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.