The Johnny Smith Guitar - My Dear Little Sweetheart (1960) [2004]

One of the most obscure Johnny Smith albums for Roost – and one of the most striking, too! The album takes the sound of Johnny's guitar and backs it with some larger arrangements from Irwin Kostal – very mellow, and very string-laden – with a dreamy late nite quality that's even moodier than that of Johnny's small combo records. There's an eerie mood to the set that really grabs us, and which seems to deepen even more on repeated listenings (probably enhanced by the painting of a child on the cover – as you'd expect a lady from the "sweetheart" title!)


Tracks:

01 - My Dear Little Sweetheart
02 - Indian Summer
03 - Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
04 - All The Things You Are
05 - It's So Peaceful In The Country
06 - Once In A While
07 - Flamingo
08 - Spring Is Here
09 - Violets For Her Furs
10 - It Never Entered My Mind

Personnel:

Johnny Smith - guitar
Unknown String section
Gene Orloff - concertmaster, violin
Irwin Kostal - conductor