Mathis On Broadway

Fans of Johnny Mathis have had to wait a long time--since the legendary Ballads and Rhythms of Broadway from 1960, in fact--for a recording of the singer performing nothing but Broadway tunes. In Mathis on Broadway, he turns his attention to the musical as it has developed in the last two decades, with very pleasing results. Instead of falling into the aging crooner syndrome--and its predictably ridiculous attempts at sounding hip--Mathis can bring convincing personality to an anthem like "Seasons of Love" from Rent and at the same time play off Nell Carter's gritty emotionalism with flair. His gentle vibrancy even gives life to the musical clichés Frank Wildhorn stitches together for Jekyll and Hyde's "Once upon a Dream." Mathis is especially wonderful with Sondheim, including a song from the unjustly neglected but marvelous Passion and "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods--the latter embedded in a tune from Ragtime and featuring a duet with Betty Buckley. Whatever the material, Mathis reliably recoins it with his trademark suavity, but also with a sense of entering into the given character and his situation--a pity then that we only get 33 minutes of music, since Mathis provides the kind of company you don't want to leave. --Tom May