Customer Reviews

Christmas with Johnny Mathis

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't let the picture on the cover of this one fool you. This is a Columbia reissue of Mathis's 1963 Mercury release "The Sounds of Christmas". It is also, in this listener's opinion, the best holiday release from Mathis. For this, his 2nd Christmas album, Mathis teams up with arranger Don Costa who provides some truly original arrangements. They're more fun, and at times more dramatic, than the more standard "easy listening" style which Percy Faith came up with for Mathis's "Merry Christmas" release. Some of the highlights include a dramatic arrangement for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentelemen" which gives this traditional carol some extra power. Also the "Let It Snow" contained on this album is ultra-lush and may be the definitive version. "Carol of the Bells" also gets a wonderful arrangement with Mathis heading a choir. You'll also find songs here that you won't find on other Christmas releases such as "Christmas is a Feeling in Your Heart" and "The Secret of Christmas" which speak to the true spirit of the holiday. Great stuff.

The only concern I have about this CD reissue: When Columbia/Sony reissued it they deleted the whimsical and charming "Have Reindeer Will Travel" and the best version of "Little Drummer Boy" I've ever heard. If only they would issue it again with the two tracks restored and the original cover art: a nice close-up of a yonger Mathis with snowy mountains in the back-ground. Oh well... still it's the best of the lot.

At Christmastime, I think most people reach for things comfortable, things that bring back happy memories of Christmases past. For many of us, that means reaching for Johnny Mathis records. Er, make that CDs. And while Mathis's classic, _Merry Christmas_, is available in all its glory, his other classic, _The Sounds of Christmas_, isn't.

Well, sort of. This album repackages _The Sounds of Christmas_, but deletes "Have Reindeer Will Travel" and "The Little Drummer Boy." What were these people thinking?!

I borrowed my mother's well-worn 1964-ish pressing of _The Sounds of Christmas_ and made a tape that combines _Christmas with Johnny Mathis_ and the two lost songs. It's not perfect, but it'll do.

I honestly can't imagine what Christmas would be like without Johnny Mathis (it would probably be dull and dreary and rain instead of snow). Just putting on this Christmas album will turn a room into a sugar-coated, snow-packed, glittering yuletide fairyland with a Christmas present for everyone under every tree. No one taps into the soul of Christmas like Johnny Mathis... He is one of those singers, like K.D. Lang or Elizabeth Frazer, who has a voice of unearthly beauty; perfect for Christmas music.
This is an old album, but has a wonderful period feel to it. It's a classic. A lot of the old classic Christmas recordings just can't be beat (Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole...) because they're so achingly beautiful.
Every year I eagerly rush to the cd stores and frantically search the Christmas cd bins to see if this album has been properly re-issued. You see, for some bizarre and perverse reason the record company decided to delete two of the songs from the original album, the enchanting "Have Reindeer Will Travel" and, my favortite of the album, "The Little Drummer Boy". The version of "The Little Drummer Boy" that pops up on one of his later Christmas albums is not the same version and isn't nearly half as nice. But every Christmas my hopes are dashed... Those two beloved songs are languishing in a box of tapes somewhere in some greedy record company's vault, guarded by the Grinch, song rights owned by Scrooge. Luckily my family has the original release on record so we can still enjoy those two **wonderful** songs, although on scratchy worn-out thirty year old vinyl. It's just not fair...
I suppose that we should all just consider ourselves lucky that it's in print at all...
Not this year, but maybe next they'll release this album intact and with the lovely original art instead of the bargain throwaway packaging they've got now.
But don't let that stop you! Buy "Christmas With Johnny Mathis" and make your Christmas beautiful! Happy Holidays!

Johnny Mathis is the most gifted singer living today. His versatile style transcends all segments of the music audience. Whether he sings love ballads, sacred tunes, or secular music, his appeal reaches all ages. This CD demonstrates his scope in reaching all listeners with the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", which most people consider a standard Yuletime classic. For those listeners with a classical Christmas music collection will not be disappointed in his rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus". The kids would love the "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"...of course adults enjoy our childhood tunes as well! No songs that Johnny Mathis performs are disappointments..he can cross all gender and racial lines. After all music has no prejudices. I also recommend all of Mathis's Christmas music to add to any holiday collection. There will never be another voice that is so unique and distinct. No one can imitate or duplicate Mathis. His voice sounds heavenly and soars upward among the greatest stars of the years past.

I was so excited to get this CD, since we had the record when I was a kid. Between Johnny Mathis and Elvis christmas records - well that was what I remember from growing up. Anyway, it's a great album, but it's missing "have reindeer,will travel". I loved that tune! That's the only reason I knocked it down from 5 stars to 4 stars.

Columbia first re-released this on vinyl in 1971 on the old Harmony label (KH 30684). Because it was a budget label, the two songs "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Have Reindeer, Will Travel" were deleted at that time to save money. This CD is a straight reissue of that budget release.

That doesn't excuse the two songs' absence now, though; this just puts their absence into historical perspective.

Perhaps the Legacy label will do a full reissue of this album, which deserves greater recognition, the way it did Johnny's classic first Christmas album a couple years ago. It's a very good album as it is; it would be even greater in its complete form.

As others have pointed out here, this seems to be your rare CD with less rather that more. "Have Reindeer Will Travel" and an earlier version "The Little Drummer Boy" were on the earlier album, but they're missing here. There may have been an argument for trimming "Drummer Boy" because of the later version on the "Give Me Your Love For Christmas" album, but the one you're missing here is better--it was recorded only a few years after the Harry Simeone original hit song, so the feel is similar, while the later Mathis version is a bit too quick and heavy-handed. Plus, "Have Reindeer Will Travel" is a standard Santa Claus song for the kids and shouldn't have been skipped. Fortunately, like one other customer here, I have a vinyl copy of "Sounds" in decent shape, so I made MP3s of the missing tracks and re-inserted those when I put this one on my hard drive. Whoever puts out a future edition of this album--"hint hint". CD re-releases of old albums are supposed to have these "bonus tracks", okay? Even if they are junk like some mono version, alternate take, live version, whatever--of some of the primary tracks. Whoever heard of a CD with less stuff? Even if it was based on a budget line edition, those two tracks should have been resurrected.

I could only find this cd on Amazon. It has all my favorite songs from Johhny, the ones I would listen too on the record player when I was little.

I agree with a previous reviewer, where are the other two songs? In this day of reissues, Sony/Columbia/Legacy should release the whole Mercury release, or have Mercury do it (does Polydor own Mercury?). Have Reindeer, Let's Travel is the best song on the album, and it is not on the CD. I too taped both vinyl LPs to make one CD. Come on Sony, do the right thing!

I bought this album (vinyl) in the 1960's when it was released as "The Sounds of Christmas." I still have the vinyl and now I have the CD. It is still great! My favorite songs are 'The Secret of Christmas', 'Christmas is a Feeling in Your Heart', and 'Carol of the Bells'. The playful 'Marshmellow World' and 'The Sounds of Christmas' round out the album. It truly is the Sounds of Christmas. If you like Johnny Mathis and Christmas songs, this is the album.