Come on Over album review
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, EMI EMC 3124, Come On Over (3 stars)
Jolene/Pony Ride/Come On Over/It’ll Be Me/Greensleeves /Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain/Don’t Throw It All Away /Who Are You Now?/Smile For Me/Small Talk And Pride /Wrap Me In Your Arms/The Long And Winding Road
An attractive cover packaging - outer and inner sleeves - welcomes the listener to Britain’s most successful brand of Country -at least in terms of the U.S. market.
Olivia’s Country Music is the crossover variety, sometimes entrenching itself at either end of the spectrum, sometimes in the middle. Certainly it possesses those same Country influences as many of the contemporary Stateside offerings.
“Jolene” is handled quite pleasantly, though lacking the real verve of Ms. Parton’s original, but “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” is the track that really stands out as a magnificent Country offering.
On the other hand “Greensleeves” gets a choral arrangement and, if you care to pursue the point, really brings the music home to its original roots whilst producer John Farrar gets a look in with a couple of originals, “It’ll Be Me” and “Small Talk And Pride”.
Olivia N-J comes up with some nice vocals, moving from a graceful huskiness on “Pony Ride” to a soul approach, enhanced by a great chorus line, on “Smile For Me”. As for audience acceptance, I guess everybody has already made up their minds ‘bout Livvy.