30.12.08

DOWNLOAD NO.88 - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

Olivia Newton-John married long-time boyfriend Matt Lattanzi in December 1984 and divorced in 1995. Olivia resumed recording in 1985 with the release of the album Soul Kiss which went to #29 in the USA. The album's only charting single in the USA, was the title track, which went to #20. The album's second single “Toughen Up" failed to even chart in the USA but here in Oz it got to #46 on the Top 100.

Ah hem, maybe it was the photo on the cover that put people off...What was she thinking???

There were 12" versions, dub 12" versions and instrumental versions of "Toughen Up" which were used to create "club mixes" at the time. It was a club favourite here in Oz but not a mainstream success.

A critic at the time wrote: “Toughen Up” opens the album with power, but without the authority of "Physical" or the charm of her early country pop…The country market is completely abandoned here, and though "Toughen Up" gets more bearable after repeated spins, it is far removed from the gal who sang Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and the Bee Gees' "Come on Over" almost a decade earlier…

I liked the song myself but it didn't have a big brassy "hook"...so when I got the C.D. version in 1990 I made my own special 12" mix of "Toughen Up". It runs 5:04 mins. Enjoy!

http://rapidshare.com/files/249894147/Tough.mp3

1 comment:

  1. Hey TOM no song avaiable?? toughen up princess!!! hope u get it back on cheers robert

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