Not Such A Sweet Thing Any More
By Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles
Once dismissed as just another lovely face, Newton-John has matured into a frequently winning performer whose most inviting moments on stage suggest much of the sexy, yet good-natured persona of a Rod Stewart.
Newton-John in California on her first concert tour in five years, still includes too many wimpy songs in her set to establish her as a critical favorite, but she is hitting notes that once seemed far beyond her capabilities.
She also exhibits a comfortable, self-assured manner that is in sharp contrast to the shy, even helpless image projected by her early hits.
The singer explained the breakthrough: “I’m just more confident now. I can relax more and be myself on stage. I was always rigid. I was afraid to try new things, but I think I’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last five years.”
Newton-John acknowledged that she was hurt by much of the criticisms aimed at her in the early 70s but always felt she would eventually overcome many of the reservations.
“The truth is I just couldn’t have gone out and done anything else in those days, I needed time - emotionally - to get to where I am now. Anyone with any feelings is sensitive to criticism, but I didn’t get paranoid about it. I just took the reviews as a challenge.”
It is doubtful that even people who bought her delicate versions of songs like If Not For You figured in the early 70s that Newton-John would be on the pop scene for very long.
Newton-John however, did not just fade away as expected. She returned in 1974 with the sweet, but lightweight, Let Me Be There and the melodramatic I Honestly Love You. Critics were unkind but she continued to sell millions of records and even picked up a couple of Grammy awards.
But even critics began to look twice at Newton-John after her success in Grease. She was not any threat to the Streisands or Ronstadts, but her duet with John Travolta on You’re The One That I Want was one of the most refreshing singles of 1978 and her vocal on the gentle Hopelessly Devoted To You suggested a character that had not been apparent before.
The real advance musically, however, was last year’s Physical single - a record that boosted her image from wistful romantic to sexually aggressive charmer.
Newton-John feels her breakthrough as a performer was in the film Grease, where she traded her fragile, one dimensional image for a tougher stance.
“I was very nervous because I didn’t know what people would think…but it worked out great. By the time we recorded Physical, I was ready to be more daring. I wasn’t afraid any longer to open up.”
“Until then, I had always had this thing about what I should do and what I shouldn’t do. I was very controlled. I don’t know why. I just felt I had this one image and I should uphold it. Finally, I realized, I’m not such a bad person, so why do I have to be so nervous about what I say and do.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
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