In the Arms of Love (album)

Last updated
In the Arms of Love
Williams-Arms-2.jpg
Studio album by
Andy Williams
ReleasedDecember 19, 1966 [1]
Recorded1966
Genre
Length31:13
Label Columbia
Producer Robert Mersey [3]
Andy Williams chronology
The Shadow of Your Smile
(1966)		In the Arms of Love
(1966)		 Born Free
(1967)

In the Arms of Love is the nineteenth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released on December 19, 1966, by Columbia Records [1] and was the last of twelve consecutive Williams studio LPs produced by Robert Mersey. [3]

Contents

The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated January 21, 1967, and remained on the album chart for 22 weeks, peaking at number 21. [4] it also debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated January 7, 1967, and remained on the chart for 21 weeks, peaking at number 15 [5]

The title song from the album was released as a single in July 1966, one month before the release of the film What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? , the soundtrack of which is performed by the song's composer, Henry Mancini, and includes instrumental and vocal versions of the song. [6] The film opened on August 31, 1966, and Williams' version of "In the Arms of Love" first appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated August 27, eventually reaching number 49 over the course of eight weeks. [7] The song performed even better on the Easy Listening chart after debuting in the issue dated July 30 and spending two weeks at number one during a 17-week stay. [8] It began its chart run in the UK shortly thereafter, on September 24, and stayed around for seven weeks, peaking at number 33. [9]

The album was released on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD by Collectables Records on January 16, 2001, along with Williams's 1963 Columbia album, Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests . [10] It was also released as one of two albums on one CD by Sony Music Distribution on May 14, 2001, paired this time with Williams's 1967 Columbia album, Born Free . [11] In the Arms of Love was included in a box set entitled Classic Album Collection, Vol. 1, which contains 17 of his studio albums and three compilations and was released on June 26, 2001. [12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Writing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann theorized as to the why this album ended the string of "six consecutive Gold-selling Top Ten albums (not counting reissues and compilations" or Christmas LPs) that Williams was enjoying upon its release, offering that it "may just be a question of marketing. The album, with its austere black cover, was released late in the holiday season after Williams's summer single 'In the Arms of Love,' belatedly topped the Easy Listening chart in October. The song was written by Henry Mancini, who had meant dollar signs for Williams with such previous movie themes as 'Moon River,' 'Days of Wine and Roses,' and 'Dear Heart.' But this hit, which only made it halfway up the pop charts, came from an unsuccessful film, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, and mid-December was no time to start selling a new, non-seasonal release." As to the quality of the album itself, he wrote, "Much of it is even calmer than usual for him, and the focus on foreign material makes you wish he'd just gone ahead and recorded a samba album or one made up entirely of international songs, since those tunes mix oddly with the choices from the Great American Songbook and recent film themes. Williams had indicated his interest in overseas material on his last album, The Shadow of Your Smile, but this one went even further, though without the quality of songs to sustain the direction." [2]

Billboard described the album as "one of [Williams] best albums." [15]

Cashbox gave a positive review, saying the album "devoted exlusively [sic] to love ballads" [16]

Variety noted that He does exceptionally well on "The Very Thought of You" and "All Through The Night" [17]

Record Mirror described the album as "a very gentle album" [14]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble) – 2:42
  2. "If I Love Again" (Jack Murray, Ben Oakland) – 2:33
  3. "Theme from The Sand Pebbles (And We Were Lovers)" from The Sand Pebbles (Leslie Bricusse, Jerry Goldsmith) – 2:50
  4. "Remember" (Irving Berlin) – 2:48
  5. "Here's That Rainy Day" from Carnival in Flanders (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 2:43
  6. "In the Arms of Love" from What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini) – 2:56

Side two

  1. "The Face I Love" (Ray Gilbert, Carlos Pingarilho, Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle) – 2:03
  2. "Sand and Sea" (Gilbert Bécaud, Mack David, Mike Vidalin) – 2:48
  3. "So Nice (Summer Samba) " (Norman Gimbel, Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle) – 2:37
  4. "Pretty Butterfly" (Mario Albanese, Loryn Deane, Ciro Pereira, Sunny Skylar) – 2:16
  5. "A Man and a Woman" from A Man and a Woman (Pierre Barouh, Jerry Keller, Francis Lai) – 2:50
  6. "All Through the Night" from Anything Goes (Cole Porter) – 2:09

Personnel

From the liner notes for the original album: [3]

References

  1. 1 2 (2009) Moon River: The Very Best of Andy Williams by Andy Williams [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88697 59112 2
  2. 1 2 3 "In the Arms of Love". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 (1966) In the Arms of Love by Andy Williams [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records CS 9333.
  4. ↑ Whitburn 2010 , p. 844.
  5. ↑ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 406. ISBN   0-8108-2005-6.
  6. ↑ "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? [Original Soundtrack]". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Whitburn 1999 , p. 702.
  8. ↑ Whitburn 1993 , p. 256.
  9. ↑ "Andy Williams". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Days of Wine and Roses/In the Arms of Love". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "In the Arms of Love/Born Free". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  12. ↑ "Classic Album Collection, Vol. 1 - Andy Williams". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  13. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1498. ISBN   9781846098567 . Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  14. 1 2 Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (February 25, 1967). "new albums reviewed by Norman Joplin and Peter Jones new albums reviewed by Norman Joplin, NEW U.S. SOUNDS INCLUDE, Soul (Joe Tex & Aretha), Cool (Andy Williams), Beat (Shangri-Las, Love), Jazz (Mose Allison)" (PDF). New Record Mirror . No. 311. p. 8. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Spotlight Pick: In The Arms of Love" (PDF). Billboard . January 14, 1967. p. 72.
  16. ↑ "Cashbox Pop Picks Album Reviews: In The Arms of Love". Cash Box . Vol. 28, no. 24. January 14, 1967. p. 34.
  17. ↑ "Variety Record Reviews: The Monkees, Andy Williams, Petula Clark, The Controversy, Youngbloods, Love Top New LPs". Variety . Vol. 245, no. 9. November 8, 1967. p. 56.

Bibliography

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