Favourite Olivia Newton-John Album Poll

Hear, hear.

As promised, vote cast.

 

It was hard to narrow down to only 5 albums as there are so many that are near and dear to me. Choosing only 5 meant that other favourites like 'The Rumour', 'Soul Kiss' and 'Music Makes My Day'/'Let Me Be There' missed out, but I went with:

If Not For You (1971)
Don't Stop Believin' (1976)
Totally Hot (1978)
Physical (1981)
Grace And Gratitude (2006)

Interestingly, they represent a nice cross-section of her recorded work. 'Totally Hot' and 'Physical' are the obvious picks and I fully expect them to obliterate the competition in this poll. Alongside 'Xanadu', they are definitely the peak of her halcyon days as a pop artist. 'Don't Stop Believin'' is my favourite of the mid-seventies albums as the sound is probably the warmest, most inviting of that era, yet the album boasts some of the most obtuse or mature lyrics she had recorded up until that point ('A Thousand Conversations', 'The Last Time You Loved'). 'If Not For You' still strikes a chord with me as a remarkably accomplished debut; it is a testament to John Farrar's production and Olivia's interpretative powers that what is fundamentally a (then) contemporary covers album becomes a love letter to the British 'folk' sound. Finally, 'Grace And Gratitude' in my opinion deserves its position amongst Olivia's Top 5 albums. It is essentially a more refined version of her similarly self-penned, introspective album 'Gaia', but with a greater sense of auteurship with the new age sound she and producer/co-writer Amy Sky crafted. I understand that it is an acquired taste for those more comfortable with her pop or easy-listening material, but the songs are full of memorable melodies, the lyrics are often very moving, and Olivia offers up the most assured vocals she recorded all decade. It was clearly a labour of love and represents the most successful album collaboration outside of her work with John Farrar.


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Amazed at 'Soul Kiss' not making your list... I thought that was your favourite ONJ album. Nice to see 'Grace & Gratitude' get a couple of votes. Certainly her best album in at least 20 years.

 

I do still love it, but like you @Bobby Morrow there are some days when to my ears it doesn't stack up against the more timeless sounds created by John Farrar on the earlier albums. It was an agonising decision whether or not to include it! It was either 'If Not For You' or 'Soul Kiss', but as 'If Not For You' was the very first album I heard from Olivia I have quite sentimental attachments to it.


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I didn't want to skew the results with an uninformed vote, but I voted for Totally Hot and If You Love Me, Let Me Know. The former because it's one of the few albums I've listened to. And I liked it. And it has "A Little More Love" on it. The latter because I'm the proud owner of the LP, so it's one of the two albums (plus Grease and Xanadu) of hers I do own and have even been known to spin when I'm in the mood for nice, mellow country/pop.

 

HYNBM was the first ONJ album I heard, so I feel the same way about that as you do about INFY. Plus, I do think 'Mellow' is the best album of that type she ever did.

As I've said before, 'Soul Kiss' is an album I always enjoy and appreciate when I play it, but for some reason I don't hold it in high regard afterwards! If nothing else, it was the last 'proper' pop album she ever made.

 

Interesting topic. I have everything Olivia has ever released, and I've never stopped to consider which one album I would consider my favorite. My favorite era is the 1978-1983 era, but it's harder to pin down a single album that stands out.

In the end, I went with Totally Hot. It's kind of a toss-up between that and Physical, although, had you included movie soundtracks in the poll, Xanadu would have edged them both out.

 

It's a multi- option poll. You can have up to 5 choices.

 

1.Totally Hot
2.If You Love Me, Let Me Know
3.Physical
4.Come On Over
5.Don't Stop Believin'

 

Now, Olivia is by no means a bad songwriter. She has a few hooky tunes but her compositions don't have the spark of her best work. I've said many times that she's never written a great song. This is unfortunate as she subjected us to an awful lot of them over the last 25 years or so.. I do think not using producers of the calibre of John Farrar and relying more on her own writing have had a big impact on the quality of her work over the years.[/QUOTE]

I agree - sort of. I think "Changes" was a poignant, though perhaps not great self-written tune, and her two contributions to "Totally Hot", "Talk to Me" and "Borrowed Time" seem like dear old friends at this juncture. Having said that, Olivia´s muse is a pleasant, but modest one. IMO.

 

I agree - sort of. I think "Changes" was a poignant, though perhaps not great self-written tune, and her two contributions to "Totally Hot", "Talk to Me" and "Borrowed Time" seem like dear old friends at this juncture. Having said that, Olivia´s muse is a pleasant, but modest one. IMO.[/QUOTE]
That couplet in 'Changes', 'A piper never changes tune. You can't grow apples on the moon', sank it for me. It may be true, but I don't want to hear it set to music!

'Why Me' from 'Gaia' is pretty grim. Also this gem from 'It's Not Heaven' on 'The Rumour', 'I'm gonna so some shopping. I'll buy you those stockings!'

Come back, John Farrar, all is forgiven!

 

He, he... You may have a point. There are some not-so-lyrical clunkers in her lyrics. They may not be clever, but they seem honest. And that´s something.

 

I suppose. I did like her co-writes on 'Back With A Heart'. Not sure how large her contribution was given she worked with Nashville's finest on that one.

 

All her early albums up until Totally Hot which is her best IMO. It slid into more mainstream/rock material starting with Physical which did not suit her as well. I also love the work she did on the Grease soundtrack, Hopelessly Devoted to You is one of her best song.

 

Seconded - I somewhat favour the renewed variant however

 

I don't have all her work, but she's got such a smooth and beautiful voice. She's a fighter and a survivour and I respect her very much. A bonus is that it doesn't hurt to look at her. Anyway. My five Olivia favs;

1. Soul Kiss
2. Physical
3. Totally Hot
4. Gaia
5. Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Because of the two great new tracks & the 'Xanadu' ones)

 

Physical, for me.

 

I only have 'Totally Hot' on european vinyl. What's the finest sounding CD of it? We have got the 2006 Festival & a later one from Japan. What's the best one?

 

The early MCA CD has the natural sound you like. There are 2 versions. The stand alone CD and the Two On One (with Don't Stop Believin') that @Diablo Griffin mentions in an earlier post*. Both have the same mastering.

The Festival isn't bad, and is probably the easiest one to obtain.

The 2010 SHM CD comes in 2 editions. The (gorgeous) MLPS one and the standard jewel case. The mastering is more modern. Pretty decent though.It's louder than the other 2 CDs but isn't horrible as long as you don't crank it too loud! The SHM CD features 2 bonus tracks. An extended version of 'Totally Hot' and a live version of the old Gary Wright song, 'Love Is Alive'.

So, the old MCA sounds best, but the MLPS SHM CD sure as hell looks best and has a couple of extra songs!

* On the Yay or Nay thread, I think.

 

Thanks Bobby! Now I know what to look for!

 

You can't argue that the SHM CD looks the business!

 

Happy Birthday @Diablo Griffin!

 

Thanks! Once I receive the other CD's and get a chance to listen to HINBM, I'll vote for my favorite album here.

 

Be interested to hear your thoughts. Good or bad.

 

@Chris_Sydney What's your favourite CD editions of 'Totally Hot' and 'Soul Kiss'? I'm sure you've got them all.