Warm/Open Fire, Two Guitars Review

07/13/2005 3:59 AM, AMG


Columbia has repackaged Johnny Mathis' sophomore album, Warm, no less than three times. Warm is an example of the classic romantic mood that made Mathis a superstar. The lush, romantic Warm includes "My One and Only Love" as well as "A Handful of Stars," "By Myself," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Then I'll Be Tired of You," "I'm Glad There Is You," and "While We're Young." A classic Mathis album with a title track, "Misty," that ranks as one of his best. This repackaging is with the 1959 album Open Fire, Two Guitars, an intimate album of romantic standards by Irving Berlin, Alan Jay Lerner, Arthur Schwartz, and Rodger/Hart. Warm/Open Fire, Two Guitars is perhaps the best repackaging of Warm, because both albums are similar in tone, though slightly different in instrumentation. [Released in the '70s as a double album called Warm and Tender and in 2000 (as an import) with Swing Softly.] ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide