Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 01/11/2000
Run Time: 42:09
Two years after the single
"If Not for You" hit the Top 25 on the
Uni label, the
MCA imprint re-released most of the
If Not for You album, along with
Newton-John's second U.S. hit,
"Let Me Be There," and titled the disc after the new smash. With seductive blue ink shadowing her beautiful face and the word
Olivia splashed atop the cover, the company created a collector's item with the original LP, a respect from the aficionados that couldn't have been predicted in the '70s, and well-deserved credibility for the popular artist. The first single hit number one on the middle-of-the-road charts, and that market, along with her
country base, enabled
Newton-John to rack up 26 additional hits, concluding with 1985's
"Soul Kiss," the last one almost mirroring her initial success, going Top 20. This collection is a little awkward for the fans who purchased the original hit album, and it gets more confusing:
Pye released a 1971 disc, entitled
Olivia Newton-John, with most of these tracks, while
EMI pressed two different titles in 1974,
Crystal Lady and
First Impressions, also containing much of this music. Along with the excellent title track,
"Let Me Be There," MCA added a cover of
John Denver's
"Take Me Home Country Roads," a nice rendition of the
Merilee Rush classic,
Chip Taylor's
"Angel of the Morning," and a convenient
country tune,
"Just a Little Too Much." Tunes missing on
Let Me Be There which appeared on the original
If Not for You release are the weak version of
David Gate's
"If," the Band's
"In a Station," a second
Lesley Duncan tune,
"Lullaby," Tom Rush's
"No Regrets," "If I Gotta Leave," and
"Where Are You Going to My Love." It's early
Newton-John, a bit naïve and far from the sophistication of her
Warm and Tender release on
Geffen, but it works, especially because it contains her first two hit records.
~Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
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