Search - Olivia Newton-John :: Long Live Love

Long Live Olivia!

Chris | Sydney, Australia | 04/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Long Live Love' will always hold a special place in my heart because it was one of the first Olivia records I ever heard. My father had an old warped copy in his collection, and at the tender age of 7 (a little youth-muffin, I was!) I honed in on it like a dog to a meaty slab of pork and haven't stopped listening to it since.It is the last of the 'old' Olivia albums. Originally, for all you trivia buffs out there, Olivia was considered a British singer. That is where her early music was recorded and written and where her initial success was at its greatest. 'Long Live Love' was her fourth studio album, released in late 1974 it followed hot on the heels of 'If Not For You', 'Olivia' and 'Music Makes My Day' ('Let Me Be There' in Australia). What makes this album most interesting is that although Olivia's earliest work (her first two and a half records at least) are fairly widely available, a lot of the songs on 'Long Live Love' have never had a commercial release in the UK.Before I actually review the music, I'll try and explain where some of these songs can be found. The American equivalent of 'Long Live Love' was a compilation (although issued as a 'studio' album) in 1974 called 'If You Love Me, Let Me Know'. That record featured half the 'Long Live Love' album. Similarly, a British compilation CD release from the mid-90's, '48 Original Tracks', seems to be a great alternative to actually tracking down Olivia's early albums as it contains the entire first three studio records - but unfortunately skimps on 'Long Live Love', offering only four songs from the album. That leaves a large wealth of 'unreleased' material on this disc for American fans, and they are some real beauties.'Free The People' is a rocky little gospel song that Barbra Streisand also covered early in her career, and opens the 12-track set. Curiously this and 'Country Girl' (a drummy stomper about leaving a country life for a city existance) were ommitted from the South African pressing of the record because of 'questionable' lyrical content offensive to the SA government! 'Angel Eyes' is a gorgeous tune in the vein of a brighter, more peppy 'Angel Of The Morning', whilst 'Loving You Ain't Easy' and 'Home Ain't Home Anymore' fall happily into the easy-listening seventies pop bracket.The entire feel of the album is particularly British, a feeling which Olivia all but lost the following year when she moved to the US and her sound became more of a commercialised American FM radio sound. This lovely 'British' feel is best noted on the beautiful mid-tempo piano ballad 'Someday' and Olivia's cover of 'God Only Knows', complete with plingy strings, shimmering woodwind, and multi-tracked vocals from the diva herself! Lovely. Of course the album also includes 'I Honestly Love You', the Peter Allen ballad which catapulted Olivia into the American charts and hearts of the US public, as well as the much-hated title track which effectively lost Olivia (and Britain!) the Eurovision song contest in 1974. Although Olivia claims to abhor the song nowadays... in retrospect it's cute and has a childlike naivety and sense of hope to it. Awww.'The River's Too Wide' ventures once again into gospel territory (something Olivia never really explored, so it's a real gem here) and whilst 'Hands Across The Sea' and 'Have Love Will Travel' are rollicking British seventies pop tunes which compliment Olivia's soft, airy vocal style perfectly.A great album for what it was, with some bright positive lyrics about love and one of Olivia's most beautiful album covers ever...I suppose I'll have to describe - Olivia, fresh-faced with piercing blue eyes, in a lace top surrounded by her name and the name of the album in a 'ribbon and flower' graphic design, all framed with a lovely bright yellow colour. Lovely, like the album and the woman herself."

A bright and cheery album

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title track was Olivia's song for Eurovision in 1974, which came fourth to Abba singing Waterloo. It may have been the turning point in Olivia's career, as she concentrated much more on America and much less on Europe after that. I never thought that Long live love was one of Olivia's best songs - and I don't think Olivia was keen on it either - but it's better than most Eurovision songs.The rest of the album reflects the bright, cheery nature of Long live love, with plenty of up-tempo songs and a few ballads. The standout song is, of course, I honestly love you - it was a huge American pop hit. There is also a superb cover of God only knows, the Beach boys classic. Country girl is a song that really sums up where Olivia's heart is - her music has taken many different directions since 1974 when this was recorded, but I sense that she's really just a country girl at heart.While this may not be Olivia's strongest album, it is a high quality, joyous album, typical of her early years."

A Must-Own for any big ONJ fan

Ray Allen | Burbank, CA | 06/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With her second US album "If You Love Me, Let Me Know" only available in scarce out-of-print supply, this is easily a great supplement! In fact, I think it's even better. It has all the obscure tracks from that album ... "Free The People," "God Only Knows," "The River's Too Wide" ... as well as some that I've only been able to find on this release: "Someday" and "Angel Eyes," both of which are simply gorgeous. If you really love to hear Olivia sing, you will not be disappointed by adding this title to your collection."