Christmas Album

Performer: Johnny Mathis
Producer: Robbie Buchanan; Jay Landers
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Johnny Mathis (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Michael Landau (electric guitar); Randy Waldman (piano); Robbie Buchanan (keyboards, bass, drums); Dave Carpenter (bass); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); The Irish Film Orchestra. This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. Despite hearkening back to a pre-rock & roll era of safe, predictable pop that found the likes of Perry Como and Andy Williams dominating the airwaves, Johnny Mathis's 2002 holiday recording finds the singer still thriving, and possessing enough holiday spirit to keep those chestnuts roaring. Mathis's rich, vibrato-gilded pipes are in fine form as he digs deep into seasonal perennials like "Joy To The World," "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas," and "Frosty The Snowman." A swinging arrangement of the Irving Berlin gem "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" also highlights the fact that this Texas native was Frank Sinatra's main rival in the late '50s for most popular male singer. Otherwise, this ballad-heavy outing is served well by Mathis's measured approach, particularly on the medley "Snowfall/Christmas Time Is Here."

Although Johnny Mathis got his start as a jazz singer, his velvety 1956 hit "Wonderful, Wonderful" set the course for the rest of his career as a smooth pop crooner and key supplier of make-out music. He maintained a steady career course over the following decades, and in the late '70s enjoyed a renewed popularity, scoring a few high-charting duets with Deniece Williams. One of the most popular recording artists of all time, Mathis has reputedly sold over 350 million records, and his 1958 greatest-hits collection--the first compilation of its kind--stayed on the U.S. charts for almost 10 years. Past his 50th year in show business, Mathis was still recording and performing, his special brand of silky pop balladeering never quite falling out of favor.

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