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Mathis on Broadway

Mathis on Broadway
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 25, 2000[1]
Recorded2000
Studio
  • Cello (Hollywood)
  • Capitol (Hollywood)
  • Randini (Los Angeles)
  • Sony (Santa Monica, California)
  • Encore (Burbank, California)
  • The Hop (Los Angeles)
  • Sound on Sound (New York City)[2]
GenreVocal[3]
Length33:10
LabelColumbia
ProducerJay Landers
Richard Jay-Alexander
William Ross
Randy Waldman
Jorge Calandrelli
Jonathan Tunick[2]
Johnny Mathis chronology
Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren
(1998)
Mathis on Broadway
(2000)
The Christmas Album
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Billboardpositive[4]
TheaterMania.compositive[5]

Mathis on Broadway is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on April 25, 2000,[1] by Columbia Records and focuses upon songs included in musicals from the previous two decades.

Reception

Reviews of the singer's most recent tribute to the Great White Way were positive: Michael Portantiere of TheaterMania.com wrote that "Mathis comes across with the smooth, rich, velvety vocalism for which he is legendary,"[5] noting that certain songs covered on the album "require the kind of breath support, legato, and phrasing that precious few singers of Mathis's age can supply. But this guy still has the right stuff, in abundance."[5] Billboard magazine echoed these sentiments: "The legendary performer breathes fresh perspective into songs that might sound overdone in lesser hands."[4] And William Ruhlmann of AllMusic goes so far as to say that "the lesser talents among the composers -- Lloyd Webber, Wildhorn, Claude-Michel Schönberg -- owe Mathis a debt for making their music sound so good, while Sondheim can be grateful that Mathis makes him sound so accessible.[3]

Track listing

From the liner notes for the original album:[2]

  1. "On Broadway" from Smokey Joe's Cafe (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:24
  2. "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" from Fosse (featuring Forever Plaid) (Lew Brown, Ray Henderson) – 2:46
  3. "Loving You" from Passion (Stephen Sondheim) – 4:38
  4. "They Live in You" from The Lion King (Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin) – 4:13
    • Randy Waldman – producer, arranger, recording engineer; keyboards and programming
    • Jay Landers – producer
    • Richard Jay-Alexander – producer
    • Lebo M – coproducer; choir arranger and conductor
    • Kevin Clark – recording engineer
    • Ray Bardini – recording engineer
    • Frank Wolf – mixing engineer
    • Neil Stubenhaus – bass
    • Nandi Morake – choir
    • Ntombikhona Dlamini – choir
    • Lindiwe Dlamini – choir
    • Lindiwe Hlengwa– choir
    • Bonginkosi Kulu – choir
    • Ronald Kunene– choir
    • Anthony Manough – choir
    • Philip McAdoo – choir
    • Rema Webb – choir
  5. "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables (Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Claude-Michel Schönberg) – 3:23
  6. Medley (featuring Betty Buckley) – 5:45
    a. "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods (Stephen Sondheim)
    b. "Our Children" from Ragtime (Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty)
  7. "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera (Charles Hart, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Stilgoe) – 4:15
  8. "Once Upon a Dream" from Jekyll & Hyde (Leslie Bricusse, Steve Cuden, Frank Wildhorn) – 5:10
    • Jay Landers – producer
    • Richard Jay-Alexander – producer
    • Megan Cavallari – arranger
    • Frank Wolf – recording engineer, mixing engineer
    • William Ross – conductor
  9. "Seasons of Love" from Rent (featuring Nell Carter) (Jonathan Larson) – 4:08
    • Randy Waldman – producer, arranger, recording engineer; keyboards and programming
    • Jay Landers – producer
    • Richard Jay-Alexander – producer
    • Megan Cavallari – choir arranger and conductor
    • Kevin Clark – recording engineer
    • Frank Wolf – mixing engineer
    • Nathan East – bass
    • Maxine Waters – choir
    • Julia Waters – choir
    • Oren Waters – choir
    • Luther Waters – choir
    • Sally Stevens – choir
    • Terry Wood – choir
    • Bobbi Page – choir
    • Carmen Twillie – choir
    • Angie Jaree – choir
    • Ginger Freers – choir
    • Susan Boyd – choir
    • Jeffrey Polk – choir
    • Jim Gilstrap – choir
    • Rick Logan – choir
    • Josef Powell – choir
    • Jon Joyce – choir

Personnel

From the liner notes for the original album:[2]

  • Johnny Mathis – vocals
  • Jay Landers – executive producer
  • Richard Jay-Alexander – executive producer
  • Robbie Buchanan – additional vocal production
  • Bill Smith – associate producer and engineering
  • Martie Kolbl – production coordinator
  • Patti Zimmitti – orchestra contractor
  • Debbi Datz-Pyle – orchestra contractor
  • Jo Ann Kane – music preparation
  • Matt Della Polla – scoring coordinator for William Ross
  • Lenny LaCroix – rehearsal pianist
  • Charlie Paakkari – assistant engineer
  • John Sorensen – assistant engineer
  • John Hendrickson – assistant engineer
  • James McCrone – assistant engineer
  • Alan Sanderson – assistant engineer
  • Jenny Knotts – assistant engineer
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Laura Grover – liner notes editor
  • Peter Fletcher – product manager
  • Bob Semanovich – product manager
  • Christine Wilson – art direction
  • David Vance – photography
  • Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood, California

References

  1. ^ a b (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
  2. ^ a b c d (2000) Mathis on Broadway by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK 63897.
  3. ^ a b c "Mathis on Broadway - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. 2000-05-13. p. 26.
  5. ^ a b c "Visiting Broadway: Johnny Mathis and Kathie Lee Gifford". TheaterMania.com. TheaterMania.com, Inc. Retrieved 8 February 2015.