Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville


Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 2010, by Columbia Records and focused upon popular country songs. With the exceptions of the traditional folk song "Shenandoah" and George Strait's "We Must Be Lovin' Right" from 1993, the heyday of the selections that Mathis is covering coincided approximately with the first 20 years of his career, starting with Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" from 1956.
The album earned Mathis a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Reception

"Location matters little to Johnny Mathis," writes Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic -- "wherever he goes, there he is, sounding as smooth as ever. That’s quite an accomplishment for a singer of 74, to still make it all seem effortless." He also notes that, with a few exceptions, the album "sounds as if it could have easily been released in the early ‘60s when Mathis was a regular fixture in the charts..., and that's its strength." He concludes that "Mathis sounds as silky as his surroundings," and asserts that "that may be because he wound up having Nashville accept his terms instead of bending to the rules of the Music City."
Oprah Winfrey included the album in her Oprah's Favorite Things promotion in 2010, the last before The Oprah Winfrey Show ended its run in 2011.

Track listing

  1. "What a Wonderful World" performed with Lane Brody - 4:04
  2. "Let It Be Me" performed with Alison Krauss - 3:29
  3. "Make the World Go Away" - 3:17
  4. "Crazy" - 3:27
  5. "Southern Nights" - 3:33
  6. "You Don't Know Me" - 3:30
  7. "Lovin' Arms" featuring harmony vocals by Vince Gill - 3:06
  8. "Shenandoah" - 4:35
  9. "We Must Be Lovin' Right" - 3:32
  10. "I Can't Stop Loving You" - 3:12
  11. "Love Me Tender" - 3:37
  12. "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" - 2:55
  13. "What a Wonderful World" performed with Lane Brody - 4:31

Personnel