I couldn't not write a little something about Olivia Newton-John and her recent passing. She was a distinctive part of my youth, if only by osmosis. That's not to say I wasn't a fan. I loved her. Not enough to go out and buy her latest LP or see her latest movie (I somehow managed to not see Xanadu at the movies). But enough to see Grease a dozen times and listen to all the cuts on Physical, which my sister went out and bought.
That's the LP sleeve of Physical, unfolded. That's from back when a record was a record. It wasn't a double album, but it had the double album, deluxe packaging: photographs, lyrics, etc. It also had a bunch of great songs. Back then, sometimes you'd buy an album and there'd be like two good songs and the rest was filler. Not so Physical. In fact, Olivia created a collection of videos for most of the songs on the album; which were then put together as a network TV special. Olivia was putting together her own little MTV while MTV was just inventing itself.
People often talk lovingly about Olivia and her Star Quality: she was so likable, they say. And she was. But I think that simplifies her. Yes, she had a simple, wholesome, innocent quality. And no, the whole "bad girl" attempt was kind of hollow. There was nothing "bad" about Olivia Newton-John. What I think it was though, is that Olivia embraced her smarts. She knew she had a great voice...that wasn't the problem. I don't know how she met John Farrar; but when she put herself in his hands, that's when the Magic really happened.
He took her crystalline voice and dropped it into pop songs that had an unusual tempo. A bit of a dark side. A kind of mystery. Baselines that created a kind of suspense and turned them into little short stories. And I think that's why they hold up so well. Still sound so fresh when they play on the radio. I give you A Little More Love as my choice for her best song; and one of my favorites. It has all the qualities I mentioned. And that's John Farrar on the keyboards, goofing around. He doesn't have to be serious. He knows how good it is.
People often talk lovingly about Olivia and her Star Quality: she was so likable, they say. And she was. But I think that simplifies her. Yes, she had a simple, wholesome, innocent quality. And no, the whole "bad girl" attempt was kind of hollow. There was nothing "bad" about Olivia Newton-John. What I think it was though, is that Olivia embraced her smarts. She knew she had a great voice...that wasn't the problem. I don't know how she met John Farrar; but when she put herself in his hands, that's when the Magic really happened.
He took her crystalline voice and dropped it into pop songs that had an unusual tempo. A bit of a dark side. A kind of mystery. Baselines that created a kind of suspense and turned them into little short stories. And I think that's why they hold up so well. Still sound so fresh when they play on the radio. I give you A Little More Love as my choice for her best song; and one of my favorites. It has all the qualities I mentioned. And that's John Farrar on the keyboards, goofing around. He doesn't have to be serious. He knows how good it is.
So thank you Olivia (and John) for all the great memories and feelings, sung and unsung. They were important.
CFR August 9, 2022
CFR August 9, 2022
RSS Feed