Olivia's Physical At 40

In the latter part of last month, the long awaited deluxe edition of Olivia Newton John's iconic 1980 Physical album was finally issued by Primary Wave Music. The album is now available in the U.S, and in the UK from later this month, as a 2CD+DVD digipak 40th anniversary set, which includes the original album, 21 bonus tracks and a DVD of the original video album (the first of its kind, that won a Grammy for "Video of the Year" in 1983), and the Olivia In Concert television special that was filmed over two nights at the Weber State University Hall in Utah in October 1982, during her Physical tour of North America, both of which have been remastered in both sound and picture, and are released here on DVD for the first time. Although many of us had the original vinyl LP, beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve, with inner bag featuring photos, song lyrics and album credits, and seen the TV specials, and owned the VHS, Beta and Laserdic releases of the DVD content, they have never been seen in such outstanding picture and sound quality as they do on this new 40th anniversary set. 

 

The front and back of the original inner bag for the 1981 vinyl

If we go back 40 years, the tracks for Physical were recorded between October 1980 and June 1981. Upon its release in October 1981, it went top ten in eight countries around the world including the States, but quite surpisingly in the UK, only managed to reach #11. It provided Olivia with three hit singles including the title track, Make A Move On Me and Landslide. The title track and lead single, released one month before the album was an immediate hit with over two million copies shipped to the U.S alone and had a chart stay of ten weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 - the longest run of any song in the 1980s, and overall equalled Elvis Presley's Hound Dog in 1956. It contained Olivia's most assertive and sensual vocal ever with lyrics like... "There's nothin' left to talk about/unless it's horizontally..." It was enough to get the record censored and banned by a number of radio stations.

One of the original master reel tape boxes for the 1981 vinyl

Taking a closer look at the new Deluxe Edition, the original 10 track album has been expanded with six bonus tracks on the first disc and a further fifteen on the second disc, all remastered from the original master tapes by Vinny Vero. The bonus tracks (many new to CD) include a duet with Barry Gibb from 1984, plus material from the soundtrack of Olivia's 1983 film, Two of a Kind, plus Heart Attack and Tied Up that were recorded for her Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album in the U.S, and included on her 20 Greatest Hits in the UK, both put out on the back of Physical's success. As one would expect on a set like this, there are plenty of alternate mixes and single edits, plus a couple of live recordings that first appeared as B-sides on a couple of 1983 UK singles.

 

The 1983 UK singles with live B-sides, Physical and Jolene 

For those who are wondering if there any outtakes from the Physical sessions, the answer is no. According to comments made by Vinny on Facebook, there were no demos sung by Olivia or unreleased songs from the Physical sessions. "In fact, there are only a small handful of unreleased recordings across Olivia’s entire career and even fewer demos. For the first ten years of Olivia’s career, she was contracted to record and release two albums a year. That’s a total of 20 songs a year. Part of Olivia’s success was due to worldwide visibility. She toured, did television appearances, and hosted her own specials. That didn't leave a lot of time for her to be in the studio. So she and John Farrar had to be economical with studio time. John would prepare arrangements and recordings while Olivia was on the road. Then she would return home to work in the studio on the songs John had prepared. Olivia often lived with a very full schedule".

The DVD content is as good as can be expected. As Vinny explained in another FB  comment, "the footage has been cleaned up and color corrected, but it hasn’t been upscaled due to the way it was originally shot, and Blu-ray wasn’t an option because the footage would have been a bit pixelated. There are certain limitations. I was able to locate the original 1" videotape masters and use them as the source material".

Deluxe Edition Postscript: Thoughts from Olivia

It’s hard to believe that it has been 40 years since Physical was first released and I am thrilled that it’s getting this beautiful 40th anniversary Deluxe Edition. I am so proud of this record as it not only allowed me to try new things musically, but it became such a part of pop-culture history. It also gave me the chance to work (again) with fellow Aussies – my amazing friend, songwriter and producer John Farrar and Steve Kipner, who co-wrote Physical. I remember being so nervous that I had gone too far with the title song’s cheekiness that I told my manager at the time, Roger Davies, to pull it off the album.  He laughed and said ‘"Luv, it’s too late it’s gone to radio and is climbing the charts" I was banned for Physical – can you imagine? – I can actually say I was banned! That song is a lullaby compared to what’s on the radio today!

In her personal note from the CD booklet, Olivia reminds us that some anniversaries come and go, passing without fanfare. But others are really worth acknowledging. Physical at 40 happens to be to be one worth celebrating. This album is a significant milestone to be sharing with us again. "Thank you all for making my musical journey a magical experience. I am filled with immense gratitude knowing that some of the songs on this album have woven themselves into the soundtrack of our lives - bringing back some wonderful memories. Many people have made countless creative contributions throughout the years as Physical travelled from song concepts to recording studio, from radio play and music stores to chart positions and concert tours. But most of all, l have enjoyed singing - from my heart to yours".

Afterword

Having been a fan since 1971, I am often asked which is my favourite Olivia album, and my answer is always Physical, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to be asked to contribute to the Deluxe Edition, and have my name included in the special thank you credits. My involvement however was very different to my past inputs on CD album projects, in that I was asked to supply scans of her single picture bags and sleeves from around the world, which were originally intended for the discography pages in the CD and vinyl booklets. One of my favourites is shown below.

Olivia's First Album Revisited

Back in the 70s, me and my wife (now ex-wife) had this habit of buying an album each whenever we went shopping for a new album. Back in November 1971, she bought Tapestry by Carole King, and I chose Olivia Newton John's self-titled first album! By the time her album was released, Olivia had already come to British pop prominence with two top twenty singles, that were both featured on the album. She had also recorded a duet with Cliff Richard the year before, done the backing vocals on the Shadows version of Cliff's The Day I Met Marie on their From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John album in 1967, and was appearing regularly on Cliff's BBC-TV Saturday night series, It's Cliff Richard! One year after her album hit the shops, she was touring the UK as a support act with Cliff and the Shadows, who with John Farrar, had reformed as Marvin, Welch & Farrar. But Olivia's climb to fame had started a few years before, not that I was very aware of it, or even who she was! 

In 1966, Olivia released her debut single on Decca Records, a cover of Jackie De Shannon's Till You Say You'll Be Mine, which is almost unrecognisable as an Olivia Newton-John record that sank quietly into oblivion. Four years later in 1970, she won an audition to join the manufactured group Toomorrow as the lead singer. They made a film, which was a sort of futuristic new take on the Monkees, and released an accompanying soundtrack album, both of which turned out to be a critical and commercial disaster.

Photo call for the Toomorrow film and album, London 1970

After these failed attempts to launch her career, manager Peter Gormley (who also managed Cliff, The Shadows and Frank Ifield) signed her to Festival Records in Australia to make an album that was simply titled Olivia Newton-John when released by the Pye International label in the UK, but in Australia and the U.S, released on the Interfusion and UNI labels, was titled after the successful lead single, If Not for You. Production on the album started in early 1971 at the legendary Abbey Road Studios that had been made famous by The Beatles. If Not For You was the first song she recorded for the album, but didn't really like it, even though she later praised its production. At the time she was far from convinced it would suit her. She simply didn't think it was her type of song and admitted to having a little trouble being convincing in putting it over, but because everyone in the studio was so enthusiastic about it, she eventually came round to liking it. 

In her memoir, Don't Stop Beleivin', she recalls Abbey Road was where she spent her days with her dog Geordie at her feet. "There was a moment when he actually knocked the mic stand during a guitar solo in If Not For You. We left the sound on the album and it still makes me smile when I hear it. It also makes me smile when I remember that The Beatles were in the next studio with George Martin recording their new album. I was lucky enough to meet them all as Bruce was good friends with the most famous band of all time. In fact, he told me that Paul offered him his publishing on a song, but first he would want to give it a listen. Paul pulled his guitar out of his car boot and played a few bars of the song to Bruce, who turned it down. It had a different working title then, but it was Yesterday!"

Olivia at Abbey Road Studio 2, 1971

Although the album featured all cover versions, it would be a mistake to think these are all mere covers, warned most reviewers and music critics at the time of its original vinyl and cassette release, the production and arrangements by Bruce Welch and John Farrar are innovative and worthwhile. As Joe Viglione from AllMusic noted years later, when the album was released on CD, "there is a moving version of the traditional American country song, Banks of the Ohio. The interpretation of Richard Manuel's In a Station is respectful and intuitive. Music from Big Pink was only three years old when this recording was pressed, and it is one of the few albums to survive the hype and get better with age. Olivia dipping into the Big Pink songbook was a stroke of genius. Label mate Elton John released Leslie Duncan's Love Song on his Here and There live album, but that version doesn't have the sensitivity of this spiritual reading. Both Kris Kristofferson tunes, Me and Bobby McGee and Help Me Make It Through the Night, have arrangements that bring new life to what had became bar band favourites in the early 70s. Where Are You Going to My Love? was covered by the Brotherhood of Man and the Osmonds, but finds its niche here, as does the superb version of Duncan's Lullaby. Tom Rush's No Regrets and Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind are well done, but it is Olivia's cover of Bob Dylan by way of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass which garnered her first top ten hit. If Not for You brought Olivia the attention she deserved. The musicianship by Lou Reed/David Bowie sessionman, Herbie Flowers along with Dave Richmond, John Farrar, and the ever present Brian Bennett is top notch. Hearing Livvy sing so many familiar tunes, and performing them so well, is utterly charming." 

Pye Press Release for Love Song,  June 1971

There were five other songs recorded at the sessions that didn't make it onto the album during the album's creation process, mostly due to the running times for a vinyl LP. In those days, a 17 track pop album would have been unheard of, but of course there were other reasons they weren't selected for inclusion. As the album had evolved into what was essentially a covers album, Pye Records felt they didn't fit in with the the rest of the album and would be best relegated to B-sides. I first heard the acetate demos of the discarded tracks a couple of years ago, which included The Biggest Clown, It's So Hard To Say Goodbye and Would You Follow Me, before the remakes were recorded. The finished masters were first released on the flip sides of her first three singles from the album, If Not for You, Love Song and Banks of the Ohio. The other two, Game of Love and Round And Round were passed on completely and never remade. To this day, they have never surfaced in any form. There are, of course, bound to be different takes and alternate versions of all the songs recorded for the album. It's very rare for an artist to lay down the master take first time, although three years later in 1974, the same year she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, Olivia did exactly that with I Honestly Love You. She did three takes of it in all, but it was take one that ended up as the master take and the version that was released.

When the album was released in the UK, the front sleeve had a full size 12 x 12 head and shoulder shot of Olivia that was printed on a matt texture finished card with softened colours that became a 70's cover art trademark. The untextured white card back sleeve was black and white, and featured two photos of Olivia recording the album at Abbey Road Studios, plus the usual side 1 and 2 track list with songwriter and album credits, but unlike the Australian issue didn't have any sleeve notes. What the sleeve did however was set the pattern for her future albums to always have a full size photo adorning the front cover. She was so photogenic that every one looked like the photographer had just pointed his camera at her and snapped. What is surprising though, is that despite the album winning rave reviews, producing two hit singles, and tipped to be a sure fire winner, it still failed to make the UK album chart. 

The Australian Sleeve Notes

Olivia Newton-John is the girl Cliff Richard chose to join him on his first duet record - Olivia is also the girl Harry Saltzman chose for the starring part in his film Tomorrow. Now Olivia Newton-John has started her solo career on record with a world-wide hit in the form of Bob Dylan's If Not For You. 

Oddly enough Olivia wasn't born into a showbusinesss family (in fact her Welsh-born father had an academic background and her German-born mother was the daughter of a Nobel Prize winning physicist) but somehow showbusiness entered Olivia's blood at an early age. By the time she was five her family had moved from Wales to Australia and it was there in Ormond College, where her father became Master of the College, that Olivia whiled away the hours making up tunes on the family grand piano.

She also entertained friends with her own musical comedies, and by the time she was twelve years of age, at her sister's insistence, she entered a local cinema contest to "find the girl who most looked like Hayley Mills".

Two years later she and and three other girls started a singing group called The Sol Four. But when The Sol Four began interfering with school work the act was disbanded and Olivia then began singing on her own in a coffee lounge owned by her sister's husband.

It was a customer who suggested to Olivia that she enter a contest being held by Johnny O'Keefe. Olivia won the contest but because she was at school at the time it was more than a year before she could enjoy her prize - a trip to London. It was soon after arriving in London that Olivia formed a double act with another Australian girl, Pat Carroll.

"We sang and danced, did a lot of Club work and had several spots on BBC Television," recalls Olivia. It was, in a short space of time, a successful combination, until Pat Carroll's  Visa ran out and she was forced to return to Australia.

Happily Olivia stayed, made solo records and even became part of the Tomorrow group. Now signed to Festival Records International, Olivia's interests away from showbusiness are "listening to records and being anywhere where there is sun. I'm also mad about my two red-setter dogs and horse riding". Olivia's latest single is Banks of the Ohio/Love Song.

From the album cover photo shoot by David Steen

With thanks to Jeff Point for his help and sharing pieces of his collection,
 including a mammoth amount of scans and other information.

The Story of Elvis UK3

As some of you know, l was asked sometime ago to contribute details and background stories to all of the Elvis CD projects I worked on from 1996 to 2004 for Sony, BMG and other third party labels for a new book that was being put together by John Townson and Gordon Minto, and has taken almost six years to research and produce. That book is Elvis UK3, which was launched as a digital online flip book this week. 

The book follows their previous works, the groundbreaking Elvis UK, published in the pre-digital era of 1987, and the self published Elvis UK2, published 15 years later in 2002. Both books were extremely well-received by collectors, earned critical acclaim, and have become invaluable reference sources for Elvis collectors all over the world.  This latest reference work is bigger and more comprehensive than either of their two original works. 

The new book comprises 1400 pages (containing over a million words), and features 4,000 plus high quality black and white and colour illustrations, many of which were provided by my good friend Tony King whose photo archive is probably one of the largest in the world, and has been utilised by many Elvis authors, book publishers, FTD and Sony. The book also provides the definitive guide to Elvis’s UK compact disc releases, and details the development of the medium from the 3 CD set The Legend, which was the world’s first ever Elvis compact disc in 1983, in meticulous and unprecedented detail.

 

 

 

Every single, RCA, BMG, FTD and third party album (all 450 of them!) issued up to 2005 are written about individually in fascinating detail, arranged in chronological order, carefully cross-referenced, while charting and describing company and industry developments along the way. It has been painstakingly researched over many years, and features many contributions by former RCA/BMG personnel who helped with key background information, along with many others, who like myself, have contributed to some of the CD releases featured. In my case they include The Hillbilly Cat, Artist Collection (including discarded artwork and omitted liner note passage), the 2002 JXL remix of A Little Less Convesation, the final batch of Millennium Master sets (Elvis 50s, 60s, 70s, Hits) and the Live Greatest Hits.

The book also includes sections on various artist CDs containing Elvis material, as well as company promos, presenters and BMG in-house CDs. The huge song index is presented in forensic detail, indicating exactly where each master (and any known outtakes) can be located and, in the case of live performances, when and where they were recorded. 

And in what is almost a first for such a project, this incredibly detailed book is presented using Flip technology for use on your own digital device – a computer, laptop, iPad, smartphone, Kindle and tablet. Once you have the link, accessing the whole book is simple. The system allows the reader to access any part of the book in seconds thanks to a very sophisticated, but easy to use, range of navigational tools. Hardback specialist reference books of this sort have become extremely expensive to buy and post, and of course are notoriously difficult to handle and store. Not so with Flip. The book can be accessed on any device and has the advantage of being portable: it can go where you go – and once on your device, it does not deteriorate at all.  Another major advantage is that the price to buy such a book is much cheaper than an equivalent hard-copy would have been, and as there are no prohibitive post and packing charges to factor in, it is readily available to anyone interested, wherever they are in the world. 

As a bonus, the authors have compiled a unique digipak CD to give away with the book, that includes an 8-page illustrated booklet with extensive liner notes detailing the rationale for the content. Beyond The Legend includes 22 UK single chart entries, plus the 1956 Truth About Me interview, not included on the original 1983 Legend set, and will be sent out to all UK buyers free of charge. Overseas fans however will be asked to pay for post and packing costs.

 

 

Anyone wanting more details of this magnificent and authoritative reference work should visit the website where many more details are available, including the option of accessing some free sample pages to try out, as well as how to buy the book.

Footnote

 

Many readers and contributors will find lots of interesting facts and behind the scene stories in the book. For me personally, one of the most fascinating was for the 1992 album From The Heart. I was intrigued to read the back story to the release as I knew Lee Simmonds (who compiled it) from his days of running the RCA International catalogue, during which time, we became friends and allies during my days as a struggling graphic artist. He was among my first encounters with RCA at Bedford Avenue in London. Among other things, he introduced me to Roger Semon, when Roger was a part time salesman and was already loosely involved in the early years of the Elvis catalogue, got me and my ex tickets for the 1984 Bucks Fizz tour and was always giving me freebie albums! Lee and me remained in touch when he moved to EMI, QED and later to Sanctuary Records, when Roger was MD! Beyond Elvis he was responsible for the marketing and promotion of the 1981 Glen Campbell Live album, which featured my gatefold sleeve artwork. In his office he had the original illustration that was used on the cover of the Elvis 56 Sessions Volume 2 album (as shown above). As readers will discover, one of Lee's Elvis projects at QED was The Hillbilly Cat for which he asked me to do the liner notes, and which became the first Elvis album I wrote a liner note for.

 

Postscript

Back in 1989, I was sitting in a meeting room at Blandford Press in London, with friend, writing partner and co-author, Peter Lewry, waiting for editor Stuart Booth to arrive. We were there to discuss our book project on Cliff Richard's recording sessions. While we were waiting we browsed the selection of books that were displayed around the room, and the one that caught our eye was Elvis UK by John Townson, Gordon Minto and George Richardson. We had both heard about the book when it was first published two years earlier, but the hefty retail price of £45 made it a pretty prohibitive buy that neither of us could afford at the time, even though it was probably the one Elvis book we wanted most. Now in our publishers office, and well aware they were the same publisher that had published this mammoth work on Elvis' record releases, we now had the chance to take a closer look, and wow, the information inside was quite staggering, even for the most serious and ardent Elvis collector. What we found in this book was something else, there were things listed that were completely new to us, and what we discovered took us completely by surprise. Did RCA UK really make that many goofs in the marketing of their crown jewel artist? According to this book, yes they did, and it had been going on for years, long before I started collecting Elvis back in 1963.

Further Reading

Elvis - The Man and His Music (No. 116, 117, 118): Elvis UK Revisited by Gordon Minto.