Soul Kiss review
Olivia Newton-John, “Soul Kiss” (MCA)
The sex kitten pose on the front is nothing compared to the back cover, where a half-naked Olivia stands in front of a mirror holding a riding crop. (Look closely in the mirror and you’ll see the faint outlines of a man’s face with a gag around his mouth.)
If you can’t tell that this signals (another) change in image for Ms. “Have You Never Been Mellow,” consider the song titles: a reggae-tinged “Toughen Up,” a Carl Wilson duet called “You Were Great, How Was I?” and “Culture Shock” (“I know it’s unconventional, radical, impractical/ why can’t the three of us live together?”).
And while I can buy Olivia’s plunge into into S&M and menage a trois, I can’t understand how producer John Farrar could make a record this kinky sound dull and lifeless.
One and a half stars.