Favourite Olivia Newton-John Album Poll

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Bobby Morrow, Jun 4, 2015.

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  1. Clipper Sylvania

    Clipper Sylvania L'écharpe d'abricot

    I could support a renewed SACD campaign. It would be financially brutal, especially coming off of the costs of completing a 1971-1988 library, but enh, there's only one artist ahead of her in the 1970s-1980s order.

    I might be ambivalent about listening to the latter album, but I don't suffer from the insanity of liking Soul Kiss. I happen to enjoy virtually every minute of it, other than that ill-advised duet.

    One of her contracts specified two albums a year, if memory serves. That's insanity---I'd like to know the starting point in negotiations for an MCA contract. "We offer to work you to death. Accept?" Of course, I was accustomed to artists taking two or three years per album courtesy of the 1990s. Looking back on it, I've wondered if a less-aggressive release schedule would have extended her career. Do we know if burnout was a factor for her at any point?
     
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  2. Chris_Sydney

    Chris_Sydney Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    If not work-wise, then definitely creatively - John Farrar himself has said that they were the mid-seventies albums started to become challenging, especially because they weren't yielding hits. It's interesting looking back on them though. The peaks in Olivia's catalogue are so high that it makes it easier to dismiss lesser albums ('Making A Good Thing Better' is a great example) but they are still quality albums. The magic between Olivia and John Farrar remains something quite extraordinary to listen to.


    x
     
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  3. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    It's odd, but for years many Olivia fans wanted her to record 'Reckless'. It's the most 'Olivia' song (aside from the ones she recorded) on Farrar's solo album. When she finally did, I always felt like it was disappointing. They didn't really nail it, did they?
     
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  4. Chris_Sydney

    Chris_Sydney Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    My feelings too, @Bobby Morrow. It was nice to hear though.


    x
     
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  5. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    Then again, they didn't really nail much on 'Celebration In Song', did they? Another dud duets album.:D
     
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  6. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    I found a nice super minty US MCA copy of "Have You Never Been Mellow" today for a buck ninety nine. Hope to get to spin it soon. :)
     
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  7. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    That's one of her best early albums. Hope you enjoy it!
     
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  8. kingrommel

    kingrommel Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'm listening to 'Dont stop believing' which is pleasant and instantly accessible, and will check out the 'Mellow' album next

    As I started with the 80's stuff I'm re-adjusting my tempo expectations as I expect a slower mellow pace for the 70s stuff. I had the same experience when I was used to Phil Collins era with Genesis and was tip-towing into 70's Peter Gabriel.

    It's good to hear her high pitch vocals from time to time, I think she nailed this and its a shame this kind of style was dropped more by the time physical was done & is non existent in soul kiss.
     
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  9. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    DSB was one of her best 70's albums, IMO. 'Sam' reached #6 here. It was her biggest hit for 6 years at the time! Also love the title track, 'Compassionate Man' and 'Hey Mr Dreammaker'.

    'Looking For Space' is also a great bonus track on this CD..
     
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  10. kingrommel

    kingrommel Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    My copies of Physical on Vinyl are distinctly muddy compared to cd, although they are 'warm sounding' - I've become more agreeable with hi res cd on Olivia stuff now.

    Soul kiss is sharp and clear on LP ( mine anyway) and I expect the mastering got better by mid 80's for pop sounds.
     
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  11. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    I haven't played the LP of 'Physical' since I got the (first) CD in 1986. The SACD is the best version I've ever heard. Warm, dynamic and crankable.
     
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  12. kingrommel

    kingrommel Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'm currently hunting for this elusive version of the album. The cheapest I've seen is £60 from evilbay:wtf:. I could fill Onjs back catalogue for this price!

    I can't believe that between SACD, DVD-A, BD-audio there is no winner or continued support for a highish end medium. At the moment the main means of getting high but recordings is from HD tracks or similar sites, but most are high end Re-masters and don't sound as good as thecds often.

    Shm is at least something within accessibility that gives hope!
     
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  13. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    I suppose that price on eBay isn't too bad. I paid £35 for it upon release. It was never cheap.:D It's worth picking up if you love the album. Great packaging too. I shouldn't spend your money for you, though.:)

    Yes, I'd love more Hi-Res stuff, but many of the available SACDs and Blu ray Audio titles don't interest me. Honestly wouldn't know where to start with HD Tracks. I'm not very computer minded. I've took a look on their site and there are quite a few titles I'd like, but aren't they pricey?!
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
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  14. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    I expect the first sentence is meant as high praise? Thought so... :righton: (Ex-fan, and still enjoying Cliff, here... He, he.)
     
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  15. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Not really....it's a meh song. Okay on an album but would never make any impact on the charts, even back in the day.
     
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  16. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    John Farrar found that out when he chose it as the lead single from his album in 1980.:)
     
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  17. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I liked his hits an awful lot! One of my favorite all time songs, which may surprise you as I don't think it was any kind of hit, was his song Some People. I think I heard it a grand total of one time on a Christian radio station. I don't really see the connection, but I was thrilled to find the CD. I like his 80's hit.
     
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  18. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That has to be a tough way to find out! I pulled his album tonight and it's in my play queue. I work from home so I get to listen to music all day. I will spin it tomorrow.
     
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  19. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    I hope you are referring to Ms. Simon? Her first four albums are pre-ordered from Acoustic Sounds on SACD, and I hope they do get released before Christmas. Can´t wait to hear her voice on SACD.
     
  20. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member Thread Starter

    Good luck. I did like it pretty much straight away, but I suppose it's easy to see why it didn't set the world on fire back then.
     
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  21. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    ....or, get (back) into vinyl. I'm amazed at all the people looking for a better medium, or paying a fortune for SACDs, when you can buy her stuff for a couple dollars on vinyl. I know it isn't for everyone, but for people liking music pre 90's, you can get huge selling artists like her cheap, and I have always said vinyl sounds much better than anything else. You can get all her albums out of Japan and they sound amazing.
     
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  22. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    I agree totally! Three great formats, all offering - POTENTIALLY - more than CD, and not one of them has really taken off. SACD seems to be making a come-back, and who knows what happens to Blu-ray Audio? I love what happened with the Grace Jones "Disco" project, which is a complete box set on one disc. I hope they will try this for catalogue titles. It might help sell the format - and old titles yet once again. I´m ready for double-dipping for the umpteenth time.
     
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  23. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    Glad to hear it! If you like "Some People", I can heartily recommend the extended version, which is twenty times better than the short version! It is available on a various artists compilation called "HiEnergy", with several other 80s extended/remixed versions of hits from other artists. It was a big hit in the UK, peaking at No. 3, and it was a radio hit here in Norway.

    Great that you like his 80s hits! I generally listen to his late 70s/early 80s hits, but happily extend that to cover the period from 1976-1995. His songs are often overproduced, but I do like his voice.
     
  24. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    "Don´t Stop Believin´" is one of my favourite Olivia albums. It has the right ratio of ballads and uptempo stuff, and the general quality of the songs is high. I even like the kangaroo song - every album needs a silly song. :goodie: (Just look to ABBA for proof of this...)
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
  25. kingrommel

    kingrommel Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I tend to find that 80's pop cds are obtained cheaply (like £2 each) and for example Madonna's 80's albums like True Blue and Like a Prayer offer such high quality, that i would seriously have to be a die hard fan of the album to look for better. Im lucky that ive done this with some other artists, but as 'Physical' is high up on my list, i look for the best with this album.

    The Hi-res stuff is just basically - burn it to your cd using media player or similar. because its a higher qulity than cd - when you do churn it to cd - it becomes the same quality as cd. (kinda defeating the purpose) unless its perhaps coded to Blue ray recordable. (have to try that if i ever get the recorder!)

    The hi-end users probaly play it on a device capable of play back at higher frequencies, but i believe a lot is lost on the ears unless you are the House cat!

    Madonna's True Blue is £18.00 for 96/24 and £24 for 192/24 - id doubt i would notice the difference between the two (especially if its been bricked-walled 're-mastered' and the 80's Sire release is so crisp that im not looking further.
    http://www.hdtracks.co.uk/true-blue?format=WAV

    Its dissapointing that only Physical and Come on Over are the only 2 released on SACD and totally hot isnt (officially that is :D)
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
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