Swing Softly
| Swing Softly | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | August 13, 1958 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 31:53 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Swing Softly is the sixth album released by Johnny Mathis. It was his fifth original studio album (following the singles compilation Johnny's Greatest Hits).
Overview
Departing from the lush ballad format of his previous pop albums "Wonderful Wonderful" and "Warm", Mathis proved that he could handle lightly swinging uptempo material in a credible fashion. Under the musical direction of Percy Faith, Mathis' expert vocals skillfully merge pop and jazz in the same way that established artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney were doing around this time. This was quite a feat considering that Mathis was only 23 in 1958 and had only been recording for two years at this point.
| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Track listing
- "You Hit the Spot" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) – 2:52
- "It's De-Lovely" (Cole Porter) – 2:47
- "Get Me to the Church on Time" (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 1:45
- "Like Someone in Love" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:40
- "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" (Porter) – 2:12
- "Love Walked In" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:38
- "This Heart of Mine" (Arthur Freed, Warren) – 2:31
- "To Be in Love" (Bart Howard) – 3:01
- "Sweet Lorraine" (Clifford Burrell, Mitchell Parish) – 2:24
- "Can't Get Out of This Mood" (Frank Loesser, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:08
- "I've Got the World on a String" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 3:11
- "Easy to Say (But Hard to Do)" (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:44
Billboard Album Chart
The album's strong sales continued Mathis' consecutive album chart entries peaking at #6 on the Billboard album chart in its original release.[1]
Highlights
The album features many songs considered standards by composers such as Cole Porter "(It's De-Lovely" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To") and Harold Arlen ("I've Got the World on a String") while featuring Mathis' first recording of a George Gershwin song ("Love Walked In"). A self-confessed fan of Nat King Cole, Mathis included a cover version of the Cole classic "Sweet Lorraine" on this album. The album also features songs originating from Hollywood ("This Heart of Mine") and Broadway ("Get Me to the Church on Time").