No comments about Ladies and Gentlemen, Sammy Davis, Jr..

5 comments about Olivia's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

1. Ten good songs, but for the price, fork out a few more bucks and buy a better "greatest hits" collection, like "Magic" or "Gold." BIG hits like "Deeper Than The Night" and "Summer Nights" were totally ignored for this album.



2. I know that her greatest hits #1 was not something I was going to like.
   
   This greatest hits #2 has all the songs I remember. Especially Magic, Hopelessly Devoted (Grease), You're the one that I want (Grease), Physical, Suddenly (sung with Cliff Richard)and Xanadu. Definitely brings back memories.
   
   Songs on here are:
   Heart Attack
   Magic
   Physical
   Hopelessly Devoted To You
   Make A Move On Me
   A Little More Love
   You're The One That I Want
   Tied Up
   Suddenly
   Xanadu



3. And I am here on Amazon to buy it again. That's how good it is. And I have an iPod. I don't buy a cd anymore unless it's great. You can see from some of my more recent reviews how mean I can be as a critic and I don't have anything but nice things to say about Olivia and this compilation. This is Olivia at her peak. In an era of crappy singers like Ashlee Simpson and Madonna who have to lip synch live and mediocre singers like Jessica Simpson and Pink, in an era where even the great singers like Kelly Clarkson sing stupid lyrics plucked from the Beverly Hills vocabulary book (last years word was "jaded")this is absolute pop perfection. It doesn't get any better than "A Little More Love". Huge kudos to John Farrar for writing nearly all of these great pop songs. And to top it all off you are forever easy on the eyes Olivia!



4. Olivia Newton-John will always be one of my favorite singers. As a little kid all excited at the prospect of seeing the movie Grease, little did I know that on that night a sweet singer/actress from Australia would leave me dazed and bedazzled by my first sighting of a beautiful woman; I've been looking for my own Olivia ever since then, a cute Sandra Dee type who, under the right circumstances, can magically turn into a wild, extremely hot show-stopper. I don't think some people these days realize just how wildly popular Olivia was in the late 70s and early 80s, the era from which these tracks are taken. Physical was atop the charts just short of forever, and for that day and age the single was a delightfully suggestive little song (at least for a kid like me), if you can consider anything sung by an angel to be suggestive. The earliest recordings featured in this collection go back to 1978: from the Grease soundtrack come Hopelessly Devoted To You (one of the best love songs ever) and You're the One That I Want (a duet with John Travolta that I will certainly never forget thanks to the movie), while the scale-climbing A Little More Love is taken from Olivia's Totally Hot album. 1980's Xanadu may not be a critically successful movie, but it provides us with three great hits: the infectiously upbeat Xanadu (with ELO), Magic, and Suddenly (a really nice duet with Cliff Richard). Olivia's best-selling Physical album from 1981 provides only two tracks: the mega-hit Physical single and the rather sultry Make a Move On Me. The remaining two tracks, the memorable hit Heart Attack and Tied Up, were, if I'm not mistaken, recorded specifically for this greatest hits album.

   There are better, more comprehensive greatest hits albums on the market today (ones featuring the earlier hits not included on this collection), but for a long time this was the Olivia Newton-John greatest hits album to have, featuring Olivia's best hits from the years she basically ruled over the world of female vocalists. Her voice is timeless and remains plaintively beautiful to this day. Whenever I listen to this album, I have to wonder why I haven't been listening to it every day for the last twenty years. Pure beauty never goes out of style, and no female singer has ever equaled the beauty of Olivia's voice, body, mind, and soul.




5. There's something truly magical about this album, which is odd considering it is just a compilation - one of the many in a career where the number of Olivia compilations on the market outnumber her studio albums! This, however, is one of only a handful which were endorsed and compiled with Olivia's blessing. Whilst Olivia's career over the last ten years has been 'dodgy' to put it lightly, part of the reason 'Greatest Hits Volume 2' is such a delight is it was released at a time when to say Olivia was the world's biggest female popstar was a justified accolade.

   ...The Hollywood phase of her career when 'commercial' seemed synonymous with 'innovation' - something truly lacking from today's musical climate! Purists will argue that her best years were in the early and mid seventies when the majority of her output fell into the 'country' or 'easy listening' categories. With this, I argue profusely. Her recording career up until 1978 was rather hit-and-miss, her albums containing stellar songs sitting side-by-side by embarrassments not even Anne Murray would have touched. This compilation covers the four years from 1978 - 1982, the four years in Olivia's career when she went from strength to strength.

   Her blossoming movie career (which died shortly hereafter) is well-represented with half the album culled from the soundtracks to the stellar 'Grease' and, erm, less-than-stellar 'Xanadu'. Never fear, because the music is as memorable as it was 20 years ago. 'You're The One That I Want', despite being massacred by karaoke singers worldwide, is still the fifties-meets-seventies-sing-a-long it was when Olivia and Travolta first wiggled their respective booties in that 'Shake Shack'. 'Hopelessly Devoted To You' remains Olivia's most successful pop-by-numbers ballad ('I Honestly Love You' can't hold a candle to this John Farrar-penned selection), whilst 'Xanadu' and 'Magic' have gone on to be rather highly-appreciated camp classics from a film which garnered similar accolades.

   Her non-soundtrack work is represented through two albums which, suffice to say, are the two best albums she ever released. 'Totally Hot' could've done with more of a showing than just 'A Little More Love' (umm, MCA, where in the world is the R'n'B/pop drum-and-bass confection of 'Deeper Than The Night'?!), but the song is about as perfectly edgy as Olivia ever got, so no complaints here. The other album represented by two cuts is Olivia's uber-successful 'Physical' - the briliant title track gets another outing here, as does the sing-a-long bouncy synth-romp that is 'Make A Move On Me'.

   This collection also boasted two non-album tracks which perfectly segue between the shimmering synth rock of 'Physical' and the more aggressive dance-based sound of the 'Two Of A Kind' soundtrack. 'Heart Attack', from the pen of Steve Kipner who also wrote 'Physical', is perfect Olivia-fare with a powerhouse chorus and a chugging drum and quirky bassline. 'Tied Up', on the other hand, is a slinky little pop/rock number which is closer in feel to Olivia's 'Recovery' than anything else... melodically quite dark, but still infectious enough to be a hit (perhaps the record-buying public didn't agree with me, as it sadly stalled just inside the Top 40 in the US).

   This was Olivia at her peak. Best listened to in conjunction with the 'Olivia Newton-John, Live!' VHS released the same year. Olivia's 'Physical' tour captured in such a way that it stands up today alongside some of the greatest tours of the 90's. Olivia is in great voice, and singing some of the best songs of her career. From here it all went a bit pear-shaped, but luckily we have flawless compilations like this to remind us what a gem Olivia really is.

5 comments about On Your Toes (1983 Broadway Revival Cast).

1. I saw this musical twenty-five years ago, and I remember distinctly sitting in the mezzanine watching--listening to--absorbing through every pore--the title song, "On Your Toes". It was the classic eleven o'clock number. And I'll tell ya, I remember just as distinctly thinking to myself, "This would be a perfect time to die because nothing will ever be as wonderful as this moment."
   
   Okay, in retrospect, I am mostly glad that I didn't die just then. God knows in Midtown Manhattan in 1983 there were innumerable ways to die, and none of them were good. Besides, if I'd died then, I would never know what it's like now to have this much fun with nostalgia. To be crystal clear: On Your Toes is serious fun. The production was a faithful recreation of the 1936 original (dropping a few jokes that just couldn't translate over time). Same director. Same choreography. Same orchestrations. Two pianos even--`thirties style.
   
   I had to listen to this recording again after a couple of days of listening to Kelli O'Hara's new release. On a couple of her tracks, she reminds me of the female lead in this production, Christine Andreas. Christine Andreas has two duets and a solo as well as a solo section in the title number. And she is something else. After twenty-five years, I still remember vividly the warmth and charisma she imbued to this production. It's a warmth that carried over to the cast recording beautifully. There's a purity in Christine Andreas' voice that's unmistakable. (It's still there, incidentally. I just heard her a few months ago, and her voice is still a joy.) You can easily hear her smiling through the cozy standards, "It's Got to be Love" and "There's a Small Hotel". You can feel the shudder of her plaintive heart in "Glad to be Unhappy". Hearing Christine Andreas is the first reason why I ever listen to this recording--and primarily why I bought the CD. (The album I bought back in 1983 was purchased then as a way to relive that quintessential eleven o'clock number.)
   
   But there's much more to this recording. Dina Merrill does a terrific character turn with her numbers and brings the perfect professional delivery to Lorenz Hart's clever lyrics. On this recording are some of the sharpest lyrics he wrote. Take the second act opener with Dina Merrill and Lara Teeter: "Mother begged me, don't drink with any guy/ So I was made/ on lemonade/ The heart is quicker than the eye". Any student of musical theater should get this recording to understand not only how to structure a comedy song effectively, but how to deliver a comedy song. Merrill and the legendary George S. Irving did it right in this show.
   
   In fact, a student of musical theater would do well to study the structure of this whole production. It can be gratifying to explore just how a fairly intense jazz ballet can be successfully incorporated into an otherwise frivolous musical comedy. "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" was truly ground-breaking in the 1936 production, and it's a seventeen and a half minute stunner of an instrumental dance finale here. (What you really ought to do, if you're serious about studying musicals, is dig up Walter Kerr's review of this production for the New York Times. I think he figured out just how an aging, thinly plotted musical like this could thrill a modern audience. Something I wish more directors of the current generation of musicals could figure out.)
   Anyone hesitant to bother replacing their aging LP of On Your Toes should know that George S. Irving's gentle, soulful reprise of "Quiet Night" is included here, having been cut from the original recording. The ballets are finally unabridged as well. Furthermore, every photo and all the liner notes from the LP, including the plot synopsis, is nicely incorporated into the CD package. If you care about that sort of thing. Which you probably do if you're reading this.
   
   Look, it's going to be a long, hot, miserable summer. You're going to get a stack of bills you can't pay, and life is going to stay infinitely more complicated than it was for you twenty-five years ago. You could probably give yourself some distraction listening to your original cast recordings from Spring Awakening or Into the Heights. But I promise you, On Your Toes is what you really need. You need songs that will inspire you dance around the kitchen. Songs that you can learn and subsequently use to charm the pants off of anyone with a heart. Songs with clever lyrics that make you grin and give you a taste for lemonade. You're not getting any younger, and life is challenging enough; get On Your Toes.



2. This is the best version available. Excellent performance. Crisp recording with detailed attention to original score.



3. I like Babes in Arms and The Boys From Syracuse better, but so what? Rodgers and Hart were as good a team as the Broadway musical ever had and this is indeed one of their best, in a fantastic recording that is as true to the original sound as they could get it. There aren't so many full recordings of Rodgers and Hart musicals, and this is one of the best there is. Go for it.



4. Hands down the best of the ON YOUR TOES recordings. This one features the original 1936 orchestrations and includes the complete score with BOTH ballets and all the reprises. The digital sound is crisp and clear and the whole performance is well cast.
   
   When this first came out in 1983 there were two versions: In the U.S. it was released by Polydor as a single LP with some edits in the ballets and a few of the minor numbers eliminated. The U.K. release on TER was a 2 LP set containing the full score. The early CD issues were the abridged version but now, finally, the complete score is available on CD.



5. ON YOUR TOES is one of the finer collaborations between Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The original production was a big hit on Broadway in the 30's, but a revival in 1954 with Bobby Van and Elaine Stritch was a huge failure. In 1983, ON YOUR TOES came back to Broadway to huge acclaim, in a revival starring lovely Christine Andreas, Natalia Makarova and Dina Merrill (as Miss Porterfield), among the strong cast. The Rodgers-Hart score includes the standards "Glad to Be Unhappy", "The Heart is Quicker Than the Eye" (delightfully-performed by Dina Merrill and Lara Teeter), "There's a Small Hotel" and the sumptuous ballet "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". Natalia Makarova won a Tony for her performance (though CATS took out Best Musical, and Tommy Tune won Best Actor in a Musical for MY ONE AND ONLY).

3 comments about Priscilla: Queen of the Desert: The Stage Musical.

1. For all those people who enjoyed" Priscilla Queen of the Desert" the film, The stage version is so much better , and the Original Australian Cast Recording is now here . It is such a fun show performed by a super cast .
   Be aware that the first album to come out with the music from the stage show was not the original cast, but the music being performed by the artists who made them famous.
   The Original Cast Recording has a great range of music on it favourite tracks being "Go West" "What's Love Got to Do with It" "Colour My World"
   and "MacArthur Park" The costume design for the show by Lizzy Gardner and Tim Chappel compliments the work they had done for the movie...Hopefully it will eventually play in the United States , after being staged in London in 2009....A great night out at the theatre as well as being a fun album Les Breen Melbourne Australia



2. I guess it is my own fault for not looking closer, but I wanted the original cast of the Sydney production of PRISCILLA and this is just the original "disco hits" packaged as "the stage musical" which is just not the same thing at all. I loved the show in Australia and wanted the cast CD. Beware if you are looking for AN ORIGINAL CAST CD. That said, it's a great 2-CD disco set and I use it a lot when I workout.



3. I saw this musical at the Star City Casino in Sydney three weeks ago with a group of co-workers. Only a couple of us had seen The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but even those who were totally unfamiliar with the story absolutely loved this production!
   
   While the soundtrack disc here is not a recording of the musical, it does contain 39 disco-era and 70s songs by the original performers--and is credited with inspiring the musical.
   
   The one glaring omission is anything by ABBA. I suspect that Mamma Mia! The Musical Based on the Songs of ABBA (Original Broadway Cast) had obtained all rights to those songs on the stage--which is a tragedy considering the running story line throughout the movie regarding Agnetha's scatalogical contribution to this journey across the Australian outback.
   
   The songs in the musical were performed live--many by a trio of singers suspended from the ceiling while the drag queen main characters lip-synched to their music. While they sounded great, it is nice to have the originals to jog the memory and nudge the nostalgia. Anything else might have sounded like a cover band (like when you buy the 'greatest hits of the 70's' CD only to get it home and find in small print that the whole thing was done by the 'Ringtones' or some such nonsense).
   
   I bought this Australian-produced CD at the souvenir booth after the show and cracked the 2nd one removing it from the spindle before I could even rip this into iTunes back here in the US. While indeed a tragedy, I am willing to buy another copy from Amazon (who seem to be the only ones in the US to carry this import) just to have the music. It's that good.
   
   The musical opens on the West End in London in 2008 and I understand negotiations are underway for Broadway. Go see it. Buy the movie-- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Buy this CD.

1 comments about Growing up in Hollywood Town.

1. I got the original vinyl of this back in the early 1980s and it blew everything else in my collection away in terms of sound quality. That was 1980 and in some ways the technology has vastly improved, but I cant say it is being used any better than this. The vocals were perfectly recorded because she sounds like she is actually in the same room on a good system (The piano quite a bit less so). For best realism I prefer an analog source and this is good enough to make the hair stand up on my back. I believe this was recorded in one sitting, per side, which adds to the performance in my opinion. There is a tiny bit of noise reduction "pumping" going on with the CD version but you really have to listen for it. Otherwise it sounds like they didn't mess with it too much, so the CD is worth a listen.

No comments about Lock Up Your Daughters.

No comments about Grand Piano.

No comments about Very Best of Love.

5 comments about Art Deco: The Crooners.

1. This cd very good. All great crooner is here. Bing is here Russ is here. All good jazz crooning is in this cd, you enjoy it, i promise.



2. These guys were all considered "hotties" of thier time, and men really knew how to sing bacj than, in massculine crooning voices. These guys really get to me especially Russ Columbo! The entire cd is great, and it's important historicly. A great 2 cd set!



3. I keep a copy of this cd at all of my Texas beach houses, i love this cd and I love lovers(everybody loves a lover...), Give this cd and a bottle of wine to any jazz lover(or any lover for taht matter, hahahahaha!!!). This cd includes Bing Crosby, Red McKenzie, Willard Robison and many more great crooners, thsi is teh difinitive crooner cd. A must buy.



4. This cd is absolutly perfect in every way(you get 2 cd's of the worlds finest world class crooners). Who the heck cares if al Bowlly isn't here, every other crooner worthy of mention is(maybe Johnny Marvin is missing). Crosby, Sinatra, Haymes, seger Ellis, Gene Austin, Harlan Lattimore, Harold Arlen, and many others. This cd is the best cd ever!!! Buy it today, it should be called introduction to Crooners 101.



5. This is simply the best two cd set in my collection of over 5000 jazz, blues and swing cd's. Every track is a gem, particularky the Red McKenzie tracks. Such great crooners as Gene Austin, and Chick Bullock are all explores. The lesser known crooners like Seger Ellis & Harlan Lattimore are the real find here. Buy this one now, while you can.

1 comments about Top Hat: Hits from Hollywood.

1. This has to be my favorite CD. I have the video of Fred Astaire's "Shall We Dance," and now I can play those songs on my stereo. The song "Piccolino" is terrific, as are all the songs. This is a "must have" for any Astaire fan. If I hadn't bought it for myself, it would have made a super Christmas stocking stuffer.