For a few years in the mid-'60s, Johnny Mathis left his longtime home at Columbia Records for the presumably greener pastures of Mercury.
The Wonderful World of Make Believe was his third album for the new label and, while it may not have completely bombed, it made the poorest chart showing of any of his hit albums up to that point.
It isn't a bad album -- it has Mathis singing his usual mixture of traditional and Continental pop songs and show tunes in an orchestral setting.
The theme is fantasy, from imaginary locations ("Camelot," "Shangri-La") to fanciful yearnings ("I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "When You Wish Upon a Star") to vague, idealized realms ("Beyond the Sea," "Beyond the Blue Horizon").
Mercury didn't tamper with Mathis' established style on this album (unlike his first singles for the label, which seemed geared toward a younger audience), so the arrangements are in keeping with his Columbia work, if a bit more swirly and ornate as the material seemed to require.
The Wonderful World of Make Believe is strictly an album effort -- no standout single tracks here -- but it's an enticingly dreamy effort and Mathis sings superbly.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shangri-La | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 2 | Dream, Dream, Dream | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 3 | When You Wish Upon a Star (From the Disney Film, "Pinocchio") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Beyond the Blue Horizon (From the Paramount Film, "Monte Carlo") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Camelot (From the B'way Musical, "Camelot") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 | I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (From the B'way Musical, "Oh, Look!") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 7 | House of Flowers (From the B'way Musical, "House of Flowers") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | Beyond the Sea | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 9 | Sky Full of Rainbows | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 10 | Sands of Time (From the B'way Musical, "Kismet") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | Alice in Wonderland (From the Disney Film, "Alice in Wonderland") | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 12 | The Wonderful World of Make-Believe | Johnny Mathis | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 38 mins | 89 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 219 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Mathis | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 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). |