Magic: The Music Of Olivia Newton-John (Paperback)

~ Gregory Branson-Trent (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

There are so many sides to Olivia Newton-John. No one but she could know the next step in such a well planned out and creative career. When Olivia Newton-John burst onto the seen as a guest on Cliff Richard's BBC-TV series, few realized the impact this wide eyed girl from down-under would have

From her earliest beginnings, she has thrilled and amazed us with the different courses she has taken. From the earliest girl-next-door image she projected when singing IF NOT FOR YOU, to the country twang of IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW, all the way through the steamy sexy years when she taught us to get PHYSICAL. She has shown us every side she has; only to end up right back where she began, reinventing herself all over again.

She truly has gone back to her beginnings, leaving behind the raunchy rock sound, she once called home. With the years of YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT, SOUL KISS, and HEART ATTACK behind her, Olivia has moved to a new way of life. She is writing and producing the music she wants to do.

Leaving behind some terribly trying years, which involved breast cancer, family deaths, and divorce, she is back in the limelight with a comeback album and a new side of her career.

She has taken us through every stage a superstar could possibly go through and conquered every market. She's hit the top of the charts with some of the biggest songs of all time and starred in the biggest grossing musical ever. Olivia Newton-John has claimed her spot in the record books.

Read through this book and remember the music and movies of Olivia. Remember Grease and getting Physical, and above all... Remember the MAGIC.

About the Author

Gregory Branson-Trent has been a published author for 13 years now. His writing has spanned from biography style works to science fiction and non-fiction. Aside from this book he also has a book about paranormal psychology releasing in fall 2007 titled GHOSTS, HAUNTINGS, AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE CEMETERY. He is also in the process of releasing a science fiction trilogy in the coming years. Mr. Branson-Trent is 36 and living currently in Virginia. He is married and spends his time writing and with his family and pets (Joey a St. Bernard/Collie Mix and Ike a Cocker Spaniel).

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (September 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425123937
• ISBN-13: 978-1425123932
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #618,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could (and should) Have Been Better, December 2, 2007

By	J. L. Gregory "Dusters, Inc." (Bakersfield, CA.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must say that I was very excited when I heard this book was coming out. However, I was equally disappointed when I began to flip through the pages.

The only good comment I can give is the fact that the author touches upon nearly every moment in Olivia's recording career (which is essentially what the book is about) but the details are very thin. Clearly, Olivia was not interviewed for this book, but instead we get a feeling that the author relied on previously published articles to write his words. In fact, in some cases the only information printed were quoted album reviews (i.e. 'The Rumour' and 'If You Love, Me Let Me Know' LPs) and entries like "Back To Basics" and "Gaia" barely receive a mentionable line.

Sadly, the author includes more explicit details about torrid rumors in Olivia's personal life rather than the details of the songs themselves. I now know more about the accusation of Olivia's wedding being called "a contract" to hide hidden sexualities than I do about the choosing of the song "Physical" and why Olivia decided to record it. I know more about how Olivia pissed off her neighbors because of the renovations on her home than I do about the writings and recordings of "I Honestly Love You" or "Hopelessly Devoted To You". Those are just a few of the things I expected to read about in this book. I didn't get it here.

All of the information in the book is widely available (via internet, libraries, etc), and the pictures are all black and white and exceptionally poor quality. There are no rare photographs - all of them are either album or music sheet covers - and to add frustration over disappointment: the book is filled with grammatical errors. Apparently the editor was out to lunch or something. We got sentences with no periods, quotes with no quotation marks, the occasional but noticable misspellings, and sentences that would leave you scratching your head such as when he was mentioning the 'Have You Never Been Mellow' album and spoke of the song "Please Mr. Please": "Being that it was the last track on the album, it left listeners wanting to hear the last track all over again." I don't quite get that, despite he wrote it two separate times in the book.

So there it is. The book is probably good to keep around if you want a quick reference to Olivia's music but it certainly isn't essential to have unless you're a fan who has to have everything. If Olivia had been interviewed and her thoughts and memories had been included, then that would have added much needed weight to this shelf filler. Otherwise, I think my copy might be headed for ebay.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Book review, November 26, 2007

By	David E. Van Why - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a serious Olivia Newton-John fan and collector, I am very disappointed with the poor quality of photographs in the book. I was expecting high-quality color photographs to capture the elegance and beauty of Olivia. the layout of the book is choppy and there are numerous grammatical errors. The book contains a lot of information, but it is information that can be found online.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay for the very serious fan, November 16, 2007

By	redrobin "hemary" - See all my reviews

The photo quality in this is very poor, pictures copied from the internet and Olivia's fan club site. Biography of Olivia interesting in parts but all information available elswhere. Album pages accurate but badly laid out. No input from Olivia herself.