Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot 1978

01. Please Don't Keep Me Waiting (Stephen Sinclair, Joe Falsia) - 5:48
02. Dancin' 'Round And 'Round (Adam Mitchell) - 3:56
03. Talk To Me (Olivia Newton-John) - 3:27						play
04. Deeper Than The Night (Tom Snow, Johnny Vastano) - 3:35		play
05. Borrowed Time (Olivia Newton-John) - 3:34
06. A Little More Love (John Farrar) - 3:25
07. Never Enough (John Farrar, Pat Farrar, Alan Tarney, Trevor Spencer) - 4:08
08. Totally Hot (John Farrar) - 3:10
09. Boats Against The Current (Eric Carmen) - 3:56
10. Gimme Some Lovin' (Steve Winwood, Muff Winwood, Spencer Davis) - 4:10

Personnel:
- Olivia Newton-John - vocals
- Mike Botts - drums
- Ed Green - drums 
- David Kemper - drums 
- David McDaniels - bass
- David Hungate - bass 
- Jai Winding - piano , organ 
- David Foster - piano 
- Tom Snow - piano 
- John Farrar - guitar, vocals, producer, arranger
- Steve Lukather - guitar 
- Michael Botticker - synthesizer 
- Steve Madaio - trumpet 
- Marty Grebb - alto saxophone 
- Chuck Findley - trombone 
- Gerald Peterson - tenor saxophone 
- Lenny Castro - percussion 
- Victor Feldman - percussion 

There is something special about this album. It still sounds great some 27 years later. Hot on the tail end of Grease, Olivia delivered this fine album in late 1978 with several songs penned by her trustworthy Aussie friend and songwriter John Farrar. John had already written tonnes of songs for Olivia over the years, and with this album he continued to shine.

The album begins on a high with the stunning "Please don't keep me waiting", before switching to a country feel with "Dancing round and round". The brilliant "A little more love" can be found on this album, as can the very catchy "Deeper than the night". The album also includes possibly John Farrar's best song ever with "Never Enough" - a gorgeous ballad that continues to send shivers up my spine all these years later.

The album contains two covers - the first is Eric Carmen's "Boat's against the current" which Olivia performs beautifully. The next (and final track) is a cover of Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme some lovin'". This version is probably the album's weakest song ... although it is still acceptable. It is just not suited to her vocals, but this is only a minor complaint.

Overall, Totally Hot is a fine album - red hot in fact. Don't be put off by the silly title (which does sound dated and cheesy I know), you will not be disappointed by this album. It can be difficult to purchase overseas, so consider buying from Australia where it is quite easy to source. --- William (Australia), amazon.com

Totally Hot is Olivia Newton-John's ninth US and tenth international studio album. Released in November 1978, it became her first solo Top 10 (No. 7) album since 1975's Have You Never Been Mellow. Dressed on the album cover all in leather, Newton-John's transformation in Grease from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2" emboldened her to do the same with her music. The album's singles "A Little More Love" (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), "Deeper Than The Night" (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC), and the title track (No. 52 Pop) all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Newton-John. (The "Totally Hot" single was remixed for commercial release adding an instrumental bridge that lengthened the song by over thirty seconds from the original album track.) Newton-John filmed promotional videos for all three singles and wrote two of the album's tracks, "Borrowed Time" and "Talk To Me".

Although the album de-emphasized country, it still reached No. 4 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, "Dancin' 'Round And 'Round," of the "Totally Hot" single to Country radio - the first time since her 1975 single, "Let It Shine/He Ain't Heavy ... He's My Brother", that Newton-John worked both sides of a single to different radio formats. "Dancin' 'Round And 'Round" peaked at No. 29 Country and is her last charted solo Country airplay single to date. (The song also charted Pop (No. 82) and AC (No. 25) after Totally Hot completed its chart run.)

The album was certified Platinum in the United States and the single, "A Little More Love", was certified gold. The album only reached No. 30 in the UK where it was also released as a limited edition picture disc, but "A Little More Love" reached No. 4 on the UK Singles chart. It was also certified Gold in the UK. The album was a Top 10 success in Australia, Canada and Japan (although none of its singles charted in Japan). The album was re-released in Japan during 2010 featuring two bonus tracks - an extended version of "Totally Hot" and "Love Is Alive" from her 1981 live album, "Love Performance."

download

back