Olivia Newton-John Single by Single Thread

I remember being excited when I got the promo CD single of Reach Out For Me at a record convention.

Then I played it.

I wasn't impressed. A friend who owned a record store gave me a promo cassette that contained several tracks from the album in an unusual but neat case gave me hope.

Then I played it.

Ugh. He also gave me a beautiful, large standie of her created to promote the album. Loved it and still have it!

Warm & Tender was the last vinyl album I know of released in the States. The only other vinyl I found and bought after this one was the Back to Basics (horrible title) vinyl from the UK. I debated about getting the WAT vinyl album. I had picked up the CD and ...

...I played it.

In the end, I bought the vinyl. Glad I did.

 

"Can't We Talk It Over in Bed" was a song I first heard on the "Gold" compilation. I put all the songs on my iPod, and put in on shuffle. It took long while before I really listened to it, and... What a disappointment. The soundscape is anonymous, and could have been just about any artist of this period. The song was nothing special, and Olivia's vocal was nothing special. As I stated earlier, I had already fallen off the wagon after those song recorded for the second "Greatest Hits" album. They weren't terrible, but not terribly good, either. Olivia went back to being a fairly anonymous and uninteresting singer - and she can be so much more than that!

As for the "Warm & Tender" album... I have only heard "The Flower That Shattered the Stone", which I love when performed by John Denver. Olivia´s Version was O.K., and I suppose I'll end up buying the CD, but "I ain't in no hurry", to quote Joe Dolce's great hit B-side...

 

The next US single is from her 1992 album Back To Basics.
There were 2 U.S. CD singles for I Need Love along with a 12" vinyl for this single

May 1992
I Need Love
CD Maxi Single

1. I Need Love (LP Version) 4:12
2. I Need Love (Club Mix) 5:50
3. I Need Love (A Deep Need For Love Mix) 5:54
4. The Rumour (Shep Pettibone Remix / Non-LP) 6:40
5. Warm And Tender (LP Version) 3:20




I Need Love
CD Maxi Promo Digipack

1. I Need Love (Original Mix) 4:12
2. I Need Love (Club Mix Edit With Fade) 3:47
3. I Need Love (Club Mix Edit) 4:00
4. I Need Love (Club Mix) 5:50
5. I Need Love (LP Version) 4:12

 

Billboard I Need Love Single Review May 30, 1992



Billboard I Need Love Promo Ad May 30, 1992

 

Billboard Larry Flick Article on Back To Basics June 06, 1992



Billboard Back To Basics Album Review June 27, 1992

 

I Need Love is my least favorite song from the 4 new songs off Back to Basics. I have the first CD Maxi listed above and the 2 Club Mixes do nothing for me and I think it's because I just don't care for this song. It's another issue song, gosh why have I been saying that recently?

It would have been cool to see how the tour would have gone had she not been diagnosed with breast cancer, like Pizza said earlier, I don't care for the title Back to Basics on the new album. I would like to get the UK LP one day.

 

It wasn't a great song. i had higher hopes with Moroder. I have both CD singles. It's a mystery why they would include Warm & Tender on this CD. Once again, they try to spin the Physical stuff as more sexual ala Soul Kiss and failed. No doubt Olivia could deliver a hot song but they never found a good one for her. I like some of the remixes though I can't remember which is which. Still, I have a hard time listening to it since it always reminds me of her cancer battle.

 

I remember working in a record shop at the time (in the UK) and the sales rep was pushing my manager to order lots of copies as they were predicting top 10 hit. In the end I think it made no. 75. I first heard it when she performed it at the Music Awards in Monica which she was cohosting with Cliff Richard. I like it but the conscious aware lyrics about AIDS probably dodn't help and it's a little bit plodding. Apparently the album was finished with just the 3 new tracks and then her husband was handed this song at a bbq and encouraged her to record it.

At the time in the UK Grease was still very popular and in retrospect maybe I Want To Be Wanted could have been a UK hit or Not Gonna Be The One. Then of course she got ill and the whole thing was scrapped.

 

"I Need Love" was probably the most disappointing song by Olivia to date. This song was designed to be a dance track, and there is just no substance to it. It was sort of an anti-sex sex song, with lyrics like "I need love to make the sex right."

The one interesting thing about this single was how it was first marketed to clubs. The first 12" promo single sent to club DJs didn't have Olivia's name on it. It was credited to "O" and gave very little other info on the record label. Geffen Records seemed to be aware that Olivia's name wasn't going to sell records, so they were trying to see if the song would catch on if nobody knew who the singer was. It seems to have failed as a marketing strategy. There ended up being two different 12" singles (the promo one by "O" with six remixes, and a commercial 12" with mostly the same tracks as the CD singles).

Here's what the "O" single looks like:

 

Reach Out For Me is a very pretty song, and probably the best contender for a single from the album, which is a very strange record for 1989. It might have done better a few years down the line, when these cover type affairs became more common.

Her vocals on the single and album in general are very intimate and controlled. It's not an album for constant, repeated play, but makes for pleasant background listening. The orchestration is very nice. It was an off the wall gamble that didn't pay off, but after two failed pop albums I guess everyone felt it was worth a shot at the AC audience and sell albums rather than singles.

The Way You Look Tonight is adorable. You'll Never Walk Alone is a song I really dislike though.

I Need Love is a song I really like. Again, a bit ahead of its time. Had this been released around the time of Cher's Believe it could have done things. I think it's great she made a record like this and I wish it'd done better as I'd have liked more material like this.

 

Sorry I have to jump back a bit here as the thread has inspired me to invest in quite a few Olivia records.

Two questions - is the the 7" mix of Totally Hot an edit of the 12" version on the Japanese CD? Why wasn't this released at the time? I assume the 7" has never been on CD?

Also there's a live track from 1976 on there of a really great song, Love Is Alive. What is this originally from? It sits well on this album. Which begs the question why that live album isn't on CD either.

 

The 45 rpm re-mix of Totally Hot has not been released to CD, the extended mix found on the Japan 40th set is similar to some of the remix of the 45 but it's not exactly the same, cue into the 45 remix and then the exact same spot on the extended and the differences are there. The Japan Love Performance LP has not been released to CD, yes Love is Alive originates from this LP and then she also sang it on several tv shows as well. I'm not much on live albums but Love Performance is really good, I still have my original album when it was released.

For technical stats, Love Performance was recorded live at Festival Hall, Osaka Japan on Dec 3rd and 4th 1976. The album was produced by John Farrar who is also lead guitarist and Pat Farrar is listed as one of the members from the Vocal Group.

 

Thank you, I'll have to add this to the list of things to pick up. It's been an expensive Olivia month!

 

The 7" mix was used in the US 45, not the UK. Don't know why.

 

Here is the 2nd single from her album Back To Basics...

1992
Deeper Than A River
Maxi Single CD

1. Deeper Than A River (Single Mix)4:20
2. Deeper Than A River (Urban Mix)4:29
3. Deeper Than A River (LP Version)4:19

 

Billboard Deeper Than A River Single Review Aug 15, 1992



Gavin Report Deeper Than A River Single Promo Ad Aug 07, 1992

 

Here is the electronic press kit for the album Back to Basics, some nice photos from this album. Interesting that she doesn't even know what the first single will be....Olivia fans will never know what a tour might have been like had cancer not come into the scene. I believe her tour was all set to go for this album too.

 

I'll keep it simple. I really, really like this song.

 

I do too^^

However of the 4 new songs off this album my favorites are in this order...first being my favorite

1. Not Gonna Be The One
2. I Want To Be Wanted
3. Deeper Than A River
4. I Need Love

 

I Need Love really gummed up the works.

 

Ha! Exactly the same order I would use. "Deeper Than a River" was far, far better than "I Need Love," but it wouldn't be my pick for a single among those four choices. I have the promo CD with the different mixes, and the different mixes make the song a little more interesting, but don't really spice it up much.

I find it interesting that they chose four VERY different songs for the new tracks on this compilation, and each seems to have its roots in a different era of Olivia's career. We have a ballad ("Deeper Than a River"), a 1950s-sounding song ("I Want to Be Wanted"), something that feels very '80s pop ("Not Gonna Be the One"), and something for the '90s ("I Need Love"). Unfortunately, "Not Gonna Be the One" is the only one of the bunch that really seemed like a GREAT song.

 

The choice of I Need Love was all or nothing. It's what I'd have done, given it was current. Sadly nothing at this point was going to work, aside from a really good cover maybe.

Could have been interesting if she'd gone the Kim Wilde route and done something like If I Can't Have You, which gave Kim a top 20 hit to launch her Greatest Hits around the same time.

 

And Kim Wilde did a pretty good Christmas album, something that has escaped our Olivia. It's interesting comparing the two. Olivia tried morphing to stay in the biz and Kim stayed the same more or less. It's not easy for female vocalists. Kylie's trying. You got to take your hat off to Madonna.

 

Yes Kim seems to have had a bit of a renaissance and a few European hits too.

 

I think Olivia could actually do a dance record now. She has the perfect voice for trance, maybe a song like Rapture (not the Blondie song!)