Saturday, January 10, 2015

Soul Kiss...

When I was a kid, I loved Olivia Newton-John.  I mean, I was one of her biggest fans.  I used to listen to her albums all the time.  In the 70s, Olivia had a very clean, wholesome, ethereal image...


A voice so sweet it's like being wrapped in cotton candy and set out in the sun...

Then along came the 80s.  That was the decade of powerful women coming into their own with careers and getting in touch with their sexuality...  And Olivia had married Matt Lattanzi, a dancer who had appeared in Xanadu with her... 



This movie is Godawful... but I love it anyway.


Olivia got pregnant in the mid 1980s, which must have put her in touch with her more erotic side.  Because then she came out with "Soul Kiss"...


Ugh... reminds me of 8th grade.

I have read that Olivia was very pregnant in this video.  She eventually gave birth to her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, who is now all grown up and a singer herself...


Yikes!!!!

Actually, I think her voice works alright for that kind of music.  I'm less impressed when she tries to do more conventional songs.



In a weird way, she sounds a bit like a warped Kate Bush.  If you are at all familiar with Kate Bush, you know that's saying something.  I happen to love Kate Bush's music, but she's not one who lends herself to mimicry very easily.  On the other hand, I don't think Chloe was necessarily going for that.

I think I prefer Olivia's music to her daughter's.  The "Soul Kiss" era didn't seem to last too long.  I don't think it was as bad as some people made it out to be... but given a choice, I'd take 70s era mellow Olivia over 80s era "Soul Kiss" Olivia. 



I actually hate the song "Physical".  It sort of marks the time at which I stopped idolizing Olivia Newton-John.


This is more like it.

2 comments:

  1. for a non-actress, I thought Olivia was a very sweet "Sandy" in GREASE. it is a pretty flat role requiring far more the ability to sing and dance than to have strong acting chops. Still, I liked her in the role.

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    Replies
    1. She was very good in Grease, even though she and the rest of the actors were way old to be in high school.

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