When Will I See You Again (Johnny Mathis album)

When Will I See You Again
Studio album by Johnny Mathis
Released	March 1975[1]
Recorded	January 13, 1975 January 20, 1975 January 23, 1975[1]
Genre	Traditional pop vocal pop[2]
Length	33:42
Label	Columbia
Producer	John Florez[3]
Johnny Mathis chronology
The Heart of a Woman (1974) When Will I See You Again (1975) Feelings (1975)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Billboard	positive[4]

When Will I See You Again is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in March 1975^[1] by Columbia Records and was again predominantly composed of covers of recent hit songs by other artists.

The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated April 19, 1975, and remained there for 13 weeks, peaking at number 99.^[5] It entered the UK album chart on July 26, 1975, and reached number 13 during its 10 weeks there.^[6] On September 1, 1975, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units.^[7]

Joe Viglione of AllMusic, writing retrospectively, warns, "If the casual fan thinks the album is full of Philly sound knockoffs, guess again. Producer John Florez and arranger/conductor D'Arneill Pershing align the stars perfectly for Mathis."^[2] He enjoyed a variety of songs on this release, especially the title track, which he describes as "reinvented -- one voice leading the charge with backing vocals chiming in at the right time. Where the Three Degrees punched it for all it was worth as a team effort, Johnny Mathis reads the sentiment over a light disco beat with that soul sound that Gamble & Huff manufactured kept to a minimum. The Platters' 'Only You' may seem like a quantum leap away from the '70s compositions that predominate this collection, but the arrangement borders on jazz/pop and fits nicely alongside the other pretty moments here."^[2] He also highlights his favorites from side two. "The medley of Paul Williams/Roger Nichols tunes, 'I Won't Last a Day Without You'/'Let Me Be the One', which leads off side two, is as immaculate as the closing number, 'The Things I Might Have Been', making for another very good no-bumps-in-the-road Johnny Mathis release."^[2]

1. "Mandy" (Scott English, Richard Kerr) – 3:31
2. "Nice to Be Around" (John Williams, Paul Williams) – 3:52
3. "You're As Right As Rain" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) – 3:02
4. "When Will I See You Again" (Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff) – 2:35
5. "Only You (And You Alone)" (Buck Ram) – 2:50

1. Medley – 4:06
   a. "Let Me Be the One" (Roger Nichols, Paul Williams)
   b. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Nichols, Paul Williams)
2. "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch) – 3:49
3. "Laughter in the Rain" (Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody) – 2:31
4. "You and Me Against the World" (Kenny Ascher, Paul Williams) – 3:59
5. "The Things I Might Have Been" (Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman) – 3:27

From the liner notes for The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection:^[1]

• January 13, 1975 – "Laughter in the Rain", "Only You (And You Alone)", "The Way We Were", "You and Me Against the World"
• January 20, 1975 – "Mandy", "The Things I Might Have Been", "When Will I See You Again"
• January 23, 1975 – "Let Me Be the One/I Won't Last a Day Without You", "Nice to Be Around", "You're As Right As Rain"

The most successful incarnation of "Mandy" was by Barry Manilow, who spent a week at number one with the song on the Billboard Hot 100^[8] and two weeks in the top spot on the magazine's Easy Listening chart^[9] in addition to reaching number 11 in the UK^[10] and receiving Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.^[11] "Nice to Be Around" originated in the 1973 film Cinderella Liberty as "You're So Nice to Be Around"^[12] and also "bubbled under" the Hot 100 to number 101 as a recording by Maureen McGovern^[13] that also got as high as number 28 Easy Listening.^[14] "You're As Right As Rain" first appeared on the 1972 Stylistics album Round 2.^[15]

"When Will I See You Again" by The Three Degrees enjoyed two weeks at number one on the UK singles chart^[16] and a week in that position on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,^[17] peaked at number two pop^[18] and number four R&B,^[19] and received Platinum certification from the RIAA.^[20] The Platters had the biggest hit version of "Only You (And You Alone)", which spent seven weeks at number one R&B^[21] and made it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100.^[22] "Let Me Be the One" first appeared on the self-titled 1971 album by The Carpenters,^[23] and the brother-and-sister duo also had the most popular recording of "I Won't Last a Day Without You", which had a week at number one on the Easy Listening chart^[24] and got as high as number 11 pop^[25] and number nine UK.^[26]

"The Way We Were" earned songwriters Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch the Grammy Award for Song of the Year^[27] and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.^[28] Barbra Streisand's recording of the song went Gold,^[29] spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100^[30] and two weeks in the Easy Listening top spot,^[31] and peaked at number 31 UK.^[32] Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain" also spent two weeks at number one Easy Listening^[33] in addition to enjoying a week in that position on the pop chart^[34] and peaking at number 15 in the UK.^[35] Another number one Easy Listening hit that Mathis covers here, "You and Me Against the World" by Helen Reddy,^[36] also made it to number nine on the Hot 100.^[37] And by the time this album was released, "The Things I Might Have Been" had been recorded as a solo by Kitty Wells,^[38] Willie Nelson,^[39] and Roy Clark^[40] and as a duet by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge.^[41]

From the liner notes of the original album:^[3]

• Johnny Mathis – vocals
• John Florez – producer
• D'Arneill Pershing - arranger, conductor
• Grover Helsley – engineer
• Emerson-Loew – photography
• Ron Coro – design
• Nancy Donald – design