1975 studio album by Johnny Mathis
When Will I See You Again is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in March 1975[1] by Columbia Records and was again predominantly composed of covers of recent hit songs by other artists.
The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated April 19, 1975, and remained there for 13 weeks, peaking at number 99.[5] It entered the UK album chart on July 26, 1975, and reached number 13 during its 10 weeks there.[6] On September 1, 1975, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units.[7]
Reception
Joe Viglione of AllMusic, writing retrospectively, warns, "If the casual fan thinks the album is full of Philly sound knockoffs, guess again. Producer John Florez and arranger/conductor D'Arneill Pershing align the stars perfectly for Mathis."[2] He enjoyed a variety of songs on this release, especially the title track, which he describes as "reinvented -- one voice leading the charge with backing vocals chiming in at the right time. Where the Three Degrees punched it for all it was worth as a team effort, Johnny Mathis reads the sentiment over a light disco beat with that soul sound that Gamble & Huff manufactured kept to a minimum. The Platters' 'Only You' may seem like a quantum leap away from the '70s compositions that predominate this collection, but the arrangement borders on jazz/pop and fits nicely alongside the other pretty moments here."[2] He also highlights his favorites from side two. "The medley of Paul Williams/Roger Nichols tunes, 'I Won't Last a Day Without You'/'Let Me Be the One', which leads off side two, is as immaculate as the closing number, 'The Things I Might Have Been', making for another very good no-bumps-in-the-road Johnny Mathis release."[2]
Recording dates
From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection:[1]
- January 13, 1975 – "Laughter in the Rain", "Only You (And You Alone)", "The Way We Were", "You and Me Against the World"
- January 20, 1975 – "Mandy", "The Things I Might Have Been", "When Will I See You Again"
- January 23, 1975 – "Let Me Be the One/I Won't Last a Day Without You", "Nice to Be Around", "You're As Right As Rain"
Song information
The most successful incarnation of "Mandy" was by Barry Manilow, who spent a week at number one with the song on the Billboard Hot 100[8] and two weeks in the top spot on the magazine's Easy Listening chart[9] in addition to reaching number 11 in the UK[10] and receiving Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.[11] "Nice to Be Around" originated in the 1973 film Cinderella Liberty as "You're So Nice to Be Around"[12] and also "bubbled under" the Hot 100 to number 101 as a recording by Maureen McGovern[13] that also got as high as number 28 Easy Listening.[14] "You're As Right As Rain" first appeared on the 1972 Stylistics album Round 2.[15]
"When Will I See You Again" by The Three Degrees enjoyed two weeks at number one on the UK singles chart[16] and a week in that position on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[17] peaked at number two pop[18] and number four R&B,[19] and received Platinum certification from the RIAA.[20] The Platters had the biggest hit version of "Only You (And You Alone)", which spent seven weeks at number one R&B[21] and made it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[22] "Let Me Be the One" first appeared on the self-titled 1971 album by The Carpenters,[23] and the brother-and-sister duo also had the most popular recording of
"I Won't Last a Day Without You", which had a week at number one on the Easy Listening chart[24] and got as high as number 11 pop[25] and number nine UK.[26]
"The Way We Were" earned songwriters Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch the Grammy Award for Song of the Year[27] and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[28] Barbra Streisand's recording of the song went Gold,[29] spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100[30] and two weeks in the Easy Listening top spot,[31] and peaked at number 31 UK.[32] Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain" also spent two weeks at number one Easy Listening[33] in addition to enjoying a week in that position on the pop chart[34] and peaking at number 15 in the UK.[35] Another number one Easy Listening hit that Mathis covers here, "You and Me Against the World" by Helen Reddy,[36] also made it to number nine on the Hot 100.[37] And by the time this album was released, "The Things I Might Have Been" had been recorded as a solo by Kitty Wells,[38] Willie Nelson,[39] and Roy Clark[40] and as a duet by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge.[41]
Personnel
From the liner notes of the original album:[3]
- Johnny Mathis – vocals
- John Florez – producer
- D'Arneill Pershing - arranger, conductor
- Grover Helsley – engineer
- Emerson-Loew – photography
- Ron Coro – design
- Nancy Donald – design
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