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Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow Audio CD

A fair review of the Olivia Newton-John "Have You Never Been Mellow" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Olivia Newton-John reviews here, or go back to the Olivia Newton-John tabs.

Olivia Newton-John Band: Olivia Newton-John
Title: Have You Never Been Mellow
Rating:
Release Date: 1995-10-20
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Have You Never Been Mellow 2: Loving Arms 3: Lifestream 4: Goodbye Again 5: Water Under The Bridge 6: I Never Did Sing You A Love Song 7: It's So Easy 8: The Air That I Breathe 9: Follow Me 10: And In The Morning 11: Please Mr. Please 12: If You Love Me(Let Me Know)

One of my High School (not so) secret pleasures


Really, when I listened to this even then, I knew she was never going to be an other Linda Ronstadt, her vocals while pretty, are just a bit breathy, but like Ronstadt's "Don't Cry Now" was an album that my parents and I could agree on for dinner music. I don't think my buddies ever knew about my crush on ONJ back in High School, but in the art department where I took classes and tutored most of the day, everyone knew that I demanded silence when ONJ would come on the radio (the kids would all giggle and say shhhhh! the "Newt" is on!. However, listening to this CD this week, I have reconsidered even that a bit, and I think the vocals still stand up as pretty good soft country, and soft pop, still making for good (as the title song suggest) "Mellow" mood music. "Please Mr. Please" has always been one of my favorite country songs, and her cover of "Air that I breathe", has always been my favorite version. One different hook she had in those early days was her great Bass back up vocalist singing counter to her angelic notes, makes for a fun sing-a-long for this old middle aged man now.

So here's the deal, if you only know the ONJ of the '80s this may be a pleasant surprise for you, however if you have a vague recollection of this great classic, you might enjoy this trip down memory lane like I do.


a classic, but still not ONJ's best ever
Have You Never Been Mellow as an album overall is good- very good, but not her best. I'm a big fan of ONJ, and usually name her as my favorite female vocalist. This has some of my favorite songs- the title track and Please Mister Please - but it also has a lot of very slow, sleepy songs that might be just a bit too. . well, mellow. Her voice is amazing as on all of her albums- there is a sort of magic intangible quality to her voice that I find captivating. While none of these songs are really "bad" by any means, they are just to relaxed at times for me to listen to regularly. For example, The Air That I Breathe- a great song, but so dreamy and light it has a anesthesia quality to it. I have a version of the CD with Japanese text on the spine, in the booklet, and on the rear tray insert and it doesn't have the track "If You Love Me Let Me Know" on it. If you're just getting into Olivia, there are other releases I would recommend before this one, although it is a classic in her catalog.


"...just for awhile turn back the hands of time..."
I had this as a record when I was little and I used to play it over and over. I love, love, love this album. It's a good thing LPs didn't wear out because this one certainly would have. My all-time favorite Olivia song "Loving Arms" is on this CD. I bought the CD just for that song because I haven't been able to find it on any other of her collections. But as I listened to it I remembered how happy the music made me, especially the upbeat "Lifestream" and "Water Under the Bridge". I also love her rendition of John Denver's "Goodbye Again". It's just such a great album overall. I highly recommend this CD to anyone who loves Olivia.


Olivia Newton-John Have You Never Been Mellow
Ahhh, Olivia, what a sweet voice and what beautiful music.


Just an OK album for me...but that VOICE!
Most of the songs, I can do without, especially that "Water Under The Bridge". Ok, die-hard fans, don't hate me, but this really is just an average album for me. I just think Olivia's voice is so much 'better' than that song. But, there are really nice, tender moments too. My absolute favourite would have to be "And In The Morning". This song just breaks your heart and Olivia is very good at that. She is the ultimate balladeer and she uses her instrument in such a way that you can get lost in that beautiful voice. At the end of this song, she gives a really heartfelt adlib and hits all those high notes so achingly beautiful, you don't know what hit you. Next, would be "The Air That I Breathe". It is better than the original. She puts a big, fat stamp on it and makes it all her own. Awesome. Besides these two biggies, I also like the title track "Have You Never Been Mellow". Boy, can John Farrar write! Although this song was such a big hit for Olivia and you know how big hits can go. . . you lose that freshness as the years go by. . . and you kinda don't want to listen to it because it's been "listened" to death already, but HYNBM is just one of those songs that you can never get fed up with no matter how many times you have listened to it. Sheer brilliance. And of course, there's "Please, Mister, Please. A pleasant enough melody to sing along to and I have heard Olivia sing this "Live" and I have to say that the "Live" version of this song is so much better than the recording.

A last word. . . if you don't like any of the songs in it, just buy the cd for the cover pic. Olivia is gorgeous. Look at those eyes. . . if I were a guy. . . oh, well.


You can see a complete list of all Olivia Newton-John discography, or go back to the Olivia Newton-John tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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