Faithfully (Johnny Mathis album)
| Faithfully | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | November 1959 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 45:33 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mitch Miller | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Faithfully is the eleventh album released by Johnny Mathis. It is the ninth original studio album recorded by the singer (two hit singles compilations Johnny's Greatest Hits and More Johnny's Greatest Hits were among his album releases to this point).
Overview
Like its direct predecessor, Faithfully continues the successful Mathis album formula developed by the singer with Columbia Records and producer Mitch Miller. All the same hallmarks are found here from lush orchestrations, lavish production and ultra romantic songs. As always, Mathis treats the twelve songs on the album with the grace and sensitivity combined with the vocal purity that characterizes him at his vocal best. In contrast with Heavenly, many of the songs on this album are less well known than the usual quota of standards and showtunes usually found on a Mathis album of this period.
Track listing
- "Faithfully" (Burt Bacharach, Sidney Shaw) - 2:37
- "Tonight" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) - 3:15
- "Nobody Knows (How Much I Love You)" (Bart Howard) - 4:14
- "One Starry Night" (Abner Silver, Sid Wayne) - 4:23
- "Follow Me" (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) - 3:24
- "You Better Go Now" (Robert Graham, Bikney S. Reichmer) - 4:14
- "Secret Love" (Paul Francis Webster, Sammy Fain) - 3:33
- "Maria" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) - 3:50
- "Where Do You Think You're Going" (Bart Howard) - 4:04
- "And This Is My Beloved" (Bob Wright, George Forrest) - 4:01
- "Where Are You" (Harold Adamson, Jimmy McHugh) - 3:31
- "Blue Gardenia" (Lester Lee, Bob Russell) - 4:27
Billboard album chart
Following on from the enormous success of his previous album Heavenly, Mathis enjoyed yet another smash hit, this record peaking at #2 on the Billboard album chart in its original release, his tenth consecutive album to chart.[1]
Highlights
Like "Heavenly", this album's title song is also the work of Burt Bacharach. Bart Howard who had penned a number of songs on previous Mathis albums contributed "Nobody Knows (How Much I Love You)" and "Where Do You Think You're Going". Like the previous album, there is a selection from the score of the Broadway musical Kismet, Mathis' stunning rendition of "And This Is My Beloved". The groundbreaking 1957 Broadway show West Side Story boasts a score by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The album includes two songs from this show that would become staples of Mathis' concert repertoire, "Maria" and "Tonight" both of which are the recipient of superb vocals by Mathis. From Hollywood comes the Mathis version of the 1953 Oscar winning song "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane.
From Tin Pan Alley come three songs that are jazz standards: "You'd Better Go Now" is a Billie Holiday classic while "Where Are You" and "Blue Gardenia" where fixtures in the repertoire of Dinah Washington. All three are reimagined by Mathis as lush ballads.
References
- ↑ Billboard Album Chart Billboard Album Chart Position