“Magic” is my favorite Olivia Newton-John track. I’ve listened to it multiple times a week for the majority of my life – it’s on any playlist I put together of Faves – it’s a never-ending source of pleasure.
But we need to talk about “Hopelessly Devoted to You”:
It is an incredible vocal performance that must not be taken for granted. Just because she makes it look and sound so effortless should not diminish the sheer scope of this performance and the astonishing vocal feat that it is. The song is over-played and over-heard, and a favorite at karaoke joints, but do yourself a favor: Clear your mind. Forget that you’ve heard it 100 times, 98 times against your will. Forget all that. And just listen to her performance. Listen to what she is DOING with her insanely gifted and flexible voice. “Hopelessly Devoted” requires range: it requires a high belt. “Since you pushed my love a-s-iiiiiide” … Olivia Newton-John shows no strain: there’s no audible “break” between head voice and chest voice. It’s all one. You never worry she won’t make the notes. It never feels like she’s reaching. Her voice flows up and up and up … it’s as powerful an instrument as Barbra Streisand’s or Donna Summer’s, both of whom have equally insane ranges, with very high belts.
My friend Alex just told this story I never heard before, and it makes total sense:
“Hopelessly Devoted” is as good of a musical theater performance as “The Man That Got Away”.
And Travolta knew it, which is why when he heard it at the studio, he demanded they write him a solo number as well (the mundane and forgettable “Stranded at the Drive In”)
Olivia Newton-John’s voice is one of pop music’s greatest musical instruments. Oh, and Elvis was a fan, too.
RIP. This is a heartbreaker. She was such a huge part of the soundtrack of my childhood and teenage years. And remains so today.
There’s a line in the New Radicals song “You Get What You Give”: “This whole damn world can fall apart…You’ve got the music in you.” Growing up in the 70s, voices like those of Olivia Newton-John and Karen Carpenter are embedded in my playlist. Most critics seemed irritated by her sweet style. One back in the day wrote that Newton-John’s music made the listener “feel as if you’ve been wrapped in cotton candy and set out in the sun.” Wrong! Her music made you feel that this whole damn world can fall apart, but maybe, just maybe, everything will be all right. For me it’s “Have You Never Been Mellow.”
When I heard the news I was a little nostalgic, a little melancholy. She will be missed.
Brad –
// Her music made you feel that this whole damn world can fall apart, but maybe, just maybe, everything will be all right. //
This is SUCH a beautiful way to put it.
My friends and I – who grew up with Xanadu and Grease as formative influences – have all been feeling a little bit weepy about this loss.