Johnny Mathis - Christmas Time Is Here

Release date 2023

Johnny Mathis's newest Christmas album, released when he is in his 80s, showcases his still-remarkable voice, weathered, to be sure, but still able to impress with it's range and flexibility. And although there are no "new" songs here, there are some surprises: he sounds frisky and fun on his duet with Broadway's Kristin Chenoweth on "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" but most eye-opening is his bluesy take on "Merry Christmas Baby" where the sweet-voiced ballad singer actually "growls" his way through a very convincing cover - showing that, if he'd wanted, he could have released some fantastic Blues albums if he'd chosen. But for the most part, he's content to stick with burnished arrangements of Christmas standards - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "White Christmas," "Blue Christmas" and a sensitive re-tread of an earlier hit: "When A Child Is Born." I was worried that in the five years since his last release, that he'd lean further into the auto-tuning glossiness which marred his last proper album, "Sings The Great NEW American Songbook," but thankfully, his vocals, and the arrangements, are finely organic, often simple and jazz-like, a welcome return to Johnny's earliest music roots.

Bret Wheadon