Olivia Newton-John/Osaka,Japan 2003

In 2003, Olivia Newton-John performed in Japan for the first time in a quarter of a century since 1978. The precious best audience recording is now available. This work includes the “April 7, 2003: Osaka Festival Hall” performance. Since it was the first Japan tour in 25 years, the general media was also involved in the excitement, with the slogan “Welcome back, Olivia.” The professional shot that was broadcast on TV has also become a staple. Including that, let’s first check the show’s position from the schedule. ・April 2: Aichi Arts Center ・April 4: Tokyo International Forum *TV broadcast ・April 6: Tokyo International Forum ・April 7: Osaka Festival Hall [this work] ・April 8: Fukuoka Civic Center All 5 performances above. The famous TV broadcast was the Tokyo performance, but the Osaka performance of this work was a concert held three days later. This work, which records such a show, is truly the best. Just neat, neat, neat. The direct feeling with almost no sense of distance and solid core are wonderful, but even more so, the extremely transparent air and delicate clearness down to the subtlest parts melt your heart. It is a type that can be called “just like a sound board”, but if you say it so easily, you cannot convey the charm of this work. The bass vibe is so subtle that you can feel the floor of the venue shaking, the midrange is rich and glossy, and the highs extend beautifully and straight all the way. Everything is arranged as if it was remixed later, and yet the natural sound without any processing is too dazzling. Its simple beauty extends to the audience as well. This was their first visit to Japan in 25 years, and the audience was the type to listen carefully without making any noise, but even the erupting clapping was beautiful. It’s a Japanese style, and it’s neatly aligned, but every single stroke is clear. Because it shows the size of a single grain, it creates a sense of perspective and even depicts the spatial spectacle of the scene. This feeling is like a classical concert. Of course, the mood where clapping occurs during the song is far from classical, but the elegance of the sound makes you think so. It’s far more beautiful than a recorded soundboard, and more natural than broadcasts and official works that tend to be over-produced. It is an audience recording that goes beyond the official one that can be encountered very rarely. The show drawn with that beautiful sound is also wonderful. Since this was her first visit to Japan in a while, Olivia herself had promised in advance that she would sing everyone’s favorite songs, and she did exactly what she said. When Olivia appears, guided by a medley of her signature instrumental songs, “Have You Never Been Mellow?” begins. Furthermore, the three consecutive songs that followed “Xanadu” and “Magic” were so gorgeous that it seemed like a sudden encore. Afterwards, plenty of hit songs from the 70’s and early 80’s will be sung. But it’s not just a nostalgic melody. Two songs each were selected from the comeback work “GAIA” and the latest work “2” at the time, and a cover of the Carpenters’ “(They Long To Be) Close To You” was also performed. Even more captivating is my daughter Chloe Rose. A mother-daughter duet appears in “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” The 17-year-old’s youthful singing voice can be heard in a total of three songs, including the solo song “Reason To Cry” and the duet “It Takes Two.” In addition to Chloe’s “Reason To Cry” and “It Takes Two,” songs such as “I Love You Crazy,” “Sam,” and “I’ll Come Runnin'” were part of the repertoire that was cut from the TV broadcast of the Tokyo performance. You can enjoy the full show including that with the official barefoot sound. Even so, it’s wonderful. At the age of 54, Olivia’s singing voice has never diminished in tone or strength, and has become even more lustrous. Speaking of the rich beauty of “Come On Over”, which commemorates the late Maurice Gibb who passed away in January of this year… It’s true that it’s full of hit songs, but it’s a masterpiece of a live album that gives you more emotion than just nostalgia. Delicate melodies, beautiful sounds, and beautiful singing voices. Live at Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan 7th April 2003 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1(60:57) 1. Instrumental Medley (If You Love Me (Let Me Know)/Let Me Be There/Please, Mister, Please/Have You Never Been Mellow?/Sam/Hopelessly Devoted To You/You’re The One That I Want/Summer Nights/A Little More Love/Xanadu/Suddenly/Physical/Magic/Don’t Cut Me Down/Not Gonna Give Into It/I Honestly Love You/Physical)2. I Honestly Love You(Intro)/Have You Never Been Mellow? 3. Xanadu 4. Magic 5. Band Introduction 6. I Love You Crazy 7. Sam 8. Acoustic Set Medley(If Not For You/Banks Of The Ohio/Let Me Be There/Please, Mister, Please/Jolene) 9. Physical 10. I’ll Come Runnin’ 11. Not Gonna Give Into It 12. Don’t Cut Me Down Disc 2(56:08) 1. Somewhere Over The Rainbow(with Chloe Lattanzi) 2. Reason To Cry(Chloe Lattanzi) 3. It Takes Two(with Chloe) 4. Take Me Home Country Roads 5. (They Long To Be) Close To You 6. Don’t Stop Believin’ 7. Suddenly 8. You’re The One That I Want 9. Hopelessly Doveted To You 10. Summer Nights/You’re The One That I Want 11. Come On Over 12. I Honestly Love You Olivia Newton-John – Vocals Andy Timmons – Guitar Dane Bryant – Keyboards Lee Hendricks – Bass Dan Wojciechowski- Drums Warren Ham – Harp, Horns, Vocals Steve Real – Vocals,Percussion Marien Landin-Chapman – Vocals