Customer Reviews

Christmas Album

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First the bad news. This CD, like many of Mathis's recent releases, is short weight. That, and that alone, prevents it from being considered five star material. He is well capable of filling a seventy four minute disc, and this CD doesn't cut it from that point of view.

Now the good. Mathis remains the pre-eminent singer of the crooning category. On this album he has created further definitive versions of Christmas Classics to add to his already impressive list.

The weakest song on the album is the new one - Heavenly Peace. Whether this is because it is lyrically lightweight, or heavily dependent on cheap sounding synthesisers is a matter of opinion.

However, his version of Frosty the Snowman is a delight which will have you bouncing your feet. Unashamedly retro, it swings with a feeling recalling the best of Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole's Christmas recordings. Another swinger is I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - great tune. Mathis has abandoned the nasal quality of his early swinging material and gone for a much warmer sound.

But it is on the ballads that Mathis proves he may yet be a better singer than he has ever been - incredible to be readapting at the age of 67. The clear winner on the album is A Christmas Love Song by Johnny Mandel and the Bergmans. Mathis brings sensitivity that most of today's "crooners" could only dream of. Of almost equal quality is Snowfall, a beautiful performance which obliterates all memory of the very good Tony Bennett version.

The key thing is that Mathis simply sounds warmer than ever. The voice is deeper, creating that impression of depth. But it has lost none of its tone. Compared with his work of the previous decade, it is in a different league. He may well be a better phraser of a song than even Sinatra.

JOHNNY'S NEW CHR0STMAS ALBUM CONTAINS 10 NEW CHRISTMAS SONGS BY
MATHIS.THIS ALBUM WAS TO ORIGINALLY HAVE 12 TRACKS BUT FOR SOME
REASON CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU AND IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF
THE YEAR WAS DROPPED.MAYBE THEY WILL BE ON HIS NEXT ONE.MATHIS DOES A GREAT JOB ON THESE 10 NEW SONGS.SOME OF THESE ARE UPBEAT,
AND SOME LUSH.FROSTY THE SNOWMAN IS ACCOMPINED BY SOME DRUMS AND
MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE TAPPING YOUR FEET.MATHISIS VERSION OF SNOWFALL IS AS LUSH AS TONY BENNETT'S.HEAVENLY PEACE IS A NEW
HOLIDAY TUNE.HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS AND I'VE GOT MY LOVE
TO KEEP ME WARM ARE UPBEAT JOHNNY MATHIS STYLE.JOY TO THE WORLD,
AWAY IN A MANGER,A CHRISTMAS LOVE SONG,O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
AND MERRY CHRISTMAS IS ALL LUSH.I LOVE MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS IS
THE FIRST TIME I HAVE HEARD IT AND IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL.MATHIS HAS
NEW ARRANGERS HERE LIKE BOB KROGSTAD,JOHNATHON TUNICK,AND ALAN
BROADBENT.RAY ELLIS CONDUCTS HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS.UNFORTUALLY FOR SOME REASON THIS ISN'T IN STORES
UNLIKE KENNY G'S NEW CHRISTMAS ALBUM WISHES WHICH IS EVEN
THOUGH THEY CAME OUT THE SAME DAY.I GOT MINE ONLINE.IF YOU
DON'T HAVE THIS NEW ALBUM BY MATHIS YOUR CHRISTMAS MUSIC COLLECTION WON'T BE COMPLETE.I HOPE THEY PLAY SOME OF THESE
ON THE RADIO DURING THE SEASON.I HIGHLEY RECOMMEND THIS ONE
BY MATHIS AND IN ADDITION I ALSO RECOMMEND KENNY G'S WISHES
CD AS IT IS ANOTHER GREAT CHRISTMAS ALBUM BY KENNY G AND
GOES GREAT WITH THIS ONE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.I GOT BOTH OF
THESE TOGEATHER.

Johnny's newest Christmas gift to his fans is just that! Clocking in at under 32 minutes, The cd is on the short side! But the music contained within is magical!!! Standout tracks include:"A Christmas Love Song", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", "Snowfall/Christmas Time Is Here" & The seldom heard gem "Merry Christmas". A Personal favorite is the new song "Heavenly Peace" which shows Johnny's voice is still a GREAT interpreter for new songs!!! Johnny-Next time could you double the length? You are after all the voice of Christmas!!

Really, as other reviewers have pointed out here, when it comes to Christmas music, the only one in Mathis' league is the late Bing Crosby. Not only that, his range is actually better here than it was back in 1969 and 1986 on "Give Me Your Love For Christmas" and "Christmas Eve" respectively, when both efforts saw him apparently limited to baritone. Those two albums had me thinking that the famous tenor we came to love on his first two was history. As is often the case, Mathis is best on more familiar material like "Joy To the World" and "Away In a Manger". The more contemporary "Heavenly Peace" seems more like what you'd find on a Michael Bolton Christmas album. This is not to say that other non-perennials like "Christmas Love Song" and "Merry Christmas" don't fit--actually, they just sound more like what you'd expect from Mathis. This album's swing treatment of "Frosty the Snowman" is a reminder that, although we don't usually think of Johnny as a jazz singer, he can handle it. "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" isn't exactly a Christmas song, but neither is "Let It Snow", really. But it shows up on almost half of the pop Holiday albums out there, including Johnny's own "Sounds Of Christmas" back in 1963. The appearance of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmastime Is Here" from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is welcome--except for Michael Franks, not enough singers do it. "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year" and "Christmas Without You" got left out of the final pressing for some reason--both are clearly listed on the blurb for this album on his website. I can understand "Wonderful Time" getting skipped--it's already on "Chrsitmas Eve"--but why the other song? It was bad enough that a superior version of "Drummer Boy" didn't make the crossing when "Sounds Of Christmas" got rereleased as "Christmas With...". That version is better than the one on "Love For Christmas"--less rushed and a better tenor range. Another casualty of that rerelease was "Have Reindeer Will Travel". So that makes four Mathis Christmas songs that aren't on CD. Maybe if they do a four-song EP. Or stick them on a compilation disc. One can only hope.

Although "The Christmas Album" is a much shorter CD than most, it offers some of Mathis' best Christmas music to date. The quintessential vocalist, Mathis' voice has continued to mature and mellow. "The Christmas Album", in spite of its relative brevity, manages to offer something for every Xmas palate: from the sleigh ride bounce of "Frosty the Snowman" to the classic religiosity of "Away in a Manger" to the near ethereal romance of a "A Christmas Love Song" and the medley "Snowfall/Christmas Time is Here." Like most of Mathis' music, this Christmas album should endure as one of his best efforts yet. FYI: The photo of the toddler-aged Mathis on the cover is almost worth the price of the CD. Enjoy!!!

Last year I agreed with most of the reviews that "Heavenly Peace" was a weak selection. A year later, however, upon repeated listenings, I have come to appreciate this song very much. The melody does not have an immediate hook but, like a lot of songs I have grown to admire, it has begun to affect me in a very positive way. I urge Johnny's fans to give this song another chance, especially the coda that blends with the last words of "Silent Night."

As for the rest of the album, it too, like good wine, gets better with age. For example, Johnny almost makes me forget Burl Ives with his treatment of "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Snowfall" gives me chills with its gorgeous evoking of an afternoon gazing out the window at falling snow.

If you're a Mathis fan you owe it to yourself to give this CD repeated listenings. It's a worthy member of the Mathis Christmas music family.

Johnny's talents as a highly trained singer has carried him into the Now Mathis in his latest Christmas album recordings. His voice has mellowed beautifully and "The Christmas Album" allows one that knowledge once heard. The Christmas Album has light-hearted renditions that ring out richly with the upbeat and is mixed in with the softer more gentle songs of romance that we all love and feel the aura of Christmas Time in every Johnny Mathis song. Johnny Mathis is the Voice of Christmas personified through the years since 1958 and now.... how magical, Johnny continues on giving us his very best on his "The Christmas Album." Thanks Johnny Mathis, you've done it perfectly again!

A joy to listen to. Then again, what Mathis music isn't a joy to listen to? This man's voice just gets better and better. Deeper, mellower and more beautiful than ever! It's hard to believe he's 67 yrs. old! I agree with a previous reviewer that "Heavenly Peace" is the weakest song on the CD and that the CD is much too short, at around 30 minutes. But, his version of "Snowfall/Christmas Time Is Here" can't be topped! Also love the upbeat "Frosty the Snowman" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm". His phrasing can't be beat!!....Sinatra who? Also agree that the picture on the cover of the CD is worth the price of the CD itself! Keep'em coming Mr.Mathis...nobody does it better!!

The Christmas music included in this album is both traditional and modern, with new songs which are incredibly lovely, especially done in the unique Johnny Mathis style. It is my favorite Christmas collection.

Christmas just isn't Christmas without the voice of Johnny Mathis. This, of course, isn't the first Mathis Christmas collection, but it's one of the best.

Mr. Mathis is in his mid to late '60s...yet you'd never know it by listening to his vocals on this album. Listen to the "Snowfall" cut...and you'll agree that the Mathis voice is as warm and beautiful as it ever was.

This is a fine collection of the old and the new, the serious and the fun Christmas music, all with good arrangements and terrific vocals.

I was upset, however, to find that after spending good money on this disc it was only 30 minutes long. If music companies like Sony plan to keep raising prices on compact disc releases, they should then make these releases of acceptable playing length. All of Mr. Mathis's albums of the last few years have been frustratingly short...between 30 to 40 minutes. This is almost an insult to the consumer. Fortunately, most disc players come with a repeat button, which I guarantee you will be using with this album.

Despite its brevity, I highly recommend this album to all who love Johnny Mathis and Christmas music.