Olivia Newton-John

Soul Kiss

Soul What!

Review Score:

(6/10)
Ok. I'm an Olivia fan so I'm a bit biased. Comparing this album to her entire output, this album is average.

The title track is a fun, sensual, seductive tune that was a moderate hit on the pop charts (#20). It is accompanied by a very erotic and sexy video that received some initial exposure on V-H1.The album started as a hit but went dead almost immediately upon arrival. This is probably because the entire album as a whole was a bit overproduced and Olivia and company were trying a bit too hard to be too MTV.

Overall, the musicanship is fine. Olivia enlists some of the top musicians and songwriters as usual. It is just an adequate showing not only lyrically but vocally as well.

Olivia's shining moment arrives at the end of the CD with "The Right Moment," clearly the best ballad on the collection. Her voice is playful and ethereal. Another ballad worth noting is "Emotional Tangle" which is good, just a bit bland in comparision which all the power ballads she has recorded within her 14 year career at that point. This is not "I Honestly Love You" (Part 2) by far!

"Toughen Up" opens that album with Olivia counseling the feminine race to learn a little self defense and hide your feelings. It is a dominatrix type of song that was released but never even dented the charts. Olivia's reign on the pop charts was clearly over by then. It is a bit too high pitched and produced! There was an accompanying video that aired on V-H1 for about 15 minutes!

In "Culture Shock," Olivia's plea is for a 3 way romp in the sheets! "Why can't the 3 of us live together" she sings with this urgency as she is trying to be sexy, seductive, and shocking at the same time. It's melodic but very repetitive with only Olivia and the synthesizers going back and forth for about 4 minutes. There is no response or resolution for her request. Most of the public didn't seem to care, evidenced by the album's lackluster sales.

"Moth To A Flame" is an upbeat tune that segues well with "Overnight Observation" in which Olivia finds herself being seduced by her medical physician! On "Queen Of The Publication," Olivia finds herself repeating "I'm the Queen, I'm the Queen" as to reinforce her importance in the media, in the role of a newspaper mogul! The track is a ludricous form of self parody that mocks the forced vocals and another attempt to indicate her self-importance!

"You Were Great, How Was I?" is in the style of retro 50's doo-wop that she recorded with Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys. It's a decent duet, but it certainly doesn't rank close to her other collaborations with say...John Travolta, John Denver, Electric Light Orchestra, Gene Kelly, even Andy Gibb! Get the picture. The track seems strangely out of place. There is nothing sexy or highly suggestive about it which seems out of sync with the sex kitten theme of this album.

"Driving Music" has a good energy to it. Again, it is repetitive and doesn't offer anything too radical to her output. It's about a taxi driver who wants to hear music on the radio to cruise to. Nothing too revealing or sexy about this one either. (Maybe I'm missing the point!)

Overall, Olivia enthusiasts like myself will defend a position that this album is worthy of at least a listen. If you like pop music that is perky with an heir of sexiness, try Janet or Madonna who were making really sexy music with great hooks at the time. Best tracks for the novice on the album include "Soul Kiss," "Toughen Up," and "The Right Moment."

The album has a seductive Helmut Newton cover. There is a great inner spread of a then pregnant Newton-John in a silky red outfit on silky red satin sheets (worth the price of admission!). Also there is a picture of Olivia mysteriously gazing at herself in the mirror with her bare back exposed to the camera, a strategically placed scarf covering her chest, with whip in hand! I saw her interviewed recently and when questioned about the picture she replied "It's so not me!"

This album reminds me of Madonna in the late 1990's when she made a book called "Sex" that was anything but sexy and an album called "Erotica" that was anything but erotic!

For those just discovering Olivia on this album, make sure that you give her another chance by listening to another title in her extensive output before discarding. She was making sexy and aggressive viable pop music before this album. Try "Physical" or "Totally Hot."

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