Close to You (Johnny Mathis album)

Close To You
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released	1970
Genre	Pop
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jack Gold
Johnny Mathis chronology
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (1970) Close To You (1970) Sings the Music of Bacharach & Kaempfert (1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
All Music Review	(?) [1]

Close To You is the thirty-third original studio album released by singer Johnny Mathis.

Overview

Once again combining film songs with covers of recent hits, Mathis is heard on this album under the musical direction of Ernie Freeman. As with much of his output on Columbia Records at this time, Mathis is strictly in adult contemporary mode on this album.

Track listing

1. "(They Long to Be) Close to You"
2. "Evil Ways"
3. "Come Saturday Morning (From "The Sterile Cuckoo")"
4. "Yellow Days"
5. "Pieces of Dreams (From Pieces of Dreams)"
6. "Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)"
7. "Everything Is Beautiful"
8. "The Long and Winding Road"
9. "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You"
10. "Wave"
11. "Until It's Time for You to Go"

Billboard charts

This album peaked at #61 on the Billboard album chart, Mathis' thirty-ninth album to place on the chart.^[2] Mathis also enjoyed two hit singles from this album, with "Pieces Of Dreams" peaking at #9 and "Evil Ways" reaching #30 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.^[3]

Formats Released

This album was released as a LP, Reel to Reel, and Casette.

Highlights

The work of two songwriting teams featured on previous Mathis recordings is heard on this album. Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote the title song back in 1963 but it was not until 1970 that it became a #1 hit when recorded by The Carpenters. Alan and Marilyn Bergman's lyrics have been interpreted many times over the years by Mathis. Here, he performs their "Pieces Of Dreams", which had been featured in the 1970 film of the same name. Songs performed by The Beatles also feature on a number of Mathis albums around this time. Here, he includes "The Long and Winding Road", which was also used as the album's name in the UK.

Where more than half of his previous album had been made up of film songs, for this set only one such song is featured. "Come Saturday Morning" was heard in the 1969 film The Sterile Cuckoo starring a young Liza Minnelli.

Popular song hits covered by Mathis on this album include "Evil Ways", a top-ten hit for Santana, "Until It's Time for You to Go" by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie and "Everything Is Beautiful", a hit for Ray Stevens, who would in turn would find success with a cover Mathis' "Misty". Adding an international twist to the mix are "Song of Joy (Himno a la Alegria)", a #14 hit for Miguel Ríos and Antonio Carlos Jobim's song "Wave".

References

1. ^ "Close to You - Johnny Mathis". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/close-to-you-r67407. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
2. ^ All Music Billboard Album Chart Position
3. ^ Johnny Mathis Hit Singles Billboard Singles Chart Positions

External links

• All Music Review