Audio CD review:
Olivia Newton-John - Olivia's Live Hits

Olivia Newton-John - Olivia's Live Hits

Band: Olivia Newton-John Title: Olivia's Live Hits Rating: Release Date: 15 January, 2008 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Have You Never Been Mellow 2: Magic 3: Hopelessly Devoted To You 4: You're The One That I Want 5: Xanadu 6: I Honestly Love You 7: Suddenly 8: Physical 9: Don't Stop Believin' 10: If Not For You

Customer Reviews Olivia Singing Her Own Hits, Live! Here, Olivia does justice to her own. I titled my review as such, since there are a number of other artists lately who seem to enjoy recording and perorming cover songs more than their own material. This CD is an edited version of a great DVD that features a entire concert she recorded at the famous Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony, see my review. This release does acheive what the DVD does, in that we have Olivia, a true survivor, treating her audience to a career restrospective of her hits, from Have You Ever Been Mellow, to her hits from Xanadu, and of course Grease. Her signature concert encore, I Honestly Love You, is here, and it never sounded better or more sincere. Would it have been even better if this CD was exactly the same as the DVD ?? Perhaps, but maybe not, this CD will very well turn on some new fans of hers, who might not initially buy the DVD. Ken . Half-hearted attempt at an album But this album falls short of what it could have been. Don't get me wrong -- there are few Olivia fans as hopelessly devoted as I am. Obviously, with a name like OLIVIA'S LIVE HITS, we're not expecting an album containing new or rarely-heard material. In that respect, this album covers the bases pretty well (even though a couple of the songs, like "If Not for You" and "Don't Stop Believin'," were not exactly #1 hits). The sound quality is also quite good, with a nice audio mix. No complaints there. Unlike many live albums, it contains gaps between songs -- the applause after each song fades to silence, giving the feeling that you're listening to an edited version of a concert (which you are). What disappointed me about the album is its length. 10 songs, less than 38 minutes of music. Not only does it leave out some of Olivia's bigger hits (songs such as "Let Me Be There," "Please Mr. Please," "A Little More Love," etc. ), but it also leaves out most of the concert from which this album was taken. The DVD of this concert contains 27 songs. The brevity of the CD is certainly not due to a lack of available material. This makes it seem as if the CD was kept short just to keep from having to pay out as much money in royalties. Had this CD contained between 15 and 20 songs, I'd say that it was a must-own for any Olivia fan. As it is, fans are much better off just buying the DVD and not spending the extra money on the CD. . You can see a complete list of all Olivia Newton-John discography, or go back to the Olivia Newton-John tabs