Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

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Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

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Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records continue their ongoing celebration of Johnny Mathis’ legendary catalog with a new expanded two-for-one CD and this one’s even more packed with signature Mathis songs than usual! 1976’s "I Only Have Eyes for You" and 1977’s "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" both reunited Mathis with a pair of his favorite collaborators, producer Jack Gold and arranger Gene Page, for silky renditions of the day’s pop smashes as only Mathis could deliver them. Page brought the same style of lush orchestration he perfected with Barry White to these sets featuring songs by the top songwriters of the day including Neil Sedaka (“The Hungry Years”), Alan O’Day (“Do Me Wrong, But Do Me”), Stephen Sondheim (“Send in the Clowns”), Marvin Hamlisch (“One”), and the team of Michael Masserand Gerry Goffin (“Do You Know Where You’re Going To,” “I Always Knew I Had It in Me”). "I Only Have Eyes for You" introduced the artist’s longtime concert favorite “Yellow Roses on Her Gown” and the Christmas perennial “When a Child Is Born”as well as acclaimed singer-songwriter Harriet Schock’s “Ooh, What We Do.” "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" found Mathis saluting his Columbia Records labelmate Barbra Streisand with the romantic “Evergreen,” breathing new life into the vintage standard “All the Things You Are,” and giving a classy spin to the Annie anthem “Tomorrow.” Two outtakes, “Experience” and Stevie Wonder’s spellbinding “If It’s Magic,” round out the deluxe package. Mike Piacentini at Sony’s Battery Studios has remastered both albums, and The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese has penned new liner notes based on fresh interviews with Harriet Schock and, of course, Johnny Mathis.

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Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

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"I Only Have Eyes for You" was released on May 10, 1976, by Columbia Records and included two new songs, "Yellow Roses on Her Gown" and "Ooh What We Do", which was written specifically for him, as well as a contemporary arrangement of the 1934 title track that foreshadowed his recordings of standards that incorporated a disco beat ("Begin the Beguine", "Night and Day") a few years later. The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated June 26, 1976, and remained there for 15 weeks, peaking at #79. The following month, on July 3, it made its first appearance on the UK album chart, where it reached #14 during a 12-week run. On December 1, 1976, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units, and Gold certification for 100,000 units followed on April 15, 1977. The first song from the album to reach the US charts, "Yellow Roses on Her Gown", entered Billboard's list of the 50 most popular Easy Listening songs in the issue of the magazine dated July 24, 1976, and peaked at #44 over the course of three weeks. A second song, "Do Me Wrong, but Do Me", entered that same chart in the October 2, 1976, issue, eventually getting as high as #25 during its nine weeks there. The only song to reach the UK charts, "When a Child Is Born", began a 12-week stay there the following month, on November 13, during which time it enjoyed three weeks at #1.

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Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

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"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" was released on August 15, 1977, by Columbia Records and found Mathis firmly planted in the cover album genre once again in that no original songs were included. Allmusic's Joe Viglione did feel, however, that "they seem to be trying to cover all the bases here," meaning that it had a variety of selections, including a standard from 1939 ("All the Things You Are"), a hit that charted in both the 1950s and '60s ("Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"), a country crossover ("The Most Beautiful Girl"), and recent offerings from stage ("One", "Tomorrow") and screen ("Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)", "I Always Knew I Had It in Me"). Although the album did not reach Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart, it did spend a week in the issue dated September 17, 1977, at #201 on the Bubbling Under the Top LP's chart, which, according to Joel Whitburn, "listed albums that were on the rise in sales that did not quite achieve the sales necessary to make Billboard's main 200-position pop albums chart." For its release in the UK, the album was entitled "Sweet Surrender", which was also the name of the song that was added on to the original track listing but had first appeared on his 1973 album "Me and Mrs. Jones". "Sweet Surrender" spent its one week on the UK album chart at #55 but received Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units in the UK from the British Phonographic Industry on January 4, 1978.

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Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

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Johnny Mathis - I Only Have Eyes For You (1976) & Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) [2019, Remastered & Expanded Edition]

Close