Olivia's a dazzler to see , as well as to hear May 19 1975 Detroit
BY Christine Brown, Free Press Staft Writer
It must have been a trifle disconcerting to the thousands who packed Masonic Auditorium Monday night when Olivia Newton-John opened her mouth to talk.
After all, her fans had come to know her as the queen of pop-rock-country music, with hits like “If You Love Me, Let Me Know” and “Let Me Be There.” And even if they knew she was not a Nashville girl, the mixture of Welsh, Australian and British in her speaking voice probably registered as something of a surprise.
BUT THAT WASN’T the only unexpected thing about Miss Newton-John’s first Detroit appearance. Most people were already aware that she is attractive, since adjectives like “lovely” are always used to describe her.
Few, however, were prepared for the dazzling creature who bounced onstage to the strains of “Let Me Be There.” It was as if someone had submerged her in a cauldron of lip gloss and fished out a young woman who shimmered excruciatingly.
Olivia won a Haley Mills look-alike contest in Australia when she was 13, but she’s far more beautiful than Haley. She looks like a young Shirley Jones, and her personality is so radiantly sexy-wholesome that one wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she burst into a chorus of “Oklahoma.”
The other trick Olivia had up the short sleeves of her red top was simply the versatility of her voice. As she acknowledged between numbers, most Americans know her for her light country sound. (When she won the Grammy for Best Country Female Vocal Performance last year, there was much complaining from the country music establishment because Olivia had never even been to Nashville.)
She got into country music after she won an Australian singing contest and went to London because her record producer thought the sound was right for her voice. But in England she isn’t known as a country artist, and she proved at her Masonic concert that her pure, light voice is just right for almost any song.
Olivia carried off everything from the old standard “Nevertheless I’m in Love with You” to the Hollies hit “The Air That I Breathe” to an audience-participation version of “You Are My Sunshine.” These were interspersed with her hits-“If Not For You.” “Have You Never Been Mellow,” “I Honestly Love You,” plus lots of cutesy, wide-eyed looks and the swaying of her perfectly proportioned hips.
HER BETWEEN-NUMBER patter seemed a little forced, a little contrived, but she’s young yet (26 now), and that’s some thing that will probably improve as she becomes a more seasoned concert performer and relaxes a little.
It was a musically gentle evening all the way round as David Gates, former lead singer with “Bread,” opened the concert.
Gates brought back memories and inspired lots of cheers as he did such songs as “I’d Like to Make It With You,” “Baby, I’m-A Want You,” “Everything I Own,” “The Guitar Man” and “If.” And he demonstrated with his new single, “Part-Time Love,” that he is still a songwriter-singer with a pipeline to the most delicate emotions.
Olivia performs May 19 1975 at Detroit Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, MI, USA