ELO, Olivia Bridge Gulf
"XANADU" Soundtrack. MCA MCA-6100.
Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra on the same album? A few years ago it wouldn’t have been likely. New-ton-John at that time seemed stuck in an easy-listening rut; ELO was widely regarded as one of the top groups in rock. But a lot has happened since then.
With her work in “Grease,” Newton-John was able to bring her music and image closer to the middle of the pop spectrum. And now the renewed popularity of lean, taut rock ‘n’ roll has made ELO’s elaborate, grandly produced sound more of a mainstream pop taste than one on the cutting edge of rock.
The gulf between the two acts has thus been bridged to the point that they share this soundtrack LP and even combine talents on the title song, with Newton-John singing lead vocals over a sprightly, swirling ELO track.
While Newton-John’s most memorable numbers in “Grease” were pseudo-‘50s rockers like “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” here her most striking tracks are throwbacks to 1940s styles.
The singer, who also stars in the film, does a romantic soft-shoe duet with co-star Gene Kelly on “Whenever You’re Away From Me” and assumes the part of a big band singer in “Dancin’,” where her innocent cooing is cleverly juxtaposed against a Kiss-like rock stanza by the Tubes.
A couple of ballads by Newton-John are routine, though her Top 10 single, “Magic,” has a subtle charm, owing as much to her beguiling vocal as to the song’s hypnotic rhythm.
ELO is also represented with one or two tedious ballads; its upbeat tracks are more inviting. The group has made some of the best car-radio singles of recent years, and that spirit is evident here on “All Over the World,” a celebrative rocker played with exuberance and abandon. The Top 20 hit, “I’m Alive,” isn’t as lively, but is also chock-full of hooks.
By Paul Grien