An earlier, gentler Hartman
Steve Emerine | Tucson, AZ United States | 06/20/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Savoy should be commended for reissuing these 1947 Johnny Hartman recordings that debuted on the Regent label, but you'll have to be a Hartman completist to rank them with his later efforts. Instead of the gentle but strong Johnny Hartman of the immortal duet album with John Coltrane, this is a soft-voiced, almost uninspired balladeer trying not to intrude as he sings 10 standards and four alternate takes. "Just You, Just Me," "Why Was I Born," "Just a Wearyin' for You,""There Goes My Heart," "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" and "I'll Never Smile Again" show you how the later Hartman evolved. And if you really want this CD, look instead for another reissue, "With Love: Complete Regent Recordings," on the Jazz Factory label. It has all of these songs, plus 17 others, for only a few dollars more."