Olivia Newton John

[LatinoSTAR]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Pyhsical...Hands Down

 

[RobertE]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

My favorite was If you love me let me know. loved I honestly love you, mary skeffington, river's too wide and of course If you love me let me know.

Loved her songs from grease, Xanadu.

And of course Physical. Thanks to Grease she was able to make that album.

 

[wundersteve]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Physical.

She just toured Canada in October. It was a great set list, including Totally Hot and Twist of Fate.

 

[laysmutual]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Speaking of Soul Kiss, a music blog I frequent (Pop Trash Addicts) had a funny review:

Soul Kiss - Olivia's Scandal Album

It's time to devote another post to one of my all-time favourite singers, the divine Olivia Newton-John. In the early 1980s, Olivia Newton-John was arguably the most famous female singer in the world. Olivia was riding high on the massive success of her "Physical" album and even a string of floptastic movies could not dent the popularity of her music, with the soundtracks of "Xanadu" and "Two Of A Kind" churning out hit after hit. Olivia seemed destined to be THE pop queen of the 80s - that is, until the release of "Soul Kiss".

I'm not sure if anyone has managed to sabotage their own career as spectacularly as Olivia did with "Soul Kiss". In the space of one album, 15 years of international superstardom and chart domination came to a screeching halt. So, what went wrong? The album itself is a rather glorious concoction of 1980s pop-rock and tender balladry. In fact, "Soul Kiss" contains some of Olivia's most spectacular offerings. The problem was Olivia's skanktastic new image, which included a semi-nude album cover (complete with nasty 80s perm and black riding trousers!) and a selection of songs that attempted to "out-sex" the, then emerging, Madonna. While acting like a slut came naturally to Madonna, fans did not expect a classy diva like Olivia to be singing songs about oral sex, threesomes and most bizarrely, female taxi-drivers! All of a sudden, Sandy had become Rizzo, and Olivia's fans were having none of it!

Despite the hugely underwhelming response to "Soul Kiss", the album has since become a fan favourite and something of a cult classic. While I have some trouble reconciling old school Olivia with the fabulous tramp on "Soul Kiss", I still can't recommend this album highly enough. Olivia herself has bemoaned the tacky styling, which her record company insisted on, but the music itself is more quirky and experimental than any mainstream 80s pop album has the right to be. "Soul Kiss" is something of a concept album about working women. At least, that has always been my interpretation. For example, Olivia sings songs from the perspective of a journalist, a taxi driver (LOL), a pilot and a ho. "Soul Kiss" is a lot of things - but it's never boring!

The album spawned two singles - the title track, which actually made the US top 20, and "Toughen Up", an independence anthem. Both choices were bizarre because there are far better songs on the album. Thankfully, the video of "Soul Kiss" is 80s trash at its best with Olivia rolling around on red satin sheets. The video for "Toughen Up" is even better, with Olivia wielding a riding crop!

"Queen Of The Publication" gives you some indication of what a weird and wonderful record this is. From the opening click of typewriters to the killer chorus, this ode to journalism is a winner in every respect. I love the idea of Olivia stalking celebrities!

Next up is one of the scandal songs, which still manages to raise eyebrows 20 years later. "Culture Shock" is the story of a woman who falls in love with two men and comes up with the nifty solution of suggesting they live as a threesome! I've grown to love this one, I smile every time I hear Olivia plead, "I know, it's unconventional - radical but practical!"

I'm not overly fond of "Soul Kiss", but it is one of those songs that manages to be insidiously catchy without having anything resembling a chorus. Apparently the term "soul kiss" was slang for a blow job. It becomes pretty obvious with the "get down on my knees" lyric! Get up off the floor, Olivia. Slut!

 

[Soilwork]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

My favorite album is Totally Hot.

Physical is fun

past that.. Xanadu I think I ground down to a little plastic disc when I was 11.

 

[hotpies]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

totally hot...started the ball rolling again...

'a little more love" great track...

a little known cd that was only released in oz called "2" recorded with the likes of Keith Urban, Darren Hayes....sold a very well over here...

had the pleasure of meeting her in Perth when she was touring must say one of the nicest you would want to meet.

oh she does a great version of "dont cry for me argentina" on one of her best of or greatest hits i think only available in oz also...

we love livvy over here...

 

[G-Lexington]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

She always was a singles artist to me. Which is why I favor any of her Greatest Hits collections.

Lex

 

[andyspete]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

I like a lot of her songs but my all time favorite is "Magic". I recently burned that on a homemade CD of my favorite all time songs. Love that song. Also enjoyed Landslide, Physical, Heart Attack, Tied Up, Soul Kiss, Make A Move On Me, I Honestly Love You and most of her other singles. I love late '70s and '80s music.

 

[Joshua_me]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

"Totally Hot" for me as well....

Her version of Eric Carmen's "Boats Against the Current" is amazing to me,
I really related to it back in the day.....

Cheesy, I know... But it helped a lot with the 'adolescent angst' I was going through.....

I saw her last year here in Sarasota, and it was just 'OK'. Seemed to me like she was just 'walking through' a lot of her songs, but "Sam" was awfully good ("Sam, Sam, you know where I am....)

Such a beautiful song, such a beautiful voice...

 

[wundersteve]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Don't Cry For Me Argentina featured the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and that track also appears on Olivia's album Making A Good Thing Better (1977).

She has a new Christmas CD out this week featuring some new compositions including duets with John Secada, Barry Manilow and another of my favourite women, JANN ARDEN!

JANN ARDEN has always cited Olivia as one of her inspirations (second to Karen Carpenter) and Jann was present at Olivia's Calgary concert last month. Would love to get a photo of the two of them together.

I saw her Richmond and Coquitlam dates and no complaints here. The four Grease songs really brought down the house, although my favourite parts were the country section featuring Jolene and If You Love Me Let Me Know, and the 80s section featuring Make A Move On Me and Twist of Fate.

 

[starlight70]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Physical. Physical. Physical.

And a 10 for the album cover too.

And no matter how better her other songs are, Physical track is the one that stayed 10 weeks at No.1 in USA, and made it the Single of the Decade. Hats off to her.

Oh yeah.. the video?? Cool gay stuff. : )

 

[kellyd669]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Totally Hot- hands down! I think that was the last actual "album", lp I ever bought-then it was all cassettes! Yes, I'm old. But the album was great- I wore it out, and haven't thought of it in years- I guess I need to look for it on CD.

 

[kellyd669]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

P.S. Brando, for an 18 yo, you have excellent taste in older music!

 

[wundersteve]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

Oz=Australia.

 

[jaxguyfl]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

ONJ'S totally hot- i went through two copies of that album.

 

[marcde]

Re: Favorite Olivia Newton-John Album...

My favourite Olivia album is Gaia ...One Woman's Journey (1994) - a real personal set of songs written about her relationship and struggle with breast cancer. It's a tad corny but I find it really uplifting when I feel low - it kind of makes you happy to be alive, even in your saddest moments.

 

[alaskaboy45]

Favorite songs by Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John has been one of my all time female singers,my fav songs fom her are.

Let Me Be There
If you Love Me(Let Me Know)
I Honestly Love You
Physical
Have You Ever Been Mellow
Sam
HeartAttack
Deeper Then The Night
Xanadu
Hopelessly Devoted To You
You're The One That I Want( with John Travolta)
Look At Me
Country Road Take Me Home
Please Mr Please
Don'T Start Beleiven

Olivia Newton-John
Biography

Olivia Newton-John skillfully made the transition from popular country-pop singer to popular mainstream soft rock singer, becoming one of the most successful vocalists of the '70s in the process. The transition itself wasn't much of a stretch -- her early-'70s hits "I Honestly Love You" and "Have You Never Been Mellow" were country only in the loosest sense -- yet the extent of her success in both fields was remarkable. As a country singer, her first five charting singles all went Top Ten in the U.S.; as a pop singer, she had no less than 15 Top Ten hits, including five number one singles, highlighted by "Physical," which spent ten weeks at number one in 1981-1982. Newton-John's sweet voice suited both country-pop and soft rock perfectly, which is what kept her at the top of the charts until the mid-'80s. After 1984, she was no longer able to reach the Top 40, partially because of shifting musical tastes and partially because she was unable to successfully record sexy dance-pop, no matter how hard she tried. Nevertheless, her '70s and '80s hits remained soft rock and adult contemporary staples into the '90s, when she was no longer recording frequently.

Although she was born in Cambridge, England, Newton-John was raised in Melbourne, Australia, where her father was the headmaster of Ormond College (her grandfather Max Born won the Nobel Prize for physics). She tentatively entered show business at the age of 12, when she won a local Haley Mills-lookalike contest. A few years later, she formed an all-female vocal group called the Sol Four with three school friends. Once the Sol Four disbanded, Newton-John entered a television talent contest, winning the grand prize of a trip to London, England. Once in London, she formed a duo with Pat Carroll, another Australian-based vocalist, and tried to work her way into the music industry. Though her partnership with Carrol was short-lived -- Pat was sent back to Australia once her visa expired -- Olivia was making inroads in the business. Following Carrol's departure, Newton-John recorded and released her first single, a version of Jackie DeShannon's "Till You Say You'll Be Mine." Shortly afterward, she became a member of Toomorrow, a bubblegum group assembled by Don Kirshner in hopes of creating a British version of the Monkees.

Toomorrow appeared in a science fiction movie of the same name and had one minor British hit single, "I Could Never Live Without Your Love," in early 1970 before the group quietly disbanded. Following the failure of Toomorrow, Newton-John became part of Cliff Richard's touring show, appearing both as an opening act at his concerts and on his British television series, It's Cliff!. The exposure as a singer and comedienne on the show helped Olivia's career immeasurably, and her first single for Uni Records, a version of Bob Dylan's "If Not for You," became a Top Ten hit in the U.K. in the spring of 1971; in America, it was surprisingly successful, spending three weeks at the top of the adult contemporary charts and peaking at number 25 on the pop charts. For the next two years, Newton-John's success was primarily contained in Britain, where she had a string of lesser hits with covers of George Harrison's "What Is Life" and John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads." In America, her career was stalled -- her follow-up single, "Banks of the Ohio," barely scraped the lower reaches of the Top 100. On the other hand, she didn't release a full-length album in the U.S. until 1973, when Let Me Be There appeared. The title track from the record became a huge hit, going gold in early 1974 and peaking in the Top Ten country and pop charts. "Let Me Be There" was so successful it won the Grammy award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, much to the consternation of many members of Nashville's music industry.

"Let Me Be There" was followed by four other Top Ten hits -- "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" (number two country, number five pop, 1974), "I Honestly Love You" (number six country, number one pop, 1974), "Have You Never Been Mellow" (number three country, number one pop, 1975), and "Please Mr. Please" (number five country, number three pop, 1975). Newton-John moved to Los Angeles late in 1974, and early the following year, she won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association. As a protest, several members of the CMA quit the organization. Ironically, Newton-John was already planning to move away from country. During 1976 and 1977, she had a number of minor hits with soft rock songs. Though none of these were big pop successes, they began to establish her as a pop singer, not a country-pop singer.

Newton-John's transformation into a mildly sexy pop singer was complete in 1978, when she starred in the movie version of the popular Broadway musical Grease. Also starring John Travolta, Grease was an international hit and spawned three huge hit singles -- "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Summer Nights," and "You're the One That I Want"; the latter two were duets between Newton-John and Travolta. "You're The One That I Want," in particular, was a massive success, reaching number one in both America and Britain; in the U.K., it spent a staggering nine weeks at number one. During 1979, Newton-John released the Totally Hot album, which boasted a mixture of soft rock and light disco. The record was another hit, with the first single, "A Little More Love," peaking at number three on the U.S. pop charts and going gold. Early in 1980, Newton-John starred in the roller-disco fantasy film Xanadu. While the movie was an unqualified bomb, the soundtrack was a huge hit. "Magic" spent four weeks at the top of the U.S. pop charts, while the ELO duet "Xanadu" reached number eight and her duet with Cliff Richard, "Suddenly," peaked at number 20.

With her next album, Physical, Newton-John continued to rework her image, re-inventing herself as a sexy aerobics fanatic. The first single from the record, the suggestive "Physical," was a huge hit, spending ten weeks at number one during the fall and winter of 1981-1982. Physical spawned another Top Ten hit -- "Make a Move on Me" -- and became her most successful record. Following the album's success, she was awarded with an Order of the British Empire. In 1983, Newton-John again starred with Travolta, this time in the comedy Two of a Kind. The movie was a bomb, but a song she recorded for the soundtrack, "Twist of Fate," became a Top Ten hit in early 1984.

By the end of 1984, Newton-John had married actor Matt Lattanzi. The following year, she released the Physical clone Soul Kiss, which produced only one minor hit with its title track. In 1986, she had a daughter named Chloe and opened a clothing store chain called Koala Blue. Newton-John attempted to launch a comeback in 1988 with The Rumour, but the album was ignored. She signed with Geffen the following year, releasing the children's album Warm and Tender. During the late '80s and '90s, she devoted herself to her family and business as well as several environmental activist organizations. In 1992, Koala Blue folded and Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the next year, she successfully underwent treatment for the disease. In 1994, she returned to recording with the independently released and self-produced album Gaia. Back With a Heart, a return to Nashville, followed in 1998. One Woman's Live Journey was issued two years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Continued… Shortened View

Selected Discography

Gold: Olivia Newton-John
2005
Greatest Hits: First Impressions
1999
Back With A Heart
1998
Greatest Hits Vol2
1982

1981

Totally Hot
1978
Come On Over
1976
Don't Stop Believin'

 

[alley]

Re: Favorite songs by Olivia Newton-John

One of my favorties---totally had a crush on her when I was twelve---helped convince me I was straight. Still think she was beautiful---ok I'd still have that crush----

 

[naturist]

Re: Favorite songs by Olivia Newton-John

Don't Stop Believin', Don't Cry for me Argentina, A Little More Love, Deeper Than the Night, Have You Never Been Mellow, and If Not for You. In no particular order.

 

[Joshua_me]

Re: Favorite songs by Olivia Newton-John

"Sam"

Her cover of "Boats Against the Current" on her 'Totally Hot' cd.


I got to see Olivia in concert here in Sarasota a couple of years ago.

She looked absolutely beautiful, and was gracious enough to sign autographs and pose for pictures after the show. (not a lot of artists do that)

As for the concert itself: Well, I kinda got the feeling she was 'walking through' a lot of her songs, not straying at all from the set list she'd been singing all tour.

Still, I had NO idea that there were 'Olivia heads' that followed her around the country... go figure.

www.onlyolivia.com