Olivia Newton-John Grace and Gratitude fan's review

Grace and Gratitude - A Fan's Review

By Chris Rutherford

Firstly I have to commend everyone involved in the photography, design and art direction of the sleeve as it suits the album so perfectly. I've loved the cover since day one. Olivia looks beautiful and the chakra colours stand out against the earthy palette of the rest of the sleeve. I'm also loving the look of the new "Olivia" logo and can only hope she uses it for more than one album. The booklet is almost a work of art in itself. I appreciate Olivia's lengthy liner notes on the genesis of the CD and it's a huge buzz to see another side to her artistry in the form of the small watercolours she's painted to represent some of the song titles. I think they all offer a little more insight into what the songs mean to her. I also have to give props for the sequencing of the album, which not only works musically but also is intentionally aligned with the seven chakras. It makes such a difference when you can really see the work and thought that has gone into a project like this.

Onto the music.

02// Pearls On A Chain
Olivia doesn't ease her way into this one like a lot of songs she's recorded lately. The vocals are strong and engaging from the beginning, echoing the piano melody with a sweetness and purity in her voice that notably is maintained throughout the entire album. It's interesting to note the difference between the opening of "POAC" and that of "Stronger Than Before". The woman rich with the pain of experience whose opening assertion "I've survived so many things" on the last album told a personal tale now looks outward. That "I" gives way to "every living thing on this earth", making "Grace & Gratitude" much less an album about Olivia Newton-John than it is about every woman (and every man). "Pearls On A Chain" is one of the strongest cuts on the album, lyrically and musically. Amy and Olivia's voices blend so well on this opening track, and indeed throughout the rest of the disc, that you can't help but feel they were meant to be singing together.

04// To Be Wanted
It's the mark of a great vocalist if after 40 years of recording they can still manage to discover new qualities in their voice. The verses of "To Be Wanted" are breathy and deep, but incredibly articulate. Olivia refuses to let any of the words slip away (make of that what you will…) with every single sound being sung with total clarity - "across my back". If merely by association the song feels like an updated, more mature take on the cover of "I Want To Be Wanted" Olivia did on "Back To Basics". I got shivers the first time I heard this one. Amy's lyrics sound almost like a mantra, "to be wanted, to want". Proving once again that she is a damn fine interpreter, Olivia finds her truth within someone else's lyric and projects it so potently you'd almost be convinced she wrote it herself. I can't help but hear a sadness in this song especially considering how sensuously Olivia sings the verses and then the yearning of the chorus. I love Amy's "ha, ha, ha" parts in the instrumental break. She'd almost pass for Enya there.

06// Learn To Love Yourself
I heard this about three weeks before I received a physical copy of the album and this was another track that affected me immediately. Olivia's voice is cleaner sounding than it has been in years, the melody is instantly memorable, and the lyrics avoid sounding like a self-help book. In lesser hands they could easily have. As with the rest of the disc there's a tangible poignancy here that is helped greatly by the breathtaking production. Olivia's high notes are so pure that they simply melt into the arrangement with no hint of vibrato until the very end. The "breathe it out, breathe it in" middle 8 is a testament to Amy's understanding of where and how Olivia's voice takes on its otherworldy, ethereal quality. Every time that part starts playing I get the urge to skip back and play it again. Again Amy does a nicely ethereal job herself on the backing vocals, and the "feel it in your heart…" part does sound freakishly like Enya. I'm not familiar with Amy's solo work so I don't know what her voice sounds like outside of this sort of genre but it works a treat here.

08// Grace and Gratitude
This was the other song I heard before owning a copy of the album and have to admit I wasn't taken with it. I find the lyrics in the chorus awkward and cannot warm to a line like "thank you for life". I'm probably just too young and cynical to appreciate them at the moment! However in a perfect example of the irony that so often works its way into my life, this is the song on the album that I've been humming most. The slow echoey drum in the chorus is great and the vocal arrangement is deceptively simple. I think this would be a workout to sing. I love the end with the sustained note and Olivia's little kick at the end of it. It's moments like that with Olivia's voice that cut me to the core for some reason.

10// Love Is Letting Go Of Fear
I had high hopes for "Love Is Letting Go Of Fear" when I read the album's tracklist a month ago. I loved this title the most out of all the songs as it resonated really strongly with the year I've had and where I feel I am in my life right now. It turns out to be a solid song with perhaps the most insistent rhythm track on the record. The soft chords at the beginning are beautiful and my ears still focus on them throughout most of the song. The progression of the song reminds me a lot of another Olivia track but I can't work out which one it is. I love after the instrumental break how the strings swell and Olivia sings "love, is letting go of fear" a little more forcefully. The lyrics are good to boot and the resignation of "let… go" at the end was another "moment" for me on first listen. "LILGOF" lives up to the promise of its title, even if it's not as appealing as "Learn To Love Yourself" is for me.

12// Gate Gate
I think "Gate Gate" is a song that you have to be in the right mood for. The first time I listened to the album I heard it from start to finish at 11PM with soft lighting in a room all by myself. It was pretty special. I got a lot out of "Gate Gate" on first listen and am still drawn to the vocal groove Olivia gets into by about halfway. It reminds me of Madonna's "Shanti/Ashtangi" on the "Ray Of Light" record, although Olivia's is much more contemplative. I imagine the effect of this one was meant to be a meditative chant of sorts, in which case the desired effect was certainly achieved.

14// Let Go Let God
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much of this cut. ""Let go, let God" is a phrase I use a lot in everyday conversation although it's usually in relation to something trivial. It's such a cliché nowadays and I worried it would make for a really limp lyric. I shouldn't have been so concerned. As it turns out I would rate "Let Go Let God" as one of the best tracks on the album. Olivia's delivery is so spot-on for the song and the lyrics in the chorus are possibly my favourite lyric on the disc: "let the signs remind you we are passengers". It's evocative and powerful and I keep seeing a video like Bjork's "Desired Constellation" in my head. The chorus opens up like a kaleidoscope and it's yet another instance where Olivia and Amy's voices sound like they were meant to be together. Spectacular!

16// I Will Lift Up My Eyes
The plaintive acoustic guitar and Olivia's no-frills vocal reminds me of her early material back in the 70s, much like "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" did on the "Indigo" record. Her voice is so warm and comforting on the chorus, moreso than anywhere else on the album for me. I really like the lyrics. It's a very visual song and I love the little journey the first verse takes you on: from the gate to the garden to the river to the sea. I do have to say that I'm not overly fond of the use of "thy" in the second verse – it's the Shakespearean purist / English teacher in me! That minor quibble aside, "I Will Lift Up My Eyes" is another big favourite of mine.

18// The Power Of Now
The vocals make this song. The quick ascension to those high notes gets me every time. The sentiment of "The Power Of Now" is great and I dig the repetition of "I believe, I believe". I get a real sense of chanting and mantra from this album, even in subtle touches like this where it's not as blatant as say "Gate Gate". The lyrics are nicely poetic which I far prefer to those of, say, the title track. "In the heart of forever, no future no past, I believe, I believe". Sing it, sister.

20// Instrument of Peace
A fitting end to the journey. As always Olivia has that ability to make it seem like she is singing directly to you. "Where there is pain, I'll comfort you". I'm sure she's done that for all of us over the years. There's a certain drama in this song, particularly around the 2-minute mark where it suddenly takes on a musical theatre sort of vibe! That section is one of my favourite moments on the whole disc. The way she sings "loved" and "love" actually remind me of the way Ashlee Simpson sings when she's belting out. (Seriously). (In a good way). (No, SERIOUSLY). (I've just lost all credibility haven't I?) It's nice to hear a male voice sing with Olivia for a change, and perhaps that adds to that showtune feel. I mean that in the best possible way too. I'm not terribly pleased with the way the word "released" has been patched at the end. Olivia's voice fades off into the distance and a closer-mic'd take of her saying the end of the word has been pasted over the top. It would have been better to just let her voice trail off. If that's the biggest criticism I can come up with, then clearly someone has done their job bloody well.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Olivia really does continue to amaze me. This is her third studio record in as many years and after the misstep of "(2)" she has just gone from strength to strength. Obviously "Grace and Gratitude" was inspired by a difficult time in Olivia's life but I can't help but feel there's been a natural musical progression from "Indigo" to here. I remember being so excited about the crispness of her voice on "Indigo", particularly in comparison to "Back With A Heart" only a few years earlier. In terms of her voice, the songwriting, the production and the overall quality of a release, I think "Grace and Gratitude" blows the aforementioned albums out of the water. This is Olivia's strongest studio album since "Gaia" for me (and, ironically, probably its musical/ lyrical/ thematic/ spiritual successor). Nearly every song is an incredibly strong inclusion and few albums can boast that.

Someone said a few weeks back that it seems as if Olivia has found her "new" John Farrar in Amy. It is still my dream to have John write some complex contemporary pop songs for Olivia to sing again one day, but I have to agree she has found a worthy collaborative partner in her Canadian friend. "Grace & Gratitude" is proof of what an extraordinary and unique talent Olivia is. To still be making albums that are challenging, intense and innovative at this point in her career is a marvel.