Up, Up And Away | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 23, 1967 [1] | |||
Recorded | May 15, 1967 September 25–26, 1967 September 28, 1967 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 36:54 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Robert Mersey [3] | |||
Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Billboard | positive [4] |
Up, Up And Away is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on October 23, 1967, [1] and was the first LP he recorded upon returning to his first record label, Columbia Records, where he then stayed for several decades after having just completed a four-year sojourn with Mercury Records. The title track starts the album on the contemporary end of the spectrum of material covered here, but Mathis also includes a standard from the 1940s (" The More I See You"), a hit that charted twice for the same artist in the 1950s (" Morning Side of the Mountain"), a trio of songs from Doctor Dolittle ("At the Crossroads", "When I Look in Your Eyes", and "Where Are the Words"), and two songs that had lyrics added after originating as instrumentals: "Drifting" began as part of the score to the 1958 film Auntie Mame, and " Far Above Cayuga's Waters" was "a theme song of Cornell University before saxophonist Dave Pell retooled it and Sammy Cahn adapted the delightful fairytale-like lyrics." [5]
One song from the album, " Misty Roses", spent two weeks at number 40 on Billboard magazine's list of the 40 most popular Easy Listening songs in the US in September of that year. [6] The album made its first appearance on their Top LPs chart in the issue dated December 23 of that year to begin a 20-week stay, during which time it got as high as number 60, [7] and began four weeks on their Best Selling Rhythm & Blues LPs chart in the following issue, dated December 30, which included a peak position at number 19. [8]
Up, Up And Away was released for the first time on compact disc in 2009 as one of two albums on one CD, the second of the two being its 1968 follow-up, Love Is Blue. [9]
Billboard was enthusiastic in its description of the album. "Johnny Mathis's return to the Columbia label purrs with the rich, romantic tones that suspend the very sensation of conscious listening." [4] A few tracks in particular stood out for them. "' Up, Up and Away', ' Misty Roses', and 'I Won't Cry Anymore' are soothed and coated with Mathis's seamless style – music running together like prefabricated daydreams padded with a feeling of luxury. [4]
From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection: [1]