JOHNNY MATHIS

[jon]

Amazon UK currently has a message posted on the page for The Thom Bell Sessions saying it is not currently offering this album for sale as a customer's complained that it was not as described when they received it. No explanation as to what they mean. However, the reviews posted are very positive, so I don't know what the problem is. I haven't ordered it yet myself. I have a theory that they'll now start reissuing all his 70s albums and then bring them all out in one boxset shortly after, just like they did with the Mercury albums, in which case we'll end up paying twice. Or maybe they won't. Let's see.

[Eman]

Jon,
I ordered it from my record store no problem. Did the customer say why it wasn't described as is? I have nothing but high accolades for this release the sound quality is really good and so is the mastering. Strange that amazon would pull it from being sold.

[ROBERT M.]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Worth-Sing ... l+Sessions

[jon]

It would appear the issue, whatever it was, has now been sorted as the message is not showing any more. They didn't state what the customer was complaining about.

[ROBERT M.]

It would appear the issue, whatever it was, has now been sorted as the message is not showing any more. They didn't state what the customer was complaining about.

Jon, the message was up last night when I downloded the page............in a box it said the CD is under review, but that has gone now

[mariana44]

Many of my friends have the cd already-but they may have got it from the US site.

[jon]

On 25 September Columbia are releasing a 4-CD compilation called ''The Singles' containing all Johnny's songs released as 45s, to coincide with his 80th birthday on 30 September. I was initially a bit cynical when I saw the track listing as much of the material is already on CD but there are some which are not (indeed the liner notes say 31 of the 87 songs featured), including If We Only Have Love and Take Good Care Of Her. This would be a worthwhile purchase for those never-before-released-on-CD tracks but I will have to wait and see how much it's retailing for as I still think these kinds of issues are a cynical rip-off - making you pay for stuff you've mostly already got to get a few songs you haven't. However, at least the singles released on the recent Global Masters compilation have not been reproduced here. There is some dispute that the CD will not contain all of the singles he released (eg Gone, Gone, Gone and Maria) but I believe those omitted were originally on albums and then later released a singles rather than as singles on their own.

[karl]

Jon the track listing shows on Amazon America, I think there are 87 tracks altogether.

[jon]

Yes, Karl, I said that, and that 31 of the 87 are previously unreleased on CD (meaning, of course, that 56 are likely to already be owned by fans). I'm now not so sure about the claim that the songs featured were only released as 45s and not as part of albums because If We Only Have Love was on the 1971 album You've Got a Friend , and I was There was on the 1970 album Love Story.

[karl]

That's true about If We Only Have Love but I do like Johnny singing that .
I wish Sony would stop faffing about with endless compilations and give us the albums we want on cd, for an artist of Johnny's calibre I am most surprised they haven't done it, ok we have some but they are released in such a lack-lustre fashion.

[jon]

Yes, Karl, I entirely agree. I can think of at least 12 original albums he made in the 1970s which have never been on CD. I was recently listening to an interview with Johnny from 2011 on the BBC iplayer (with a guy called John Wilson, I think) and he pointed out that the record companies are all powerful in deciding what should be released, with the principal criterion being whether they think something will sell. Johnny even made a full album with Chic in 1981 which has never seen the light of day, apparently because Columbia don't think it fits his public image. It can be heard on youtube, though.

[karl]

Jon I never knew about the unreleased album you mentioned.
However I think it's wrong of record companies not to release the old albums on cd as newer fans will never get the chance to hear them,if they released them at around £5.99 people would buy them.
Also I thought Johnny owned his recordings as they also had JonMat Records on the sleeve.

What is the title of the unreleased album on youtube?

[jon]

Karl, the album is called I Love My Lady.

[karl]

Thanks Jon

[karl]

I just listened to the track, the producers told Johnny the music was too black - what?
I quite enjoyed the song but felt it was too long and repetitive, an edited version would be fine.
Rather surprised Johnny Mathis let them away with this!