The Love Story album from Johnny Mathis is one of his most realized, produced during a decade when he worked with producers ranging from Richard Perry and Jerry Fuller to one of the proponents of the Philly sound, Thom Bell.
Here the singer is in a comfortable setting with producer Jack Gold, ably assisted by arranger and conductor Perry Botkin, Jr. a couple of years before Botkin hit with "Nadia's Theme (The Young & the Restless)." Even the front and back cover photos have a different aura, with Mathis dressed in black with a white collar, peering out of an all-black cover and looking deep in thought.
His rendition of "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" is riveting, a sweeping and majestic piece to lead off the record, and not the usual Jack Gold musical movement, but more pronounced and determined.
The Top Ten hit, of course, went to Andy Williams in 1971, with Henry Mancini going Top 15 and Francis Lai taking the same title Top 35, all in the same year.
The competition was intense, and maybe that's why the team pulled out all the stops here.
They then take Lynn Anderson's 1970 Top Three hit "Rose Garden" and fuse the pop with big band, eliminating whatever elements sent it to number one on the country charts for Anderson.
As a pure pop tune, it works very well, a standout performance chock-full of backing vocalists and unique instrumentation.
This could have been a hit for Mathis, as it goes beyond the usual formula of "let's put some sweet accompaniment behind the voice and let Johnny do his thing." "Ten Times Forever More" sweeps in with backing vocalists as if the Ray Conniff Singers suddenly showed up to duet with Johnny.
No doubt Perry Botkin Jr. greatly influenced this project.
Perry Como's Top Ten nugget "It's Impossible" gets equal time, with the arrangement, production, and backing vocals all stunning.
This was a big year for the crooners, and Mathis reinterpreting these new classics was essential.
No mere run-throughs, the recording and performances are on par with the hit versions.
Robert Mersey steps in to arrange and produce one track, "I Was There," and it does have a different feel to the rest of the album, sounding vocally like Mathis' 1964 Top Ten hit "What Will Mary Say." "What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life" closes out a powerful and exhausting side one.
The second side goes back to what producer Mitch Miller prescribed for this artist: careful and pleasant versions of "We've Only Just Begun," the Classics IV's "Traces," "For the Good Times," and "My Sweet Lord." George Harrison's number seems like an outtake when compared to the tour de force of side one or even the awe-inspiring Phil Spector/George Harrison production of the original hit.
Taking Dennis Yost to task on "Traces" is easy for Mathis, but not bringing in the bells and whistles for "My Sweet Lord" was a mistake given all the attention focused on "Rose Garden" and the tunes at the beginning of the LP.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose GardenJoe South | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 2 | Ten Times Forever MoreBurt Bacharach, Hal David | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 3 | It's ImpossibleArmando Manzanero, Sid Wayne | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | I Was ThereGerry Goffin, Carole King | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 5 | What Are You Doing the Rest of Your LifeAlan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | We've Only Just BegunRoger Nichols, Paul Williams | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | TracesBuddy Buie, J.R. Cobb, Emory Gordy Jr. | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | For the Good TimesKris Kristofferson | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | Loss of LoveHenry Mancini, Bob Merrill | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | Where Do I Begin? (From the Paramount Film, "Love Story") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 11 | Goin' Out of My Head / Can't Take My Eyes Off You | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 32 mins | 73 MB | |||||
| 32 mins | 189 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burt Bacharach | Composer |
| 2 | Alan Bergman | Composer |
| 3 | Marilyn Bergman | Composer |
| 4 | Perry Botkin, Jr. | Arranger, Conductor |
| 5 | Buddy Buie | Composer |
| 6 | J.R. Cobb | Composer |
| 7 | Hal David | Composer |
| 8 | Gerry Goffin | Composer |
| 9 | Jack Gold | Producer |
| 10 | Emory Gordy Jr. | Composer |
| 11 | George Harrison | Composer |
| 12 | Carole King | Composer |
| 13 | Kris Kristofferson | Composer |
| 14 | Francis Lai | Composer |
| 15 | Michel Legrand | Composer |
| 16 | Phil Macy | Engineer |
| 17 | Henry Mancini | Composer |
| 18 | Armando Manzanero | Composer |
| 19 | Jim Marshall | Photography |
| 20 | Johnny Mathis | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 21 | Bob Merrill | Composer |
| 22 | Robert Mersey | Arranger, Producer |
| 23 | Roger Nichols | Composer |
| 24 | Carl Sigman | Composer |
| 25 | Joe South | Composer |
| 26 | Sid Wayne | Composer |
| 27 | Paul Williams | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |