Heavenly
is
Johnny Mathis
' most successful regular album release, exceeded in his catalog only by the compilation
Johnny's Greatest Hits
and the seasonal
Merry Christmas
collection. It's not hard to understand why; this record is the epitome of
Mathis
' approach to music.
Standards
like
"More Than You Know"
and
"Moonlight Becomes You"
are joined by
show tunes
"Hello, Young Lovers"
"Stranger in Paradise"
and a few more recent titles, such as the
Burt Bacharach
-composed title song and
"That's All."
The tempos are slow, the strings swell, and
' vulnerable tenor, dripping with tender emotion yet never missing a beat, soars and swoops over all. The best track, a revelation when it appeared on this album, is
"Misty,"
a treatment of
Erroll Garner
's
jazz
piano classic with a newly added lyric by
Johnny Burke
. Few could have carried off that lyric (go ahead, try and think of another male singer of the '50s who could handle it), but it was perfect for
, and the track was spun off for a single that became his biggest hit in two years and remains one of his signature songs. Though still fairly early in his career,
had done a lot of recording;
was actually his tenth album release in less than three years (counting two hits collections and the
Christmas
album). As a result, he was a recording veteran while still being fresh enough to give his performances real feeling. It all came together on
,
' longest running number one album which spent more than five-and-a-half years in the charts. ~ William Ruhlmann