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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
Released	December 8, 2017[1]
Recorded	1956–1963 1967–2017
Genre	Vocal stage & screen R&B pop/rock easy listening
Length	47:25:00
Label	Sony 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	"Out of This World" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 2:43 recorded 3/14/56; previously unreleased "I'm Glad There Is You" (Jimmy Dorsey, Paul Madeira)  – 3:43 rec. 3/19/56
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	"Wherever You Are It's Spring" (Arthur Hamilton) – 2:33 rec. 2/8/61
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		"Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) – 2:44 "Like to Get to Know You" (Stuart Scharf) – 2:33 above two rec. 7/10/68; both previously unreleased
21	Johnny Mathis Sings the Music of Bert Kaempfert		"It Makes No Difference" (Milt Gabler, Bert Kaempfert, Herbert Rehbein) – 2:32 rec. 10/21-23/68; previously unreleased in the U.S.
22	Love Theme from "Romeo And Juliet" (A Time for Us)	1969	"The Way of Love" (Jacques Dieval, Al Stillman) – 2:51 rec. 6/5/69; previously unreleased
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	Medley – 2:47 a. "Goin' Out of My Head" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) b. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio) rec. 1/4/71; previously unreleased
27	You've Got a Friend		"Reach Out I'll Be There" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 4:03 rec. 5/5/71; previously unreleased "So Much in Love" (Marjorie Goetschius, Jascha Heifetz) – 4:02 rec. 5/7/71; previously unreleased "I Only Have Eyes for You" from Dames (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 3:43 "Golden Slumbers" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 3:30 above two rec. 5/11/71; both previously unreleased
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		"Morning Has Broken" (Eleanor Farjeon, Cat Stevens) – 3:40 rec. 6/7/72; previously unreleased "I'm on the Outside Looking In" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) – 3:05 rec. 7/24/72; previously unreleased
31	Me and Mrs. Jones	1973	"Pieces of April" (Dave Loggins) – 3:17 rec. 10/2/72; previously unreleased
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	"We Kiss in a Shadow" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – 3:37 "Cryin' for the Night" (unknown) – 4:43 "Goodbye for Now" from Reds (Stephen Sondheim) – 3:22 above three rec. 9/1/81; all three previously unreleased "The One and Only" from The One and Only (Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Patrick Williams) – 3:17 rec. 9/2/81; previously unreleased "Here's to You" (Bob Geldof) – 5:05 "As If" (Shelly Peiken, Guy Roche) – 4:17 above two rec. 10/21/81; both previously unreleased
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	"I'll Take Romance" from I'll Take Romance (Oscar Hammerstein II, Ben Oakland) – 3:06 previously unreleased "Baía (Na Baixa do Sapateiro)" from The Three Caballeros (Ary Barroso, Ray Gilbert) – 4:08 "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)" from Saludos Amigos (Barroso, Bob Russell) – 4:15 above three rec. 4/6/86
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
   • above two rec. 3/29/62; above five from the album I'll Search My Heart and Other Great Hits
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)
    • rec. 11/30/92; from the Barbra Streisand album Back to Broadway
17. "The Shadow of Your Smile" performed with Dave Koz and Chris Botti (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) – 5:22
    • rec. 5/6/06; from the 2006 Mathis compilation Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration

Personnel

Credits taken from the liner notes.[3]

• Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1, 2, 4)
• Robert Mersey – producer (track 3)
• Frank DeVol – producer (track 5)
• Irving Townsend – producer (tracks 6–8)
• Jerry Fuller – producer (tracks 9, 10)
• Roger Nichols – producer (tracks 11, 12)
• Jack Gold – producer (tracks 13–15)
• Barbra Streisand – producer (track 16)
• Phil Ramone – producer (track 17)

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:

• CRPS
• Bob Cato
• Jeff Dunas
• Becky Fluke
• Don Hunstein
• Urve Kuusik
• Art Maillett
• Aaron Mollin
• Fred Mollin
• Ricky Robinson
• Rick Shaw
• Sandy Speiser
• David Vance

Chart positions courtesy of Joel Whitburn & Billboard Publications

References

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