|  | ROMANTICALLY (1963) Collectors Choice Music has released the 1962 Rapture disc in a double CD package with 1963's Romantically. I originally reviewed the vinyl version of Romantically for Allmusic.com, the All Media Guide and gave the album a thumbs up, but this exuberant remastering is something special, bringing out the full range - mids, highs and lows and none of the harshness from the dawn of the CD era. The cover featured here has been slightly altered, instead of Johnny standing there is a facial portrait with the two lp covers to the right (as pictured above) and with the album covers taking a full panel each in the eight page booklet. 3 of those panels feature solid liner notes from James Ritz written in February of 2009. | | "Getting To Know You" from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's The King and I pours out of the speakers with rich sound, as does Rodgers and Hammerstein's theme to The Sound of Music, Johnny working each word of the song the way Art Garfunkel would on Bridge Over Troubled Water a half a dozen years later...each nuance pronounced with authority. "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" is soaked in Don Costa's arrangement and orchestral movements while Ernie Altschuler's production has the piano and bass take up the spaces in between Costa's impeccable offerings. A reason why Space Age Bachelors have picked up on sounds such as these, the crafstmanship is undeniable and the other-worldly stereo speaks volumes as it were an early version of 3D audio or quad or 5.1 surround sound. There's lots of imagination inside these performances and Collectors Choice has done an admirable job of preserving these sounds for the ages. |
RAPTURE (1962)
Ralph Cowan's princely cover painting is retained in the booklet and James Ritz accurately points out how the youth of the day were buying this romantic music simultaneous with the rock & roll that was developing at a rapid pace. There's a touch of class from start to finish on this Top 12 album which first charted in October of 1962. All the songs are quick snapshots, two minutes and fifty-three seconds for "Moments Like This" with only three titles going over the four minute mark. But the elegance persists even in these small frames and each is part of the magnificent fabric that should find a new niche and an expanded appreciation of the talents of all involved, from Mathis to Don Costa and the uncredited musicians. |  |
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