The Ultimate Hits Collection

The Ultimate Hits Collection
Compilation album by Johnny Mathis
Released April 21, 1998[1]
Recorded 1956–1986
Genre Vocal
R&B
Stage & Screen
Pop/Rock[1]
Length 57:18
Label Columbia Records
Johnny Mathis chronology

All About Love
(1996)		 The Ultimate Hits Collection
(1998)		 Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau A-[2]

The Ultimate Hits Collection is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 1998 by Columbia Records. In addition to offering several hit singles, the collection includes the first release of "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)", a song that was originally recorded for his 1986 collaboration with Henry Mancini, The Hollywood Musicals, but not included in the final track selection.[3]

Reception

In giving a grade of A- to the compilation, Robert Christgau is especially fond of "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "It's Not for Me to Say", "Chances Are", "The Twelfth of Never", and "Wild Is the Wind", noting that "those five songs are the substance of Mathis's legend and legacy. Poised on the cusp of black and white, masculine and feminine, they projected an image of egoless tenderness, an irresistible breath of sensuality." [2] In addition to receiving a five-star rating from AllMusic, this release has also been designated by the site as an Album Pick.[1]

Track listing

  1. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Sherman Edwards, Ben Raleigh) – 2:50
  2. "It's Not for Me to Say" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:05
  3. "When Sunny Gets Blue" (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:41
  4. "Chances Are" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:03
  5. "The Twelfth of Never" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:28
  6. "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 2:26
  7. "A Certain Smile" (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:47
  8. "Misty" (Johnny Burke, Erroll Garner) – 3:34
  9. "Maria" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) – 3:45
  10. "Stranger in Paradise" (Alexander Borodin, Robert Wright, George Forrest) - 5:53
  11. "Stardust" (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish) – 3:27
  12. "The Sweetheart Tree" (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) – 2:11
  13. "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet (A Time for Us)" (Larry Kusik, Nino Rota, Eddie Snyder) – 2:58
  14. "I'm Coming Home" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) – 3:24
  15. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" performed with Deniece Williams (Nat Kipner, John Vallins) – 2:59
  16. "Friends in Love" performed with Dionne Warwick (Bill Champlin, David Foster, Jay Graydon) – 4:03
  17. "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)" (Ary Barroso, Bob Russell) – 4:13
  18. "99 Miles from L.A." (live) (Hal David, Albert Hammond) – 3:35

Personnel

Compilation[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Ultimate Hits Collection - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Robert Christgau: CG: Johnny Mathis". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (1998) The Ultimate Hits Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK-65540.