Okay I have a question. Olivia was truly recognized as a superstar in the United States There are two songs of hers that I know of that are really great. Both songs were cross over hits in pop and country in the United States. Literally, all over the radio. Both of these songs have a backup male singer with a very, very low voice. Does anyone know who this backup singer is? Is it the same singer or different singers? Below are the two songs. Thank you very much. Olivia Newton-John - Let Me Be There: Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkMkHpKpLkM
I'm fairly certain that he's on "It's So Easy" and a couple of others also, but I haven't been able to find confirmation...
Farrar's backing vocals tended to be high. The low-singing backing singer is Mike Sammes of the Mike Sammes singers. Mike Sammes - Wikipedia
I can't remember if I've posted this before... but came across it on my computer. Some recognisable tracks here, but also some tantalising mysteries! China Town? Come Take My Love? Do What You Gotta Do? Forever Yours? From The Heart? Lighten Up? Slide Back Lucy? I wonder how many of these were written with Olivia in mind? I wonder if any were recorded and never released? Also interesting to see 'Fool' and 'Country' listed separately - could they have been full songs before they were spliced together?
Nice list! Remember When Lovin’ Took All Night was given to Karen Carpenter who recorded it for her solo album.
I could imagine pre-Grease Olivia on Remember When Lovin' Took All Night, but by the time it was current, she had moved more into the pop field. There are a few in there that were picked up by other artists. Say Goodnight Irene is on Irene Cara's 1987 album, Carasmatic. From the same year, Island Fever is on Jack Wagner's Don't Give Up Your Day Job (I could DEFINITELY hear Olivia singing this one). I Think I Know Too Much was recorded by co-writer, Tom Snow, in 1982, on his Hungry Nights album. (Again, another one Olivia could have done justice to). I Paralyze was, of course, recorded by Cher. (And I'm still not entirely convinced Olivia isn't on backing vocals.) I wish we knew the year of some of these compositions. Some might be early Marvin Welch Farrar compositions that were unused. The Steve Kipner co-writes are presumably from the early 1980s. I wonder where the Barry Mason co-write comes from? And it's interesting to see Farrar is the co-writer of Talk To Me - which wasn't indicated on the Totally Hot album credits at the time, if memory serves...
If that isn't Olivia in the background on "I Paralyse," it's someone trying very, very hard to sound like her! Contractual issues would have prevented her name from appearing on the Columbia release, of course ...
PS However, I did find it at least one example of where John Farrar's name was not included on vinyl LP label: Newton-John, Olivia / Totally Hot (1978) / MCA 3067 (Album, 12" Vinyl)
I wish there was some way to correspond with John Farrar to ask him questions about some of these releases...even better if he'd write a book about working with Olivia. I bet that would sell very well.
I don't know what the thought process was behind using an out of focus extreme close up photo...but there were so many better choices. Her name doesn't stand out at all on the jacket, and her face is not very recognisable at first glance. I remember going to Tower Records and walking by the LP many times on release day, not noticing it. I was scanning for ON-J's face, after all. An epic failure on sleeve design! This is still an underappreciated effort IMO, although I do realize that this album has its detractors
Yes, it seems to have been corrected in subsequent releases. Certainly my EMI LP has it just listed as being written by her.
I wish he'd do a fan Q&A on video or something. He could even do it to raise money for Olivia's cancer centre - I'd buy a ticket!
I believe Olivia chose the cover photo. Which goes to show - as an album cover art designer, Olivia was a great singer!
John Farrar was a great producer, but every so often I listen to a song by him and think it could be improved upon. Talk To Me is one of those. I think if the song had more heft it could have been a hit single. It’s kind of a weedy production… Which in turn makes Olivia sound weedy… I’d love to hear it remixed properly.
Randy Slovacek (her web manager) once asked her that direct question at the prompting of fans in the Facebook group. Apparently, she said it wasn't. However, she apparently also acted like it was her first time hearing the song, which seems VERY unlikely to me. She famously had a terrible memory, indicating to one fan that she had forgotten all about even recording Living In Desperate Times, and to another that she was pleased to be reminded what album Deeper Than The Night was from! I think it's entirely possible she recorded a demo for I Paralyze, and Farrar kept her backing vocals on the Cher version, which he produced. Of course, those backing vox could also be Farrar himself, because he was pretty good at matching/mimicking Olivia's voice.
I actually think that's true of quite a lot of the Totally Hot album, in terms of production. It at times feels a bit 'thin' and in need of beefing up. It also means that some tracks - like Boats, Totally Hot, and Gimme Some Lovin - leave Olivia sounding a bit unnecessarily 'shrill'. He did better with Physical and even with Soul Kiss in terms of weightier production. Later live versions of DTTN show the possibilities.
I think Totally Hot was a rushed album. Recorded in the middle of her Grease promotion and needing to be out for her world tour later in the year. They had a lot more time to prep Physical.
Didn't she end up with hepatitis and exhaustion in 1979? It's no wonder! And the she went right into Xanadu!
