*** 1/2 stars out of four
The legendary Johnny Mathis is 83. I have never seen him live in concert until last night. I caught the silky smooth crooner last night at the American Music Theater, the great venue in Lancaster, Pa. The venue was packed, primarily with older adults and a sprinkling of middle-aged fans. Surprisingly, if i saw one African-American in the audience it was luck.
Mathis can still sing the phone book. With a full orchestra behind him, plus his long-time band, he sounded brilliant. Mathis takes time between shows now ( he plays the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City this weekend) and he sounds great.
As in American Idol, it's all about song choice. We all know that a "singer's singer' like Johnny Mathis can sing anything, from an upbeat tune that he can belt out with the best of them to a tender, almost acoustic, acapella love song. It's the Voice of Romance tour, and no title can be any truer.
Dressing as dapper as ever in dark red jacket, crisp white jacket and white slacks, Johnny moved slowly on stage, but move he did, only occasionally sitting down on a stool. After all, he is 83. With each note, especially during the light, effortless love songs with sparse accompaniment, one almost expects a missed note, or unexpected hiccup or some kind of disaster. But it never comes, as each note is hit, and Mathis doesn't shy away form hitting the more difficult notes, and he is spot-on with his voice and energy.
His voice is so familiar, when he first starts singing it's hard to believe that voice is actually live in front of you. It doesn't hurt that the acoustics in Lancaster are terrific as well.
He did two sets, each about 45 minute sin length, with a stand-up comic doing another 20 minutes, and another 20 minute intermission. He has it timed out well, as it's about a full 45 minute break before he sings again.
Some highlights: Johnny did not one but two songs form the Stylistics songbook: "I'm Stoned In Love With You" and "Betcha By Golly Wow" both sounding fresh as though they were recorded today. He eased from Broadway and movie tunes to classics and his own hits, seamlessly, like his singing.
A segment devoted to the great Henry Mancini closed the first act, the highlight being an awesome rendition of "Moon River.' ( which deservedly received a standing ovation). Mathis bunched some songs into melodies, which was fine. We didn't always hear the full version of each song, but he did try to jam as many tunes into the evening. like a Springsteen concert, where you never know what to expect form the set list night after night, Mathis was the same way- very diverse and surprising.Take for instance his blending of the beautiful "Shenandoah" and the classic "Let It Be Me."
I especially loved the lightness of "When I Fall In Love". He uses his voice like another instrument. He is a master with the mic as well, lowing it when he boomed out a high note, bringing it closer to his lips for a softer note.Another unexpected but welcome surprise was the under-appreciated Brenda Lee hit "All Alone Am I", done in haunting fashion by Mathis. But probably my favorite segment- and the one that sent chills down my spine- was the coupling of the Beatles' "Yesterday" and Paul Williams' "You and Me Against the World." . I had not heard the latter in ages, and it sounded great, again in a way Mathis sang that allowed it to breathe again.
Of course, Johnny did his hits, all impeccable but certainly not copies form the radio or albums, but again, fresh and contemporary. "It's Not For me To Say" mingled with "Chances Are" in the first segment, and the hits got the biggest recognition.In Act Two came the familiar and comfortable refrains of "A Certain Smile", "Wonderful, Wonderful" and his signature song, "Misty."
But perhaps the most special and tender moment was when Mathis did "The Twelfth of Never alone, only with his longtime guitar player and companion of nearly 48 years, mesmerizing the crowd. The lovely song never sounded better in sixty years.
Mathis closed with a Latino, Brazilian melody, which was upbeat compared to the rest of the show, but nothing special. The one song encore of "You'll Never Know" was special. You wanted more but it was such a perfect evening, you didn't want it to end but didn't want a bad performance or poor song choice ruin the night.
Catch Johnny Mathis while you can. Hopefully he is around a long time yet. But with any performer that old, yet having incredible stamina, you have to wonder how much longer Johnny will be around.
Appreciate that he is an American treasure for as long as you can, enjoy the memories too, a voice that will never be forgotten. I like his new cd, "Johnny Mathis Sings the Great American Songbook", mainly up-to-date, contemporary classics like Adele's "Hello."He didn't treat us with any new songs. With so much material to choose from, and so little time, last night was a once-in-a lifetime experience of hearing the great songbook done by a true icon, Johnny Mathis.
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