Olivia Newton-John. Yay or Nay?

I just hate it when artists put live versions of their hits on a compilation.

 

Yes. I’m sure EMI must have used the master tapes for this. Or pretty damn close to it. 48 Original Tracks sounds better than the 2 SACDs she released!

 

That would explain it.

 

Sony must have licensed it from either Warner's or ONJ herself. The Xanadu songs should have already been with Sony. Only the Grease stuff would be with Universal.

She desperately needs a lawyer to work this stuff out.

 

It’s the kind of typically half-arsed product we’ve been getting for years. No one seems to care. Most of all Olivia.

 

You always make me laugh.

This was announced about a month or so ago. The cover shot is lovely but the tracklisting is odd for a single disc ('Making A Good Thing Better'? 'Tied Up'?) and further compromised by the licensing issues. It succeeds in being less comprehensive than 'Back To Basics' which was released some 26 years ago, and for that matter is still the best single disc compilation Olivia has had (especially the Aussie tracklisting). I won't be buying this one as there is no incentive at all for me, but then none of us are the target audience here; it's just a shame that if younger or casual fans do decide to pick it up after seeing the biopic, it is a pretty flimsy representation of her wonderful catalogue.


x

 

Olivia: Still getting it wrong 35 years later.

I love Back To Basics, though tend to favour the US version. I felt severely ripped off when it came out, but have softened over the years. Also the MCA GH and GHV2 CDs sound great. Gold has the best tracklisting, but is a bit bright and loud for my elderly ears.

Had to giggle at Olivia’s Instagram page where she announced the new comp yesterday. Describing the album as “Hopeless Devoted”, it would appear she may have a sense of humour after all.

Edit. I’m surprised she didn’t include Don’t Stop Believin’ on the comp as it would have tied in with her biog. Oh well... Bless her.

 

My take on this compilation. "No comment!"

 

I like her but not "hopelessly devoted". Like any artist who sings other people's songs, my opinion of her at any given time depends on what she chooses to record.

I strongly dislike those songs she sings from Grease, though that's not so much her fault as that I just think they are lousy songs. I seem to be in a minority in that I like the music from Xanadu.

Was it ever discovered what happened to her bodybuilder husband who mysteriously disappeared?

 

He wasn’t her husband. Or a bodybuilder for that matter. He’s still missing. Every once in a while the press ‘find’ him. Usually in Mexico...So far they haven’t got the right guy.

 

You could put this down to what Olivia’s been dealing with this past year... Understandably this comp wouldn’t be her greatest concern. .

If only she hadn’t been doing the exact same thing for the last 25 years. Mostly when she was well.

 

I say Yay, because from 1971-1975 she had five phenomenal singles. Yeah, there's lots more, but I fell for those incredible singles before really even knowing who she was - her personality or her cute-as-a-bug looks.

 

Oh, and I think the album cover looks cheap . It could have been good as a magazine photoshoot, but not in this context, and the font also doesn't help.

I wish some Olivia compilation had an "artistic" cover, like the ones we see from Madonna or David Bowie. She had many different visuals and styles during her career, it could easily inspire some great art.

 

It’s a nice picture, but looks like it came from a New Idea article or something rather than an album cover..

And I wish they wouldn’t photoshop her so much...It’s not like she looks bad...

 

From experience up close at her show last November in Englewood, New Jersey, Olivia looks great.

I'm curious, since the disc seems to have come out in Australia first, are there any credits - for its mastering and/or production?

 

iTunes Australia
40 NEW Olivia Newton-John - Hopelessly Devoted: The Hits

Not bad, considering it's just another random compilation.

 

I'm sure she looks fantastic, but that doesn't stop the people in charge from photoshoping her into oblivion. Olivia really doesn't need it.

 

I find the cover attractive...nicely put together.

 

She has to save "Don't Stop Believin'" for the new comp she'll put out to tie into the autobiography. I'd bet money it'll be the title track!

 

Don’t joke!

You’d have thought they’d have released the comp around the same time as the book.. They could’ve helped each other out.

 

I see one here, but it only has 20 hits, not 40.

Hopelessly Devoted: The Hits by Olivia Newton-John

How does the 40 song version compare to Gold?

 

I think it just means it’s entered the Australian iTunes chart at #40...

 

Thanks for the clarification!

 

If I were joking, I'd say that I'll bet Olivia records an album of all-new versions of her hits to tie in with the autobiography... We could get the fifth or sixth re-imagining of "Physical" that way.

 

That wouldn’t surprise me actually..

Though I have to say that aside from a Liv On 2, it’s the last thing I’d want..