Post Description

Open Fire, Two Guitars is the eighth album released by legendary singer Johnny Mathis. Of his recordings, it is his seventh original studio album (his fifth album was the compilation "Johnny's Greatest Hits.")

In a major departure from all his previous albums, Mathis sings with the backing of two guitars played by Al Caiola and Tony Mattola plus an upright bass for rhythmic support. This allows the purity, sensitivity and sheer beauty of the Mathis voice to shine through. The album is a testament to the statue of Mathis in 1959 that Columbia Records allowed him to make an album outside the proven formula of his previous albums as well as the courage of the artist in allowing his vocal instrument to be so completely exposed without the security of the full orchestra. Quite a feat for a 23 year old singer with only 2 years of recording experience behind him. The result is an artistic triumph for Mathis and the album remains one of his most treasurable among his legion of fans 






Johnny Mathis - Open Fire, Two Guitars 1959 LP 24-96

A1 - An Open Fire
A2 - By Bye Blackbird
A3 - In The Still Of The Night
A4 - Embraceable You
A5 - I'll Be Seeing You
A6 - Tenderly
B1 - When I Fall In Love
B2 - I Concentrate On You
B3 - Please Be Kind
B4 - You'll Never Know
B5 - I'm Just A Boy In Love
B6 - My Funny Valentine
 
musicians:
Johnny Mathis - vocals
Al Caiola & Tony Mattola - guitars
Milt Hinton, Frank Carroll - upright bass

produced by Mitch Miller

vinyl LP transfer at 24-bit 96khz (24/96)

transfer info:
Nitty Gritty 1.5 RCM
Music Hall MMF 9.1
sticky hand stylus cleaning
Grado Master Reference 1 cartridge
Graham Slee Era Gold Reflex phono preamp
Mytek Stereo192 ADC (analog to digital converter)
cork platter mat, Blue Jean LC-1 interconnects, KAB super record grip Mk2
software used: Soundforge 9.0, ClickRepair 3.4.1 (in manual mode), Flac frontend 1.7.1