Looks like the complete album has been posted to megauploads in Flac format. Can't overstate how amazing this thing is.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6OWH4YXB

WOW!!!

Thanks so much for posting the link, been waiting for years for this! The snippets were amazing, but to have the complete album...

This must be amazing! Never heard of it, but I can't wait to listen to it. What a rare find (...and in FLAC too!), thanks for sharing.

DID SOMEONE SAY UNRELEASED CHIC ALBUM?!!!!!!!

falls down stairs to get to file

[img:$uid]http://i36.tinypic.com/334n3n5.jpg[/img:$uid]

WHERE IS IT?! WHERE?!!!!

this is like gold dust for all the Chic fans who have been hunting for this for years

A great addition to the Chic affiliated albums

Thanks a bunch! Can't wait to hear what they did with Johnny's voice!

BigDaddyWil said:

Looks like the complete album has been posted to megauploads in Flac format. Can't overstate how amazing this thing is.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6OWH4YXB

It's CRAZY that they never released this! This is the most I've ever enjoyed Johnny Mathis, lol. It's also my opinion that this is the sexiest he's ever sounded (to me). I'm especially loving "It's Alright To Love Me", "Something To Sing About", "I Love My Lady", and "Love And Be Loved". If he had released this in 1981, he would have definitely pulled me in as a fan. Because while I always recognized him as a great singer, I always saw him as rather boring, same category I'd put Smokey Robinson in, lol.

This album would have come out right around the same time as Diana Ross', with "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out", which when I think about it; I'm not surprised Johnny came out soon after this album was recorded. People close to Johnny report that he also started wilding out right around this same time too, on the heels of his "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" hit with Deniece Williams just a few years prior. Johnny was ready to bust out his shell for the 80's, but I guess his people warned against alienating his base by that time of blue-haired old ladies, lol.

This unreleased CHIC produced album puts Johnny Mathis in an entirely different light for me. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to hear this, and to add it to my collection.

BigDaddyWil said:

Can't overstate how amazing this thing is.

I would have to agree.

Why wasn't it released?

scriptgirl said:

Why wasn't it released?

It seems that there was some concern that the new sound would alienate his older fan base.

Thanks for the info

Yes honey! "I Love My Lady" is the JAYM! Listening to it for the first time...pretty darn good!!!

paisleypark4 said:

Yes honey! "I Love My Lady" is the JAYM! Listening to it for the first time...pretty darn good!!!

I was listening to this album the entire weekend. I can't believe they never released this! Was never a huge Johnny Mathis fan, but this album may have just changed all that. It's the most genuine Johnny Mathis has ever sounded to me, like he was finally free. And CHIC did him justice!

PDogz said:

paisleypark4 said:

Yes honey! "I Love My Lady" is the JAYM! Listening to it for the first time...pretty darn good!!!

I was listening to this album the entire weekend. I can't believe they never released this! Was never a huge Johnny Mathis fan, but this album may have just changed all that. It's the most genuine Johnny Mathis has ever sounded to me, like he was finally free. And CHIC did him justice!

I cant wait to hear the rest of this album! I really really like that song .

They should make a movie on Johnny, I really dont know too much about him. Liek someone said earlier I found him...kind o f boring for my taste...but he is very handsome and I would have loved to hear him doing some funk....dude has a really nice voice no matter what.

Nile talked about this:

"He had been this big superstar, then his light dimmed a little, and then he came back after that massive record with Deniece Williams. His popularity rekindled, he went on this reckless tear - partying and hanging out; it really frightened the people closest to him. When we did this record, it was so exciting and youth oriented. All his people went 'oh my god.'... The Johnny Mathis record to me sounded like Al Jarreau meets Chic. It didn't sound like Johnny Mathis to me - it was even more edgy than I'd ever heard him.. That's why it was pulled. His audience at the time was like middle-aged women who would go out to Vegas, and this was pushing his envelope."

What's interesting is that Johnny Mathis never faced a backlash when he came out. How smooth do you have to be to be able to pull that off and get the extremists banning your music? 75 and still singing.

I had just read John Waters' book, and Mathis mentioned being heavily influenced by Lena Horne, but wound up getting out of jazz altogether because he listened to career makers. It was prob. a good idea, but it shoehorned him into a crooner style, and when he did the songs with Chic, put him right back in that box.It's probable Walter Yetnikoff made the ultimate decision not to release it.

As we know with many artists, there are some songs that are too good to remain in the vaults, and there are some songs that should be left in the vault. This album is like Dave Matthews' "Lillywhite Sessions", which is a good album that due to record company pressure, was shelved for an indefinite period of time.

Keep in mind Mathis is one of CBS & Sony's best selling artists of all time. Yet they put pressure on him to shelve it. When Sinatra did "Duets"...now that was something I could've lived without hearing.

But a lot of old school crooners with a decent producer can have their career reignited.

Mathis just put out a new CD of country songs. He's from Texas.. about time!

dalsh327 said:

Nile talked about this:

"He had been this big superstar, then his light dimmed a little, and then he came back after that massive record with Deniece Williams. His popularity rekindled, he went on this reckless tear - partying and hanging out; it really frightened the people closest to him. When we did this record, it was so exciting and youth oriented. All his people went 'oh my god.'... The Johnny Mathis record to me sounded like Al Jarreau meets Chic. It didn't sound like Johnny Mathis to me - it was even more edgy than I'd ever heard him.. That's why it was pulled. His audience at the time was like middle-aged women who would go out to Vegas, and this was pushing his envelope."

What's interesting is that Johnny Mathis never faced a backlash when he came out. How smooth do you have to be to be able to pull that off and get the extremists banning your music? 75 and still singing.

I had just read John Waters' book, and Mathis mentioned being heavily influenced by Lena Horne, but wound up getting out of jazz altogether because he listened to career makers. It was prob. a good idea, but it shoehorned him into a crooner style, and when he did the songs with Chic, put him right back in that box.It's probable Walter Yetnikoff made the ultimate decision not to release it.

As we know with many artists, there are some songs that are too good to remain in the vaults, and there are some songs that should be left in the vault. This album is like Dave Matthews' "Lillywhite Sessions", which is a good album that due to record company pressure, was shelved for an indefinite period of time.

Keep in mind Mathis is one of CBS & Sony's best selling artists of all time. Yet they put pressure on him to shelve it. When Sinatra did "Duets"...now that was something I could've lived without hearing.

But a lot of old school crooners with a decent producer can have their career reignited.

Mathis just put out a new CD of country songs. He's from Texas.. about time!

Thanks for the info on this! I would have loved for him to continue this route. The album was pretty good..could have spawned three top ten, top twenty singles. Has nice pop / funk rhythms and it was very well produced. I wonder where he is today? Does he have a partner?

paisleypark4 said:

The album was pretty good..could have spawned three top ten, top twenty singles.