Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman
Studio album by
Johnny Hartman
ReleasedMarch 1977
RecordedMay 17, 1976[1]
VenueNew York City
StudioRecord Plant
GenreJazz
Length32:13
LabelMusicor Records
ProducerGene Novello
Johnny Hartman chronology
I've Been There
(1973)		 Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman
(1977)		 Once in Every Life
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[3]

Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman is a studio album by American singer Johnny Hartman, released in 1977 by Musicor Records. Gene Novello produced the record and co-wrote all of the songs. Fred Norman served as arranger and conductor. The title of the album is a play on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, the satirical television series popular at the time.[1]

Reception

Upon its release, the album received mixed reviews. Billboard selected it as one of their "Recommended LPs for Jazz," ,[4] and said, "Hartman swings into this album, then mellows into his usual clear, smooth vocal style.... Strong string and horn sections compliment this album." The review listed "Starting Now," "Suzanne," "Onery Little Critter," and "Hello Mrs. Jones" as "Best Cuts."

Music critic Robert Palmer, writing in Record World, said, "Johnny Hartman isn't as confused as Mary, but 'Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman' plays on the title of the popular television series nonetheless. This Musicor release ... doesn't really do Hartman justice, although he is in excellent voice." [5]

Dave Nathan at AllMusic reviewed the 1996 reissue, entitled The Many Moods of Johnny Hartman, giving it two out of five stars and saying, "Hartman tries, but even his talent cannot save this material.... [He] is reduced to warbling (literally) a set of inane tunes composed by Gene Novello.... Not only are the songs mundane, but the arrangements are cloying and the performances, with the exception of Hartman's voice, uninspired and gimmicky." Nathan does offer a positive comment: "The one track which is a cut above the others is a catchy 'I've Only Myself to Blame,' which features some very good alto by an unidentified player. It is the only one which Hartman seems to enjoy doing."[2] The review incorrectly states that the album had never been previously released after it was recorded in 1976.

Reissues

According to Gregg Akkerman, Hartman's biographer, the master tapes of Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman were sold after Musicor went out of business in 1978, and the album has been "repackaged and retitled for unsuspecting Hartman fans several times after his death." Some reissues incorrectly claim that the material was previously unreleased. "It is rather implausible that all the parties concerned had no idea that the album had already been released in the late 70s." Titles of the reissues include: The Many Moods of Johnny Hartman (1996), Johnny Hartman Sings the Songs of Paul Greenwood and Gene Novello (1997), and You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (2003).[1]

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "Starting Now" (Paul Greenwood, Gene Novello) – 4:53
  2. "When" (Sammy Cahn, Novello) – 4:43
  3. "Suzanne" (Greenwood, Novello) – 5:06
  4. "That's What Makes a House a Home" (Greenwood, Novello) – 3:57

Side 2

  1. "Ornery Little Critters" (Greenwood, Novello) – 2:58
  2. "If I Could Only See You Again" (Novello) – 2:58
  3. "Hello Mrs. Jones" (Greenwood, Novello) – 4:08
  4. "I've Only Myself to Blame" (Greenwood, Novello) – 3:30

Personnel

  1. Johnny Hartman – vocals
  2. Fred Norman - arranger, conductor
  3. Gene Novello – producer
  4. Craig Bishop – engineer

References

  1. 1 2 3 Akkerman, Gregg (2012). The Last Balladeer: The Johnny Hartman Story. Studies in Jazz, No. 68. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810882812.
  2. 1 2 Nathan, Dave. Johnny Hartman, Johnny Hartman at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 602. ISBN 9780141023274.
  4. ↑ "Billboard's Recommended LPs: Jazz" (PDF). Billboard. March 19, 1977. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Jazz" (PDF). Record World. March 19, 1977. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
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