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I don't know about you, but when I think "Olivia Newton-John," I visualize the bouncy "teenager" (she was actually 29 at the time) clad in a slinky, skin-tight black outfit and wrapped around John Travolta in "Grease" thirty years ago (yikes!). I had forgotten just how good her voice truly is, but you won't forget once you begin listening to Christmas Wish, a generous (61 minutes!) helping of richly-crafted pop pleasures for the holidays. This Aussie has a multi-dimensional voice that won't quit, and this album provides an excellent showcase.

Full, clear, aching, breathy, nuanced, and bursting with emotion, Newton-John's pipes are marvelous. She also hits the high notes with great clarity and not a hint of harshness. Her Christmas Wish is intensely interesting on several fronts. First, it employs the unusual technique of inserting very brief instrumental interludes of holiday chestnuts between almost every two vocal numbers. These interludes are the familiar ribbons that tie the whole musical package together, providing valuable musical continuity. Second, the artist includes quite a few Christmas originals, which blend seamlessly with the familiar. The overall mood is nostalgic, loving, and heartfelt. As a mom, I bonded immediately with her A Mother's Christmas Wish (written with Amy Sky), one of the prettiest pop holiday pieces I know. As Newton-John sings "I wish you love, a life to share, and when you find someone to care, I hope that time is kind to you, and that all your dreams come true--this is a mother's Christmas wish for you", I got all choked up from the beginning bars. For all the trials and tribulations, children are the greatest gift of all.

Christmas Wish has some lovely Celtic fluorishes (the use of a pennywhistle on O Come All Ye Faithful, for example), and features some very cool duets. On Every Time It Snows, another memorable Newton-John/Sky original, the artist trades lines and harmonies with Latin crooner Jon Secada (sometimes in Spanish), and the effect is very cool. Staying with the multilingual theme, Silent Night employs a lovely English/French/Spanish combo and includes guest vocalist Jann Arden. Michael McDonald provides excellent counterpoint vocals on the emotive All Through the Night, and Barry Manilow's shmaltzy A Gift of Love closes the album.

Olivia Newton-John is a timeless treasure, and her Christmas Wish will make you a believer. Lovely!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Special Guests:
Barry Manilow
Jon Secada
Michael McDonald
Jim Brickman
Jann Arden
Marc Jordan
David Foster
Humberto Gatica

All songs produced by Amy Sky


From the Website:

Born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the youngest child of Professor Brin Newton-John and Irene, daughter of Nobel Prize winning physicist, Max Born, Olivia moved to Melbourne, Australia with her family when she was five. By the age of fifteen, she had formed an all-girl group called Sol Four. Later that year she won a talent contest on the popular TV show, "Sing, Sing, Sing," which earned her a trip to London. By 1963, Olivia was appearing on local daytime TV shows and weekly pop music programs in Australia. Olivia cut her first single for Decca Records in 1966, a version of Jackie DeShannon's "Till You Say You'll Be Mine." In 1971, she recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You," co-produced by John Farrar, who she continues to collaborate with today.


Her 1973 U.S. album debut, "Let Me Be There," produced her first top ten single of the same name, with Olivia being honored by the Academy Of Country Music as Most Promising Female Vocalist and a Grammy Award as Best Country Vocalist. This proved to be only the beginning of a very exciting career. Her countless successes include three more Grammys, numerous Country Music Awards, American Music Awards and Peoples Choice Awards, five #1 hits including "Physical," which topped the charts for ten consecutive weeks, and 15 top 10 singles.


In 1978, her co-starring role with John Travolta in "Grease" catapulted Olivia into super-stardom. This film led to the production of the most successful movie musical soundtrack in history, featuring the duets "You're The One That I Want" and "Summer Nights," with Travolta, as well as her mega-hit, "Hopelessly Devoted To You."

Olivia Newton-John

Christmas Wish

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