A country comeback comes up short
Olivia Newton-John Latest is miscast as country.
Recordings are rated on a scale of one (poor) to four (excellent) stars.
Country/Pop
“Back With a Heart,” Olivia Newton-John. MCA. 2 stars
If Olivia Newton-John’s first album in years had been released as adult contemporary, it might rate four stars. But it’s totally miscast as a country album.
The 11 songs on this disc are about as country as anything on the “Grease” soundtrack.
Speaking of which, this album, in stores today, follows on the heels of the re-release of her 1978 block buster movie. It won’t help.
Many country music singers take pride in recording songs that reflect the emotional experiences of their lives. Certainly Olivia Newton-John had much to draw from. In this decade alone, the 49-year-old singer/actress has endured the death of a child and her father, breast cancer, bankruptcy and a divorce.
Yet this disc is filled with fluffy, idealistic love songs. Don’t blame it on her writers; she had a hand in penning seven of the 11.
They’re the same kinds of songs she sang back in the 1970s, which provoked a backlash among traditionalists in Nashville when they tried to bill her as country then, too. Despite the outcry, she was voted top female vocalist by the Country Music Association in 1974.
Lightning won’t strike twice. Nonetheless, there are some positives here. For all the wear and tear, Newton-John’s voice is as clear and melodic as ever. She re-recorded one of her old radio favorites, “I Honestly Love You,” and it’s as fresh and pop-ish as back then.
The nearest Newton-John comes to country is “Spin His Wheels,” on which her expressive voice nicely tells of a hopeless love affair. “Fight for Our Love” gives a slight nod to country, but her voice lacks conviction of the sort you might expect from, say, Patty Loveless.
On the other hand, Newton-John turns the soft, lush “Love Is a Gift” into a contemporary gem.
Too bad the “country” misnomer turns the gems into baubles
By Jerry Sharpe