! Despite their size, though, the sound can be incredibly lean – at times because it seems like every member is moving as one, handling the same note or tone at the same time – at others, because they step back and take scope of their performance while unfolding it – that contemplative way that we've heard on some of Zanussi's smaller-group recordings. Per's sonic sensitivity is present throughout – and other players include Oyvind Braekke on trombone, Erik Hegdal on baritone, Klaus Holm on alto and clarinet, Mikko Innanen and Martin Kuchen on alto, Jonas Kullhammar on tenor, Kjetl Moster and Jorgen Mathisen on tenor and clarinet, and Gard Nilssen on drums. Titles include "Balance/Sinawi", "All Wrath", "Ghibli", "Johnny Just Drop", "Zoanthropy 2", and "Body & Zeuhl".