Boasting an award-winning production team in
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and
Clive Davis,
Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook finds the legendary crooner taking on 11 radio hits from the late '90s and early 2000s. The follow-up to 2013's Grammy-nominated holiday collection Sending You a Little Christmas,
Mathis' modern picks are mostly ballads (
Adele's "Hello,"
Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up,"
R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," etc.), but snappy renderings of
Pharrell's "Happy" and
Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" prove that, even at the age of 81, he's still capable of moving some rear ends. What's best is that he sounds legitimately engaged throughout, even on the umpteenth reading of
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and his voice, which is a bit overly treated at times (seriously,
Johnny Mathis does not need Auto-Tune), is as strong as ever, making one wonder why it took so long for him to apply his still considerable gifts to more contemporary fare. ~ James Christopher Monger