When You Fall In Love - Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982

One of the more versatile crooners to emerge out of the traditional pop era, Andy Williams had a remarkably sturdy career that found him turning his lilting, golden tenor voice to a number of styles, from jazz and Broadway standards to folk, sunshine pop, and disco. It is those later, gauzy soft-pop and disco vibes that make up the bulk of the superb 2024 Real Gone Music collection When You Fall in Love: Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982. A sequel to 2020s Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-1972, When You Fall in Love features previously unreleased and rare tracks Williams recorded during his final years with the label. The late 60s to early 70s were undoubtedly the pinnacle of Williams career as his iconic recordings of songs like "Born Free," "Days of Wine and Roses," and "Love Story" helped propel their related albums into the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. The public seemed particularly taken with his easy listening cover tunes, a formula he stuck with into the 70s. Here, we get his Love Boat-ready version of "Sunshine Smiles," a song Charlie Rich originally recorded as the theme of For the Love of Benji. Theres also the adult-contemporary sparkle of "The Musics Too Sweet Not to Dance," his swoony take on the theme from the Love Story sequel Olivers Story. However, he was also just as interested in recording original material that tapped into the pop zeitgeist of the period, and cuts like "Tonight Were Gonna Love Away the Pain," "Every Time I See Laureen," and "If We Get Together Again" strike an intriguing stylistic balance between the jazzy balladry of Barry Manilow and the achingly romantic, guitar-accented pop of groups like Bread and the Raspberries. Equally potent are Williams soul-inflected number "Sweet Lady," his tender reading of ABBAs "The Way Old Friends Do," and the 12" disco single version of his 1971 hit rendition of the theme to the film Love Story, "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story." The singer parted ways with Columbia in the early 80s and didnt record much before settling in Branson, Missouri, in 1991, where he enjoyed great success with his theater. When You Fall in Love: Lost Columbia Masters 1977-1982 is a testament to how artfully Williams balanced his skills as an interpreter of pop standards and his desire to take bold creative risks. ~ Matt Collar