Clearly Love album review
-CLEARLY LOVE OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
The queen of pop music offers a strange mixture indeed on her latest LP.
Side 1 begins with “Something Better To Do,” on which she imitates the Lennon Sisters. She does a nice job, but do we really need a song by the Lennon Sisters? Olivia also fares nicely with “Lovers,” a sentimental song she handles well. The rest of Side 1 is poor, containing a song about her dog, and country songs that have no chance of catching on with pop fans.
Side II is better, with “Let It Shine” in the vein of “I Honestly Love You,” - a slow ballad Olivia does wonders with. She surprises- no, amazes -on “Summertime Blues,” actually rocking a bit. “The Marshmallow Song” is passable, and the finale, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” a gem. It should be the next single, but with hit versions by the Hollies and Neil Diamond, she may have trouble putting it across one more time.
This is half good, half bad, but leaning more country than pop. FAIR.