Olivia [Import]

Olivia Newton-John | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Mushroom Records
• ASIN: B00000G6DT
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,536 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #74 in Music > Imports > Broadway & Vocalists

Track Listings

1. Angel of the Morning

2. Just a Little Too Much

3. If We Only Have Love

4. Winterwood

5. My Old Man's Got a Gun

6. Changes

7. I'm a Small and Lonely Light

8. Why Don't You Write Me

9. Mary Skeffington

10. Behind That Locked Door

11. What Is Life

12. Everything I Own

13. Living in Harmony

14. I Will Touch You

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered reissue of 1972 album for Festival, complete with the original cover art. Never released in the U.S., 'Olivia' contains 14 tracks, including covers of Bread's 'Everything I Own', George Harrison's 'What Is Life'and Juice Newton's 'Angel Of The Morning'. 1998 Festival Records release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Olivia - Sweet Vocals, Bold Lyrics - A GEM, December 20, 2001

By 

Jose R. Perez "Jose" (Yonkers, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olivia (Audio CD)

"Olivia" - ONJ's second UK release should not be confused with the artist's breathrough US album which spawned her first top 10 smash "Let me Be There" and which won 1973's Grammy Award for Best Country Female Vocalist. The two albums share cover art - this startlingly crisp B&W closeup - and a couple of tracks, but the song "Let Me Be There" is not included.

That said, there are other, more important songs here that speak to the artist's personal and musical growth which in turn make this release truly special and unique. The mix of tracks - even without the ultimate paean to unconditional love - is fresh and well-arranged, with sweeping ballads and country flavored tempo's that will inspire and entertain even the most jaded ONJ listener. The songs that would make her famous reflect little of the emotional depths the singer can convey in songs like "Changes" and "My Old Mans Got a Gun." "Changes," which Olivia wrote, testifies to the difficulties of divorce, and is delivered with a sorrow and sadness that would make any couple think twice before severing their marriage vows. "What Is Life" and "Mary Skeffington" were hits in Europe and highlight Olivia's vocal range - which run from whispers to undeniably pitch-perfect heights. "Angel of the Morning" is passionate and forceful, more gutteral than Juice Newtown's hit version, and earthy. "I'm a Small and Lonely Light" is a gospel-ish declaration of hope, and "If We Only Have Love" - the Jacques Brel classic - builds to a sweeping close that makes it stand alongside any of today's pleas for peace, love, food and hope. It's this aspect of the album that resonates for me still today both as an early classic of Olivia's but also as a testament to the hopeful, even spiritual convictions of the early Seventies. In these songs, Olivia captures an era on the precipice of Watergate, disco and AIDS being chased by the ghosts of Vietnam, Dylan, and the decade that preceeded it.

"Olivia" and in particular, this stunningly remastered version, is a MUST for any Newton-John fan, casual or committed. Remember - don't expect the US release (or the hit single "Let Me Be There" for that matter) but sit back and embrace this wonderful album. If it were a precious stone, this collection would be a ruby...inspiring, heartwarming, and glowing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic ONJ, July 24, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Bedard (Lewiston, ME) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olivia (Audio CD)

Hands down this is my favorite album by Olivia Newton-John's. She has the most beautiful singing voices I've ever heard and it is put on flattering display here on the incredible 14 songs which constitute this album. Songs like "My Old Man's Got A Gun" and "I'm A Small And Lonely Light" have such intricate musicianship and provide vital and strong backing behind ONJ's glorious vocals. Her one composition on this album, "Changes," is a great song, tenderly and intelligently talking about the emotions a parent experiences when going through a divorce. While the song was never a radio staple for her, it showcases Olivia's talent as a songwriter. The covers on this album are interesting and diverse Juice Newton to Paul Simon to George Harrison and she does well with each. The country rocker "Just A Little Too Much" is the most fun song on the record and you can picture Olivia smiling as she sings the song. The touching closing ballad "I Will Touch You" has the perfect early 70s feel. Throughout the 14 songs ONJ displays an impressive emotive vocal range. While "If We Only Had Love" may seem a little treacly to some, ONJ's delivery of the lyric is not. It's spot on perfect. ONJ's 70s albums are her best and, in my opinion, OLIVIA (her 2nd) is the best of them all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One song worth price of entire CD, July 20, 2005

By 

Niel Rishoi (Livonia, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Olivia (Audio CD)

There is one song here that perhaps may very well be one of the best things she's ever done. It's her rendition of the Jacques Brel "If We Only Have Love." The words alone capture the absolutely essential persona of Olivia Newton-John. It is a deeply affecting, poignant song which implores for world peace, and end to hatred, an end to cultural strife, an end to the fearful barriers which afflict human nature. Olivia begins the piece very quietly, gravely. The voice is conversely tender, imploring, sincere, and overlaid with a tragically "aware," sweet irony imparted to its words; the implicit belief in what she is singing carries itself over to the listener in a magically communicative way. Midway, she opens the voice up in an impassioned pouring-out of the tone on "Oh, if we only have love, with our arms open wide." Olivia builds the urgency up to a mighty wallop of a climax on "We will drink from a dram," giving out so much, the voice is just a hair from cracking with feverish emotion, but sustaining its magisterial power beautifully. She follows with her glowing intoning of "To be born, once again," which brilliantly suggests the promise of enlightenment, of having reached the ultimate state-of-being. She finishes off with the tenderest, most forlorn plea, using the most bittersweet of tones as she repeats "If we only have...love." Recorded as it was, in the early Seventies, it is redolent of its time, during Vietnam, tumultuous world changes, and the continued clashes between cultures. Olivia, the activist, environmentalist, ambassador for good will, is encapsulated in the message of this song, and her approach defines her exactly as she is, then, and as now. "If We Only Have Love" represents the definitive Olivia Newton-John. It is worth the price for it alone in a fascinating collection.