Physical

Olivia Newton-John | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002PC6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,694 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

1981 album was an International best seller and was responsible for the avalanche of fitness videos. 'Physical skillfully balances catchy yet mellow dance cuts with immaculately crafted adult contemporary pop and ballads.' Sound enhanced 48 bit processing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Before and After Review, January 14, 2005

By 

Da Man "Da Man" (Pekin, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Physical (Audio CD)

In October 1981, Olivia Newton-John released "Physical"

BEFORE:
The poster-girl of sweet wholesome pop music, Olivia began changing her image in Grease and the "Totally Hot" album which followed suit. She also had appeared in the movie Xanadu, which flopped but had a hit soundtrack. This was to be her first studio album in three years.

AFTER:
The title track was a #1 hit for ten weeks (making it the #1 song of the 1980's), the album went double platinum and peaked at #6. The album had another top five hit with "Make A Move On Me". Olivia was on top of the world at the moment. Hosting SNL, preparing to open Koala Blue, and embarking on a wildly successful 1982 tour. This was the peak of Olivia's popularity.


While Physical, the track, has been overplayed to the extent that the song is a caricature instead of an actual record, the album as a whole retains as the strongest album of Livvy's career.

1. Landslide (5/5) is the perfect leadoff single. The song is fast, dancy and sets the pace for the record.
2. Stranger's Touch (5/5) is even better (a shame it wound up on a b-side). The sexiest moment off the album.
3. Make A Move On Me (5/5) is a classic and is catchy as hell. The video was terrible but the song makes up for it.
4. Falling (5/5) is a beautiful acoustic haunting ballad about falling in love.
5. Love Make Me Strong (3.5/5) is a good song but probably the worst track.
6. Physical (5/5), what needs to be said about it? everyone knows this song.
7. Silvery Rain (5/5). Olivia was caring about the environment back when most of the "environmentalist" rock stars weren't even signed yet. The song rocks and is one of the best of the album. Starts out like a mellow 70's ONJ rock song and then becomes a rocker during the chorus. Even though Cliff Richard did the song a decade before Livvy, you can tell she deeply cares about the lyrics.
8. Carried Away (4.5/5). A pretty Gibb ballad that was originally written but then rejected for Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" album, and it probably wouldn't have fit there because it's structured a little too much like "Woman In Love". A soothing upbeat early 80's ballad you could listen to in the tub.
9. Recovery (4/5) kinda reminds me of "(Want You) Back In My Life" by The Carpenters. Kind of a tropical sounding sound with very audible John Farrar background vocals.
10. The Promise (4.5/5). Another environmentalist ballad. Very beautiful and Olivia sings about her love for dolphins (you can hear dolphins in the background). A beautiful song.

I would love Universal to remaster this (I know there's an import) and add some bonus tracks from the period... I heard Olivia recorded a demo of "I Paralyse" around this album, which ended up being recorded by Cher the next year (which was produced by Farrar too)

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once you press play, you can't press stop., October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Physical (Audio CD)

There's something intriging about PHYSICAL, that hasn't occured before or since. The music isn't as mellow or goregous as her early country records(1971-1975),nor is it as production heavy or deep as her mid seventies albums, but it is unbeatable. "Landslide" is fantastic, after hearing it the first tie, I had to play it again. "Straner's Touch" is good. "Make A Move On Me" is a classic, a terific dance number with fantastic vocals. "Falling" cools things down, but fits in with the rest of the music. "Love Make Me Strong" is breath-taking, bring the music back to uptempo. "Physical" Olivia's biggest single, spending 10 weeks at #1, is another classic. "Silvery Rain" is outstanding, you can almost hear the raindrops. Olivia's voice glides gracefully in the verses, but at the refrain she gives us her rock voice, and it's a delight. "Carried Away" is beautiful, with gorgeous vocal harmonies. "Recovery" is stunning. "The Promise" brings the album to a thoughtful and meaningful close. PHYSICAL is one of the best Olivia albums, in terms of consisitency, song selection and variety. She gives us the right amount of fast and slow songs, and goregous vocal harmonies, clever arrangements, and great songs. After buying PHYSICAL, I just had to hear TOTALLY HOT, but thanks to MCA, I had to buy an import copy. The two records blend together perfectly, it would be nice if TOTALY HOT was available just as easily. PHYSICAL is sure to please. Once I press play, I won't get up and hit stop until the last note of "The Promise". PHYSICAL is that good.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Olivia's best album from top to bottom, July 1, 2003

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Physical (Audio CD)

Having strutted her stuff to an adoring public in Grease and survived the horror that was the film Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John released Physical and basically took over the world of music for a period of many months in 1981. The title track was simply huge, to a degree I have seen no other song come close to equaling in the 20+ years since its release; if my memory serves me correctly, the song was number one at least ten consecutive weeks, which is really quite mind-boggling. To some degree, the other many merits of this album are overshadowed by the title song's accomplishments. Not only is this Olivia's best-selling album ever, though, it is also arguably her very best from top to bottom. Make a Move on Me was a pretty big hit in and of itself, with its energy and the kind of lustful innocence only Olivia could deliver. Another great song many listeners may remember is Landslide, the energy and catchiness of which set the tone for the entire album. Of course, no Olivia album would be complete without a touching ballad or two. Fallen is a slow and moving song, but the truly special and vintage Olivia love song on this album is Carried Away. This Olivia is strong and sure of herself, though, as she more than proves in the very next track Recovery. Actually, Love Make Me Strong, with its strong beat and passionate delivery, proves to be an even more forceful song than Recovery. My favorite song on the album, though, is Strangers Touch due to its sizzling delivery brimming with even more passion and sultriness than the suggestive mega-hit Physical.

Olivia's earnest environmentalist feelings are expressed well in a couple of tracks. Silvery Rain, an unusual but impressive track which is basically an anti-crop dusting song at heart, features an unusual sound and style which creates a strong and lasting impression on the ears of the listener. Its somewhat subdued verses floating above assorted mystical synthesizer sounds are transformed on a dime to energetic choruses full of emotion. Finally, there is The Promise (The Dolphin Song). Olivia wrote this song herself in an effort to inform people about the plight of dolphins at the hands of man, and it truly is a beautiful song, especially with its background sounds of real dolphins at work and play.

In my opinion, there's not a bad song to be found on this album, and strangely enough the title track now seems to be overshadowed a bit by all of the impressive music surrounding it. If you are an Olivia fan, this is definitely the album to own.