Beauty, integrity a hit in Vegas
by Robert Hilburn
It’s accurate enough, I believe, to suggest that Olivia Newton-John wouldn’t be headlining at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas this week if she weren’t a strikingly attractive woman. There are probably lots of people in Las Vegas indeed, even in Sylmar with as much vocal ability.
Her gentle, whispery vocal tone and sweet, delicate appearance/manner are, for the most part, more important in establishing her appeal on stage than range, dynamic, phrasing and the other technical measures of a singer’s talent. Still, it would be both unfair and inaccurate to dismiss Newton-John as simply a beauty contestant who is at the Riviera on a one-time pass. A lovely face coupled with a few hit singles or film exposure may be enough to lure a curious audience into a Las Vegas showroom but it wouldn’t be enough to make the show a hit. If appearance alone were enough, Jacqueline Bisset and Jennifer 0’Neill would probably be the hottest properties in Las Vegas. yet no hotel has seen fit to put their names on a marquee.
Newton-John’s name is not only on a Las Vegas marquee for the third time (she was the opening act in her two previous appearances there) she look like she’s going to be a permanent fixture there. She’s well on her way to being the biggest hit of the year among first-time headliners. In fact, reservations for her current Riviera engagement (through Oct. 15) have been so strong that the hotel management is already talking in terms of a house attendance record.
But you don’t have to count the number of reservations to see that she’s a crowd pleaser. If, for instance, the men in the audience get any more enthusiastic than they did toward the end of one of Newton-John’s midnight shows last week, the Riviera is going to have to place some security guards in front of the stage.
If she ever decides to give away scarves and/or kisses to persons at the edge of the stage the way Elvis Presley does, the hotel may have to consider building a protective wall around her. If Newton-John’s success is -in view of her limited vocal talent - a bit of a surprise, the key to her appeal in a showroom is much more conventional. She has woven together a pleasant, extremely unpretentious, warmly human show.
Newton John has improved noticeably in the areas of poise and confidence since she appeared with Charlie Rich last year at the Las Vegas Hilton. Her vocals while still failing to reach beyond a rather narrow, predictable boundary have also begun to take on a bit more character at times.
Best of all, she has chosen to stand or fall on her own musical merits. It is a welcome, endearing sign of integrity. Unlike so many Las Vegas acts, she has not tried to camouflage her limitations by surrounding herself with a series of flashy costume changes or fast-paced, attention- diverting production numbers.
Backed by the Dick Palombi Orchestra and her own six- piece rhythm section, Newton-John concentrated, understandably, on her own hit singles (e.g., “If You Love Me,” “Have You Never Been Mellow”). While the hits generated the most audience response, the rest of her material except, perhaps, for the listlessly performed “Good Day Sunshine” was well chosen. The songs reflected both variety (from the nostalgic “As Time Goes By” to the novelty “Honey Pie”) and an occasional touch of ambition and daring (e.g., the Hollies”The Air That I Breathe”).
By the end of the evening, Newton John hadn’t convinced anyone that she deserved the rash of musical awards she has won in the last few months, but she had gone a long way in convincing some skeptics that she may deserve a place in Las Vegas showrooms after all.
She may not, in short, be a Gladys Knight vocally, but she’s no Telly Savalas either. Unlike the latter in his Las Vegas debut, she has a certain validity and appeal on stage.
With Newton-John at the Riviera is the Hudson Brothers, a trio that tries to mix humor and music on stage in much the same mindless, the-sillier-the-better, ain’t-we- got-fun manner of its television show. It didn’t work opening night. The music was punchless and the humor (ranging from an Elvis imitation to a sort of Smothers Brothers sibling rivalry) was not only familiar but, in a couple of spots, rather tasteless. Jokes about rape and presidential- assassination are questionable in any setting, but even more so in the context of the Hudsons’ slapstick.