Life is a Song Worth Singing: Johnny Mathis’ “The Voice of Romance” Complete Columbia Box Arrives In December

October 27, 2017 By Joe Marchese — 11 Comments
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Last month, Johnny Mathis released his newest studio album, Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook, on which the legendary artist tackled 11 songs of a recent vintage.  Today, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings officially announced the long-anticipated box set The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection, presenting Mathis’ Columbia albums output from his self-titled 1956 LP debut all the way through The Great New American Songbook.

This lavish 68-CD box, due on December 8 just in time for the holidays, features:

  • 62 original Columbia albums that have been remastered (13 of which are available on CD for the very first time – and many more of which have never appeared on CD in the United States) plus Mathis’ newest album;
  • Two previously unreleased albums: the hotly–anticipated I Love My Lady, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of CHIC in 1981; and The Island, helmed by Sergio Mendes in 1989);
  • A new collection featuring 17 rare and previously unreleased songs;
  • A numbered certificate HAND-SIGNED by Mr. Mathis; and
  • A 200-page booklet with liner notes and rare photographs.

The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection is housed in a sturdy box with a lift-off lid, and includes the following albums, each packaged in an individual mini-LP replica jacket:

(*) denotes album previously unreleased on CD

  1. Johnny Mathis (1956)
  2. Wonderful Wonderful (1957)
  3. Warm (1957) (gold)
  4. Good Night, Dear Lord (1958)
  5. Swing Softly (1958) (gold)
  6. Merry Christmas (1958) (5x platinum)
  7. Open Fire, Two Guitars (1959) (gold)
  8. Heavenly (1959) (platinum)
  9. Faithfully (1959) (gold)
  10. Ballads of Broadway (1960)
  11. Rhythms of Broadway (1960)
  12. Johnny’s Mood (1960)
  13. I’ll Buy You a Star (1961)
  14. Live It Up! (1962)
  15. Rapture (1962)
  16. Johnny (1963)
  17. Romantically (1963)
  18. Up, Up and Away (1967)
  19. Love is Blue (1968)
  20. Those Were the Days (1968)
  21. Sings the Music of Bert Kaempfert (U.K. release, 1969) *
  22. Love Theme from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (A Time for Us) (1969)
  23. Give Me Your Love for Christmas (1969) (platinum)
  24. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head (1970)
  25. Close to You (1970)
  26. Love Story (1971)
  27. You’ve Got a Friend (1971) *
  28. Johnny Mathis in Person: Recorded Live At Las Vegas (1972) *
  29. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) (1972) * (note: previously available only as a DTS disc)
  30. Song Sung Blue (1972) *
  31. Me and Mrs. Jones (1973) *
  32. Killing Me Softly with Her Song (1973) *
  33. I’m Coming Home (1973)
  34. The Heart of a Woman (1974) *
  35. When Will I See You Again (1975) *
  36. Feelings (1975) (gold) *
  37. I Only Have Eyes for You (1976) *
  38. Mathis Is… (1977)
  39. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1977) *
  40. You Light Up My Life (1978) (platinum)
  41. That’s What Friends Are For – Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams (1978) (gold)
  42. The Best Days of My Life (1979)
  43. Mathis Magic (1979)
  44. Different Kinda Different (1980) *
  45. Friends in Love (1982)
  46. I Love My Lady (originally scheduled for 1982 – previously unreleased)
  47. Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole – Johnny Mathis & Natalie Cole (1983, previously unreleased in the U.S.)
  48. A Special Part of Me (1984)
  49. Live (1984)
  50. Right from the Heart (1985)
  51. The Hollywood Musicals – Johnny Mathis & Henry Mancini (1986)
  52. Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis (1986)
  53. Once in a While (1988)
  54. In the Still of the Night (1989)
  55. The Island (recorded 1989 – previously unreleased)
  56. In a Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington (1990)
  57. Better Together: The Duet Album (1991)
  58. How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (1993)
  59. All About Love (1996)
  60. Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren (1998)
  61. Mathis on Broadway (2000)
  62. The Christmas Album (2002)
  63. Isn’t It Romantic: The Standards Album (2005)
  64. A Night to Remember (2008)
  65. Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville (2010)
  66. Sending You a Little Christmas (2013)
  67. Odds & Ends: That’s What Makes The Music Play (1CD – contains previously unreleased material)
  68. Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook (2017)
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The Voice of Romance makes for an ideal companion to 2014’s The Complete Global Albums Collection (collecting the artist’s 1963-1967 Mercury Records period) and 2015’s Johnny Mathis: The Singles (including all of his non-LP single sides for Columbia).  Taken together, these three essential packages represent virtually the entirety of Johnny’s remarkable recording career.  (Longtime fans are also urged to check out another archival release from this year, 60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles and Favorite Songs, with a number of rarities and new-to-CD mixes!)

Johnny Mathis’ The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection is the last word on the nonpareil vocalist’s Columbia years…until his next future classic studio album!  This comprehensive set is due on December 8 from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, and can be pre-ordered at the links below!

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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11 thoughts on “Life is a Song Worth Singing: Johnny Mathis’ “The Voice of Romance” Complete Columbia Box Arrives In December”

  2. Robert Harmon

    Joe, this looks like an absolutely stellar release. Beautifully packaged and with a numbered and autographed certificate as well. I would have included his greatest hits album, but that is a minor quibble with what looks like a truly magnificent release worthy of the hefty price, but I do love that amazon price guarantee if it should go down before it ships.

    Reply
  4. Al Ibarguen

    Joe…I’m glad to see that it’s time has finally come…but since I have many of these albums already, I’m wondering if it would be possible to obtain just the 200 page booklet from this set? I’m sure it contains many interesting facts and photos from the recording sessions which I, for one, would be very happy to have. Any chance?

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo
      Joe Marchese

      Unfortunately, I can’t think of too many instances where a label has sold a book separately; nor I am certain (yet) whether this release will have a full digital download version that might have the book available in digital form. The latter is at least a possibility. Sometimes, some collectors might sell off components of a box set (and I have seen books from Bear Family boxes sold on eBay as standalone items) but that’s far from a certainty. Wish I had better news to pass along!

      Reply
  6. Ron

    I’d love to have this set, but wow! $499! Way, way, way too much even for 66 cd’s! I think of the Elvis soundtracks and original albums sets of 25 discs each. They sold for less than $100 per set. Sony could sell this set for much less. This is just too friggin’ expensive…plus devoted fans will be re-buying a lot of these albums again as part of the set. Seems a little over the top expensive to me! $299 to $349 maybe, but $499! Wow!

    Reply
    1. Tim

      Simply enter the EAN number “0889853689224” in Google search, I can see many Europe sites are listing the box-set at a much lower price (starting from approx. Euro240+shipping) compare to North America (USD500). Boxsets from Europe quite often have better price than NA I guess as long as one could understand those non-English websites about the details and shipping terms.

      Reply
  7. Record Collector

    Get the price down closer to $100 and I’m a buyer.

    I usually find Johnny Mathis CDs for a dollar in the used bins.

    Reply
  8. Jim Meil

    I have become a recent fan of Johnny Mathis. Quite a discography to take in. I am considering his Voice of Romance 67 or so cd box set. But I also see there are some wonderful 2-fer reissues and some expanded reissues along with some excellent compilations (Singles set). I think the box set covers most things but I’m sure the other reissues might add a few things also. Can you advise? Or point me to a Johnny Mathis expert (not that you aren’t lol). Many thanks. Jim

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo
      Joe Marchese

      Hi Jim,

      I’m happy to answer any specific questions! We’ve covered all of Johnny’s major releases in the last few years here; we’ve also released over a dozen of Johnny’s CDs on Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music. You’ll find a full list here if you search in our catalog for Mathis: https://theseconddisc.com/second-disc-records/full-catalog/

      Though many are out of print, a handful of those releases are still available directly through RealGoneMusic.com.

      Hope this helps, and I’m happy to point you in the direction of any other of Johnny’s releases you might be looking for.

      Reply

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