PRESENTS

Welcome to the Grapevine News. This section of the Mathis Chronicles contains my views about anything I find or am sent about Johnny Mathis on the Internet and elsewhere, that had been overlooked by the "official" sites. Occasionally, I report on things not directly related to Mathis but have a connection, may even make up a question to ask myself and try to answer. Readers are welcome to share their experiences here also. So enjoy and thanks for coming.

VOL. 3 NO. 5 - MAY 27, 2004

BROTHER RAY: Johnny Mathis.com is, of course, making a big deal of the upcoming Ray Charles album, but they screwed up the name of it. It will be called, "Genius Loves Company", and is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and elsewhere. It will be out later in the year, possibly in the fall, but I'm thinking they might even delay it so that it hits all the Christmas traffic. The recording will possibly be available on SACD as well as regular CD.

Sadly, though, I'm reading where Brother Ray is not in good health. He's been trying to recover from hip surgery, and there are reports that he's been undergoing treatment for liver cancer. God, I hope that's not true.

People close to him, like longtime colleague and manager Joe Adams, are denying he's dying of cancer, Brother Ray himself says he's just a little weak, that's all, from his hip surgeries and such, and I certainly hope and pray that's the case. But April 30th he was seen looking rather frail at the dedication of his recording studio as a Los Angeles historical landmark. Man, what beautiful music that place must have seen over the years!

I hope that whatever is ailing "The Genius", that he gets over it soon and will be back on the road again. It'd be great to one day see him in person. And by the way, Jamie Foxx is going to play him in a made-for-TV movie in the fall. I think it's a great choice! I can already see the resemblence, but the singing....well, that remains to be seen! I don't know what the name of the film is to be. Stay tuned.

WHAT IS SACD, ANYWAY: I had taken notes on what SACD is, but didn't present it because of the bigger news at hand last month. So here's what I've got:

What is Super Audio CD or SACD? Well, audio giants Sony and Philips had a baby together and called it Super Audio CD. Basically, it's similar to an audio DVD, but is supposed to be somewhat higher quality due to the technology called Digital Stream Digital or DSD. DSD allows a closer approximation to the analog waveform from which the CD is made (most CDs are still burned from master tapes). This may mean a warmer, more LP-like sound from the SACD but of course without all the pops and ticks.

Unlike the 700MB audio CDs most people are familiar with, an SACD is 4.7GB. The sampling rate difference is huge; regular CDs use a 44.1KHz sampling rate, while the SACD is sampled at a rate, get this, 64 times higher than that of the CD. If the SACD is a hybrid, with a separate CD layer, it can be played in regular CD players, but you won't get the full effect of it. Otherwise, as it stands now, only specialized machines made by Sony, Philips, and Magnavox can play SACDs, so it's not really practical to have one, unless you're the type who enjoys having what others don't and can afford that privilege.

So! What does this mean for us? Nothing really. As of right now, the only Johnny Mathis recording are available in the SACD format is The Christmas Album, and unfortunately, it's not a hybrid.

UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME: Join me in sending even more love and encouragement his way. He believes in the power of love, as well as the power of prayer, and so do I! Keep fighting, Luther!

TOUR BUS: The bus stops next in Albany, New York and Vienna, Virginia. GOOD NEWS! Mathis returns to San Francisco on July 10! Visit See Mathis Live! for details.

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