So Nice (album)

So Nice
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released 1966
Genre Pop
Length 36:16
Label Mercury
Producer Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis chronology
The Shadow of Your Smile
(1965)		 So Nice
(1966)		 Johnny Mathis Sings
(1967)

So Nice is the 25th original studio album released by singer Johnny Mathis, and his ninth album for Mercury Records.

Overview

As with his last album on Mercury Records, The Shadow of Your Smile, Mathis included cover versions of contemporary song hits and songs from recent Broadway shows, only looking back to material from the previous decade in one instance. The album features the work of a number of arrangers including Bryan Fahey, Jack Feierman, Glenn Osser and Mort Stevens.

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Track listing

  1. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) - 3:44
  2. "I Will Wait for You" (Jacques Demy, Norman Gimbel, Michel LeGrand) - 3:01
  3. "What the World Needs Now Is Love" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:37
  4. "Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here" (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) - 2:47
  5. "Elusive Butterfly" (Bob Lind) - 2:08
  6. "So Nice (Samba de Verao)" (Norman Gimbel, Marcos Valle, Paulo Sergio Valle) - 3:05
  7. "Dulcinea" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) - 2:52
  8. "What Now My Love" (Gilbert Becaud, Carl Sigman) - 3:14
  9. "Man of La Mancha" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) - 2:18
  10. "The Music That Makes Me Dance" (Bob Merrill, Jule Styne) - 3:35
  11. "I Dream of You" (Bob Forrest, George Wright) - 3:23
  12. "Baubles, Bangles & Beads" (Bob Forrest, George Wright) - 3:32

Billboard charts

This album peaked at #50 on the Billboard album chart, Mathis' 29th album to place on the chart.[1] Additionally, his version of the title track was a hit single for him, reaching #17 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart that year.[2]

Highlights

The centerpiece of the album is three songs from the 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. Mathis gives stirring renditions of "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)", a song that would remain in his concert repertoire for years to come, along with "Dulcinea" and the title song from the show. This repeats his recording feat from his previous album where he recorded three songs from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, a show also from 1965. Mathis completes his exploration of that show's score with "Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here". He also included "People" from Funny Girl on his last album. For this album he includes another ballad from its score, "The Music That Makes Me Dance". Kismet was a musical that Mathis obviously enjoyed, having previously recorded a number of songs from its score. He returns to that score for a final time on records with "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads".

As with his previous album, Mathis was now looking to more contemporary music for inspiration on records. Here, he covers such recent hits as "What the World Needs Now Is Love", a 1965 hit for Jackie DeShannon and "Elusive Butterfly", a 1966 song recorded by among others Petula Clark. "What Now My Love" had been a hit in the UK for Shirley Bassey in 1962 and charted in 1966 for Sonny and Cher and Herb Alpert while "I Will Wait for You" with music by Michel LeGrand was from the 1964 French film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

References

  1. ↑ All Music Billboard Album Chart Position
  2. ↑ Johnny Mathis Hit Singles Billboard Singles Chart Positions

External links

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