Olivia Newton-John Stages Slick Concert
If this really is Olivia Newton-John’s last tour, as she has been saying it might be, she is quitting the stage with laurels.
Despite the indifference toward touring that she has expressed in interviews, Ms. Newton-John was self-confident and slick.
The five-year gap since her last tour evidently has not damaged her popularity, for the Activity Center was packed.
A true variety artist if ever there was one, she ran the gamut of stylistic. changes she has covered in her 11-year recording career each period accompanied by an appropriate costume change.
There was a black Stetson and black miniskirt for early country hits like Let Me Be There and Please Mr. Please; skintight pants and leather jacket for You’re the One That I Want and Hopelessly Devoted to You from the movie Grease; a flimsy, fiery red outfit for rhythmic dance numbers like Magic, Heart Attack, and Make a Move on Me.
Finally, of course, there was Let’s get Physical, with white shorts and an Arizona State T-shirt.
Behind Ms. Newton-John and Tom Scott’s energetic band, the stage was dominated by a screen on which was shown film of Ms. Newton-John frolicking with dolphins, accompanied by her self-penned ode to that species, The Promise.
Her singing throughout was strong and controlled, with that attractive tremolo of hers coming through occasionally.
Accompanying all this professionalism, though, was a feeling of detachment. She embodies many different images, ranging from girl-next-door to wholesome pin-up, yet nothing really seems to stick.
Whatever she is at any given moment is masked by a voice that is fresh and at the same time cold and shallow.
Her good looks and polish create an entertaining fantasy and leave one groping for the substance behind it.
Jazz popularist Tom Scott opened the show with a half hour of his customary fusions between jazz, rhythm-and-blues and rock.
As an arranger, he shows extraordinarily poor judgment sometimes - a case in point being the heavy-breathing female chorus on the title song to his album Desire. But generally, Scott and his band acquitted themselves well, the high spot being an instrumental version of Paul McCartney’s Maybe I’m. Amazed.
The audience wasn’t bowled over by them, reserving its main acclaim for the headliner. But Scott was applauded too.
Olivia Newton-John with Tom Scott, Friday, ASU Activity Center.
By Andrew Means