Olivia Newton-John Single by Single Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Song4U, Jul 10, 2016.

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  1. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    Every Face Tells a Story never gels together for me. It sounds very one beat and monotonous. She screeches with little distinction. She's not good with loud, rocky songs at this point.
     
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  2. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    It's really irrelevant now how high or low something charted. It's now history, but history is fascinating and interesting to discuss.
    Sometimes a huge commercial disappointment [at the time] turns into something "legendary" as the years pass. I know we will be discussing that later, example movie "Xanadu."
     
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  3. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    The first part I disagree with Pizza. [DSB] I heard hit, at least top 20. The second part yes. It is full of strong tracks like the ones you mentioned. I think "Compassionate Man" was a single in some territories. Think it would of been stronger than the current song we are discussing "Every Face Tells A Story." :)
     
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  4. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    ........but as a collector of "singles" of artists I enjoy, it is a challenge and a pleasure to have them all, but a bonus to get B-side goodies, and pictures sleeves. I never met an Olivia single I didn't like! Or want as a collector. :)
    But as a buyer or a casual fan I see your point in not purchasing them at that time. But would you be without them now???
     
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  5. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    I thought it was OK, for a remake, sort of how I felt about "Honestly." I think [both] sound less natural and the performances a bit more forced/contrived. The innocence of the original 70's recording are difficult to top, IMO.
     
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  6. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    I love Olivia's appearances on the Tonight Show. I was shocked that she actually sang this one. [EFTAS] But it was a great find and I enjoyed it nonetheless. But I am not surprised this one didn't click at Top 40, or sales.
     
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  7. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I've never felt the need to own singles like Every Face, Follow Me, Come On Over etc. I suppose there's some collectablitity in them, but they're such boring records in terms of how they look and their content. If they'd have had picture sleeves I probably would've felt differently, but they didn't.:D

    I suppose as a kid, I didn't consider myself a collector. As long as I had the music in some form I was happy. It was the same with all the Japanese Olivia comps in the early 90s, mostly featuring the same songs. I hardly bought any of those. What's the point?
     
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  8. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    This was the first single chronologically I was disappointed in. Although it was an interesting choice historically, it was a poor choice musically. It definitively signaled a subtle move into a more 'rock-ish' direction, but this song was confusing with the vocal VS the country-pop feel of the song. Almost a mismatch.

    There were much stronger choices for the next single, even if they would of pulled "Sam" then [with a picture sleeve] I think they could of had a top 10 hit. By later 1977 when Sam was finally released, it did OK here, but it was a missed opportunity, looking back at it now. "Every Face Tells A Story" is a good album cut, but not a good single. IMO :)
     
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  9. colinu

    colinu I'm not lazy, I'm energy saving!

    On the subject of picture sleeves, did MCA market Olivia's label mates with picture sleeves for singles - Elton and Cher for example?

    I know the packaging on some of Elton's albums was unmatched - gatefolds, booklets, posters etc.
     
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  10. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    Correct. There is a big difference between collecting Olivia and being the "prince" of the Olivia kingdom. I always enjoyed Olivia since a young child, but somewhere along the line I became a collector of singles. I totally see your point Bobby. But for me these boring singles with no pictures sleeves, and non-interesting B-sides are a must! lol
     
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  11. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    You know, despite being an Elton fan (later) I don't own many of his singles, so couldn't answer your question. You're right in that many of his albums were superbly packaged. Captain Fantastic was a case in point. I know he often had non-album tracks as B-sides, especially in the 80s, so his singles would always be better value than Olivia's.:D
     
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  12. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    Just because you're a super fan (I'm talking in general, not directly about you or me but anyone who sees themselves a super fan) doesn't mean you HAVE to have everything by an artist. I was a huge, HUGE fan of Olivia back then. I paid big bucks for import singles from a dealer in New York that I found through Goldmine. I bid big bucks on items in Goldmine for Olivia items I needed. I was a vacuum for all things Livvy and still choose to not to worry about every single she released unless I was aware it had a B side that wasn't on an album or it had a picture sleeve. I learned the hard way that you'll make yourself crazy trying to collect everything. I now simply enjoy what I got. If I come across something, great. If it's crazy money, then I've no problem walking away. I'm a "super fan" of other artists too, such as Kylie Minogue and the Beatles for example. I made a conscious decision to NOT even try to collect Beatles' collectibles because it's so vast. I collect Kylie but I don't sweat it if I don't have all her singles and stuff. I've got a nice collection of her releases and I'm happy with it.
     
  13. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    ^^If you ever want to walk away from that Totally Hot stand up with original scarf just give me a holla!!!
    ;)
     
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  14. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Has anyone noticed on the video for Every Face Tells A Story that on one of the older video tapes (probably a VHS) that the backing track sounds like a whole different recording, the opening guitar is totally different.

    I have this from an old VHS tape from the Only Olivia club and then also on the DVD box set, I need to listen to these again to see if one of these has a different backing tape.
     
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  15. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    Sure. $1,000,000. I'll even throw in the Warm and Tender standee too. It's worth it. :)
     
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  16. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member



    Do you remember this, @bob60? This was Olivia on Val Doonican's show in late May 1977. She sings live versions of Country Roads, Sam and If You Love Me (Let Me Know). The latter with Val. He asks her why she's here and she mentions the Royal Variety show and TV special (Only Olivia) and then she says she's 'going to Europe to do some TV work'. The latter ended up being cancelled as she got the call for Grease while she was here and flew back to LA to start filming the movie.

    She looks lovely here. That haircut is fantastically 70s.:D
     
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  17. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    This song was one of those singles that were floating around the Oliva/Cliff/Marvin, Welch & Farrar area in the 70s. So many songs were recorded by two or all three of them - "Silvery Rain", "Hey Mr. Dream Maker", "Living in Harmony", "A Thousand Conversations", "Lovers" etc. Olivia had the first crack at "Every Face Tells a Story", and it´s an interesting direction chosen by Olivia and/or her manager. It´s a good recording, good arrangement and well sung by Olivia. Cliff recorded it the same year, but he had the lyrics changed to make it a religious statement. It was also rearranged as a more straightforward country-rock track. It was made the title track of his 1977 album, and... Well, Cliff didn´t nail it, either. The song isn´t bad, but it´s more suited for deep cut status than single material. And that goes for both versions. Good intentions on both sides, but the song is simply not strong enough. As usual, IMO.
     
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  18. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    "DSB" is my favorite ONJ album after her magnum opus "Totally Hot."
     
  19. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Ok deal but only if you pay shipping :laugh:
     
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  20. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    The final U.S. single from the Don't Stop Believin' LP is

    Jan 1977
    Sam
    I Bet You A Kangaroo (b side)


    Sam (promo 45)

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Billboard Single Review Jan 22, 1977
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2016
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  21. David G.

    David G. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Yes, there was definitely a lot of sharing of intellectual property in those days. It makes sense, given that they all worked together in various ways. In a way, it feels a little like Motown, where many groups would record the same songs and give them their own unique take.

    Here in the U.S., though, most people weren't exposed to anything but Olivia's versions at the time, although Cliff's records did make it over here in the late 1970s. I didn't hear most of the other versions of those songs until much later, as I tracked down more of those albums. Ultimately, of course, I liked Olivia's versions of songs the best in almost all cases, but I do enjoy hearing other interpretations of the songs.
     
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  22. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Billboard Promo Ad Jan 22, 1977

    [​IMG]
     
  23. David G.

    David G. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Ah, finally one of my very favorites by Olivia on a single. (It's funny how the choices for singles in the 1970s were mostly not favorites of mine.) "Sam" was the song that drew me back to Olivia after not really paying much attention to her after "Have You Never Been Mellow." Apparently much of the world felt as I did, since this single did quite well for her -- it was her highest-charting single on the U.S. Hot 100 since "Something Better to Do."

    Then there's the b-side. It's the only song from Don't Stop Believin' that I really dislike. It feels like an outtake from the album, not quite finished, that they decided to include as a bonus track, except, of course, that it was always intended to be there. Had it been a non-album b-side, I might have thought of it as a nice rarity. As an album track, though, it just doesn't fit on that album.

    When the first CD came out of Don't Stop Believin' (the Don't Stop Believin'/Totally Hot 2-on-1 combo), I didn't much mind that "I'll Bet You a Kangaroo" was the song they dropped out of space considerations. I was a little disappointed that the album wasn't available in its entirety, but I figured that if they had to drop one song, that was the one to drop. Even when the two albums came out individually on CD very soon after, I found myself only ever playing the 2-on-1 CD, since it "flowed" better for me.
     
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  24. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Here is an interesting concert review in NY which she performed her recent Sam single, she also performed Don't Cry For Me Argentina of which we will talk about soon since it was released as a b side of IHLY single 45 from the GH LP.

    Cashbox May 21, 1977
    [​IMG]
     
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  25. Song4U

    Song4U Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    I think the single Sam was the perfect single to really showcase her vocals and how much they have matured since the early days. This is also a perfect example of how her vocals on this song mirror the arrangement and it's all just perfectly woven, lyrics, arrangement, vocals, the cry in her voice when she says, Sam, Sam you know where I am....

    I am one of the few that really enjoy "I Bet You A Kangaroo" yeah I dig that didgeridoo!! I love the Australian influence in this light and fun track.
     
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