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Johnny Mathis
Begin The Beguine (Promo 12")
RECORD LABEL / RELEASE INFO
Columbia Records (US) / 1979 / 2311 002
12" Disco single 33 ⅓ rpm white label promo Vinyl record
MUSICIAN, PRODUCTION & RECORDING STUDIO CREDITS
Produced by Jack Gold
Arranged and conducted by Gene page
Disco Mix by Steve Thompson
SONGS TRACKLISTING
Side A†
Begin the Beguine 8:28
Side B
Gone Gone 6:30
MUSIC REVIEW & RECORD COLLECTOR NOTES
MOR artist Johnny Mathis jumped on the Disco bandwagon in 1979 with Begin The Beguine and did very well with it.
Also See:
Steve Thompson
Submitted by DiscoMusic.com (3698)
What a tremendous reading of Cole Porter's sensuous classic! It may better match the songwriter's intent than even he could have imagined. An example of how a very few disco records not only matched but improved previous versions.
Johnny's signing is lustrous and powerful. On three long notes he "blows out" the microphone, never losing his famed pitch. Long after the end of a freakishly good run of albums that spanned "Heavenly" and "I'll Buy You a Star," Johnny resorts to top form for one more brilliant side. Of course he made other good records after his heyday, but nothing to this standard. Yes: the standard of this hard-core disco record.
The production of "Begin the Beguine" is full-Monty orchestral, ably conducted. I like the flip side, "Gone, Gone Gone," albeitless than many disco fans. Its similar grandly entertained me one hot, poolside August afternoon at The Boatslip, Provincetown this summer, nearly 30 years after release.