How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (album)

How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released May 4, 1993[1]
Recorded Andora Studios,
Hollywood, California,
Capitol Studios,
Hollywood, California,
Right Track Studios,
New York, New York,
Signet Sound Studios,
Los Angeles, California,
20th Century Fox Film Corporation,
Los Angeles, California [2]
Genre Vocal[1]
Length 46:56
Label Columbia
Producer Alan Bergman
Marilyn Bergman
Jay Landers
Michel Legrand[2]
Johnny Mathis chronology

Better Together: The Duet Album
(1991)		 How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
(1993)		 The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

How Do You Keep the Music Playing? is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in May 1993 by Columbia Records[1] and includes the subtitle The Songs of Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman on its cover. The album features new, individual recordings of two songs that Mathis covered as a medley for his 1973 album Me and Mrs. Jones -- "I Was Born in Love with You" and "Summer Me, Winter Me".[3] He also performs new arrangements of "The Windmills of Your Mind",[4] "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?",[5] and "The Summer Knows",[6] which he had recorded for other albums many years earlier.

Liner notes

Mathis conveys his appreciation of Legrand's music in the liner notes for the album, describing him as "the consummate composer. His arrangements are endlessly inventive and deeply passionate."[2] His appreciation is equally enthusiastic for Alan and Marilyn Bergman's lyrics: "They express the desires of romance with a rare sophistication. It's been a delight to sing these beautiful creations."[2]

The Bergmans also express their love of Legrand: "We always feel as if there are words on the lips of his notes just waiting to be written."[2] And they are especially exuberant in their praise of Mathis: "His voice dims the lights and makes all within the sound of it feel as though he's singing just to them. The mood he creates is one of intimacy, warmth and sensitivity. And it's a voice that keeps getting better -- wiser, more knowing, more moving."[2]

Track listing

All of the songs on the album feature music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman.

  1. "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" (Introduction) – 1:26
  2. "The Summer Knows" – 4:19
  3. "Something New in My Life" – 4:10
  4. "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" – 5:58
  5. "The Way She Makes Me Feel" – 4:01
  6. "I Was Born in Love with You" – 4:45
  7. "On My Way to You" – 5:01
  8. "After the Rain" – 4:08
  9. "The Windmills of Your Mind" – 4:30
  10. "Summer Me, Winter Me" – 3:38
  11. "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" – 4:42

Personnel[2]

Performers
Production
  • Alan Bergman – producer
  • Marilyn Bergman – producer
  • Jay Landers – producer
  • Michel Legrand – producer, arranger, conductor
  • Frank Wolf – orchestra recording
  • Jeremy Smith – vocal recording
  • Joel Moss – mixing; additional recording
  • Malcolm Pollack – additional recording
  • Mike Corbett – segue editing
  • Maurice Cevrero – music preparation
  • JoAnn Kane – music preparation
  • Ken Watson – orchestra manager
  • Bino Espinoza – assistant engineer
  • Charlie Paakkari – assistant engineer
  • Ray Blair – assistant engineer
  • Jen Monnar – assistant engineer
  • Brandon Harris – assistant engineer
  • John Bruno – assistant engineer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering engineer
  • Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, California
  • Marsha Burns – project coordinator
  • Jim DiGiovanni – assistant project coordinator
  • Diego Uchitel – photographer
  • Dan McKay – hair and makeup

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "How Do You Keep the Music Playing? - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 (1993) How Do You Keep the Music Playing? by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK 53204.
  3. ↑ (1973) Me and Mrs. Jones by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 32114.
  4. ↑ (1969) Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet" (A Time for Us) by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9909.
  5. ↑ (1971) Love Story by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records C 30499.
  6. ↑ (1972) The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records PC 31342.