Have You Never Been Mellow review
Before I’m accused of being prejudiced in favor of great songwriters with “unusual” voices, let’s get into Olivia Newton-John’s latest record, “Have Your Never Been Mellow” (MCA-2133).
This beauty may never write a song of her own and no one will care as long as her sensuous and lovely voice is around to sing the work of others.
There are a variety of good songs on this album including John Denver’s familiar “Follow Me” and “Goodbye Again,” the Hollies’ tune “The Air That I Breathe,” and Rick Nelson’s “Lifestream.” True to the tradition of fine song stylists Olivia Newton-John invests each one with her personal blend of interpretive insights. None of the songs are heavy. None of them carry a penetrating message, but all of them are cooly spun out for the listener with vocal lustre.
The title song “Have You Never Been Mellow,” sets the album’s tone and the promise is fully delivered. It’s a perfect album to get mellow to, to relax and unwind to. You get wrapped up in Olivia’s soft singing the way you do in a warm embrace, and you even want to resist the necessity of turning the record over because you’ve gotten so comfortable. The album is a smash in terms of easy listening, but more than that, it firmly establishes this exquisite girl as one of the best female vocalists around today. If this is the kind of thing she’s going to be doing in the future with that tenuous whisper that sometimes catches in the back of her throat before she floats a next note she can keep recording for a long time to come.
The arrangements are all neatly handled by John Farrar. The mixing is excellent, but somewhat distracting on “It’s So Easy” with a heavy male baritone, that seems to intrude on Ms. Newton-John and the whole concept of the album.
The cover work is nice: Olivia looks as lovely as she sounds.