Johnny Mathis

Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music have paired two 1972 albums from the legendary Johnny Mathis as an expanded 2-CD set.  Both albums were produced by Jerry Fuller and make their standalone CD debuts here.  The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) had not only Mathis' rendition of the hit popularized by Roberta Flack but also classics introduced by The Stylistics ("Betcha by Golly Wow"), America ("I Need You"), and The 5th Dimension ("(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All") as well as beloved themes from The Godfather, Summer of '42, Brian's Song, and Kotch.  Neil Diamond's hits were celebrated on Song Sung Blue, along with favorites by Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Alone Again (Naturally)"), Carpenters ("Goodbye to Love") and The Bee Gees ("Run to Me").  Mathis also returned to the songbook of Burt Bacharach and Hal David with a top 20 AC hit ("Make It Easy on Yourself").  Three bonus tracks have been added: the single of Henry Mancini's "Sometimes" and the outtakes "Remember the Good" and "Morning Has Broken."  The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)/Song Sung Blue features rare photos of the artist and liner notes by The Second Disc's Joe Marchese based on fresh interviews with Johnny Mathis, Jerry Fuller, and Thom Bell.