Customer Reviews

16 Most Requested Songs

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most 1950S crooners played (and lived, to a degree) the life of martini-mixing men of the world. Johnny Mathis, here with 16 of his greatest hits, gained his strength and fame from naivete'.

Handsome, athletic, gifted with pipes the timbre of Ella Fitzgerald's, Mathis and orchestral collaborators Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Frank DeVol, and Glenn Osser crafted sparsely orchestrated, delicately sung hits celebrating love's opening moments. Mathis sings convincingly of love's discovery ("Gina," "Maria," the oh-so-good "Small World.") and fear of the unknown ("Chances Are," "It's Not For Me To Say," the definitive vocal "Misty," featuring music's most romantic introduction). Teenagers fell for this music which shared, at best, a thread with rock n' roll; Mathis sung the confusion and exhiliration they felt, only more tenderly.

The 60s-70s film songs (themes from "Star is Born," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Love Story," plus Jimmy Webb's "Didn't We") are well-sung, romantically done filler. They keep up the album's romantic mood, but lack the drama (and bombast)of the Streisand/Williams originals. Better to hear "Wonderful, Wonderful" and even the hokey "What Would My Mary Say?" for the jazz singer Johnny Mathis might have become but (fortunately, for him and us), did not. A classy set, and highly recommended.

This album contains the classical Mathis selections, the ones we know him for. It also has some wonderful cuts of songs known from other artists that Johnny records in his own style. Any Mathis fan, in fact any lover of popular music will delight in this album. A hint - listen for the transition from clarinet to Johnny's voice in Misty. It is exquisite!

I have almost every album of Johnny Mathis, as well as the "16 Most Requested Songs by Johnny Mathis." Since my husband passed away this past year, and he also loved to hear Johnny sing, I listen to him on CD every morning before I go to work, and as soon as I come home from work. His beautiful voice (with so much sweetness in it) just makes my day and he is just unique. I like many singers, but Johnny Mathis is the very best. One of my biggest wishes is to meet Johnny Mathis in person one day.

Last fall my brother drove me to San Antonio, TX, to hear him in concert at the Magestic Theater. Of course, it was a tremendous thrill for me to hear and see him in person. He is just the best of all, and I love him -- I thank him for being him.

Johnny Mathis, having the voice that he does, has to be a very kind and sweet person. I just love him, and his voice fills a void in my heart.

Thank you, Johnny.

Marcia Hendricks

Johnny Mathis had--and still has--an unusual amount of talent; and this CD offers us an excellent assortment of his most requested songs. The quality of the sound is excellent; and Johnny's voice is strong, vibrant and full of energy.

The CD boasts many of Mathis' greatest hits including "Chances Are;" "It's Not For Me To Say;" "Wonderful! Wonderful!;" and "A Certain Smile." Johnny Mathis delivers these romantic ballads with a smooth, velvety voice that makes them more beautiful than most crooners ever could have done. The musical arrangements are all very well constructed.

There are other songs on this CD which, while they are lesser known successes for Mathis, remain great examples of how Johnny made a song so very special with his incredible voice. He performs the song "Evergreen" with great sensitivity; and I especially like the ballad entitled "Misty." There's also the angst-ridden song about a lost love entitled "Didn't We."

Howard Garwood contributes an excellent essay about Johnny's life and career in the liner notes. The lyrics aren't there but you'll hardly need them anyway: Johnny Mathis sings so well with that crystal-clear diction of his that you'll never wonder what he's singing! Terrific!

Johnny Mathis remains one of the greatest American singers of the 20th century. His talents can never be forgotten because his sensitive renditions of all of his songs were flawless. I highly recommend this CD for fans of classic pop vocals. May you get this CD and enjoy it over and over again as I did! SMILE

What a voice! He exudes romance and innocence. I love this cd, and I would have given it 5 stars except for one song..and that is 'What will my Mary say'. Even in the liner notes, Johnny admits it's not one of his favourites either. Even though he does his best with it, it's just not Johnny. He doesn't suit the part of a cheater. But the public seemed to like it, which is why it ended up on his 'Most Requested Songs' cd. But that aside, it is still certainly worth owning.

There can never be enough romance. The beautiful music and incomparable of delivery of Johnny Mathis confirm romance will never die. This collection has so many beautiful songs that still tug at the heart strings. His sound has endured beyond many of the pop singers of his day and many subsequent singers. This is a great tribute to a great vocalist

A beautiful vocal by Johnny Mathis, especially songs like 'Misty', 'Chances Are'', 'Gina', 'It's not for me to say' etc .... a classical ballad worth keeping and listening as part of your collection........ this album had been digitally remastered to bring back the perfect vocal and songs ....

"The world is full of wondrous things, it's true
But they wouldn't have much meaning without you
Some quiet evening I sit by your side
And we're lost in a world of our own
I feel the glow of your unspoken love
I'm aware of the treasure that I own
And I say to myself
It's wonderful, wonderful
Oh, so wonderful, my love"

One of the most simple pleasures one can have in this busy world we live in - the age of BlackBerrys - is to snatch some precious and quiet moments to go back in time and experience the charms of the old world through this mesmerizing and soothing music of Johnny Mathis, one of my very favorite singers of all-time.

I always enjoy listening to these sixteen most requested songs from the opener "Chances Are" to the final track "Gina." My favorites include "Misty," "It's Not For Me To Say," "Wild Is The Wind," "A Certain Smile," "When Sunny Gets Blue," "Didn't We" and "Wonderful! Wonderful," a beautiful composition by Ben Raleigh and Sherman Edwards, which Howard Garwood singled out on Liner Notes as the song that the "Mathis Formula" was born. And that formula is the mixture of his "crystal-clear diction, the intimate throb that seems to speak personally to every woman in the audience, and the almost ethereal and technically perfect use of the upper register." Amen to that! He said it perfectly. I would add that Mr. Mathis is the epitome of an exceptional singer and he delivers so well in all his recordings.

Listen to this CD if you want to escape momentarily from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In this so very busy world, who isn't guilty of putting make-up on while driving to work in the morning? Who isn't guilty of having breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar and dried cranberries, banana and coffee while driving to work in the morning? Who isn't guilty of jotting down a list of "things-to-do-today" while driving to work in the morning? Who isn't guilty of making and receiving phone calls while driving? But the bottom line is . . . as long as there's music such as this to listen to, our busy, demanding and hectic schedules will always be bearable.

This is one of my very favorite CDs from my collection. I wholeheartedly recommend it for your listening enjoyment always and forever!

Chances are, this may be the best CD purchase that you can make. In this CD hear Johnny singing his soft songs that made him known as one of the most amazing easy listening singers of his time.

Johnny Mathis, you say? It's true - there are a lot of songs on here that simply make me swoon. Some of them take me back to a less cynical time in life; not only that but the sheer vocal beauty and amazing production just take my breath away (yuck). I can virtually "see" these recordings as accompaniment to images so romantic it hurts (oh, man). For that certain someone...