Juliana Hatfield
Sings Olivia Newton-John
American Laundromat
Apr 20, 2018 Juliana Hatfield
Nope, it’s not a gag or a belated April Fool’s prank, this is a real thing. Juliana Hatfield’s last album, the innocently named Pussycat was an album-long, bile filled attack on Donnie Trump. Now she’s vented, it seems she’s feeling a little mellow and ready to kick back with an album of covers celebrating the unlikely figure of Australian country/pop/disco diva, Olivia Newton-John. Really.
Just to put your mind at rest, this isn’t some “Pat Boone Sings Metal,” funny once and once only, throwaway record. This is a great piece of work. None of the original tunes get a radical makeover—the guitars are slightly rawer and the orchestral backdrops are tidied away, but the Newton-John tunes still sound basically the same, but played by an upscale garage rock band. The 13 tunes on Sings Olivia Newton-John (you get two versions of “I Honestly Love You”) for the most part, work incredibly well. “A Little More Love,” “Physical,” and “Dancin’ ‘Round and ‘Round” would have sat nicely on Become What You Are, or almost any of her previous albums and you may start to think “Why didn’t she do this before?”
There’s a great mix of reverence and alt-rock on this record, which moves Sings Olivia Newton-John from an idea that was better in planning than in practice onto a different level. About two or three songs into the album, you’ll forget that it’s a “concept” album and just enjoy it for what it is—a really strong collection of songs that just happen to come from an unlikely source. Now all we have to do is wait for the Olivia Newton John Sings Juliana Hatfield album. (www.julianahatfield.com)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 6/10
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April 21st 2018
2:03am
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April 21st 2018
12:40pm
Thank you for the great review of another great album from Juliana Hatfield. She rocks! And, she donates money from her album sales to benefit very worthy causes. There should be more people like her. Thank you again.