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Olivia Newton Johns Psych years

For us old timers there might be echoes of the hoax Roger Whittaker Psych LP posted by one of the then regulars. But this does have some basis in fact. I finally got my hands on mp3’s of some of her early stuff (She actually began singing in the mid 60s after all so it is not far fetched). So onto Olivia Newton Johns psych years. For those who are not aware before becoming a big star she sang in a short lived group called Toomorrow. In 1970 21 year old Olivia made her second movie entitled Toomorrow, a cult SF movie. Don Kirshner, who had created the Monkees in 1965, wanted to repeat this success and manufacture another pop group. He teamed up with Harry Saltzman maker of the popular James Bond movies. The group Toomorrow was to be launched via the cinema and via an album and single. I have seen it described on fan sites as futuristic and psychedelic – sort of. I was curious to hear it, and had seen a few clips on you tube which tended to sway me away from belief that it was actually psychedelic. But I thought to myself there might be some futuristic number or two tucked away there in the depths of the LP – that’s where you usually find them.

The answer is yes there is one slightly futuristic tune in it. It is a bit of music that sounds like a TV theme rather than cutting edge sounds. It is appropriately called Spaceport. The irony is that it is an instrumental so she never sings on it. So that’s it. So that journey is done it will sit pretty much unheard in my computer for the rest of its life. Bruce Welch, who was Olivia's boyfriend at the time, had this to say about the film and music: "The film was a disgrace. It was reminiscent of so many of the low-budget pop pictures that were made during the early sixties, and the biggest let down of all was the music. It was all so lightweight. There were no hit songs - the numbers were naive and instantly forgettable”. That would sum it up!.

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Re: Olivia Newton Johns Psych years/Elaine Paige-Sparrow

Hi Daniel,Yes Toomorrow,i had this on a cdr that some kind soul sent me years ago(does anyone trade by normal post these days?)and was left fairly unimpressed,since then its been lost through a cull of my cdr collection,wish i had kept it as i would be curious to hear it after reading your post Daniel.But my memory of it was of disappointment.
Now i wanted to mention Elaine Page and the group Sparrow she sang with(she of Andrew Lioyd Webber musical stuff amongst other things)Elaine Page has been appearing on Recordings for over 40 years,but as for Sparrow and their album "Hatching out"which was released on the Spark Label in 1972.....is it any good??Not played it in years....so im giving it a listen as i write,its actually a no bad soft rock/pop album,my fave tracks are the opener"Im coming back",the eerie"Nighmare"is a solid track and one of the more freakish tracks,the beautiful"Many Things are Clear"wnich features a touch of mellotron,"Dream Song"again imo is a smashing little track and Elaine Pages vocals are crystal clear,she is splendid throughout this album i must add!the acoustic and piano led "Rainsun Song"is another that tickled my fancy.As a whole an average sounding album also some tracks could border on MOR im glad i gave it a fresh listen so out of 10 what would i give it........probably 5 out of 10,this may be interesting to some on here expecially the more pop orientated lovers,NO psych at all to be had on this and the likes of Wallace would give an answer as "Shoite"when describing this album.I'll leave it at that!!

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Re: Olivia Newton Johns Psych years/Elaine Paige-Sparrow

Re: Olivia Newton Johns Psych years/Elaine Paige-Sparrow

Hi Stuart, I remember the days of trading CDRs well. We traded a few ourselves. I could send you a copy but it really is poor, even by the lowest pop standards. I cannot really think of any track that stood out apart from that instrumental and that was not especially good. Her singing is good but the material is the pits. Even through Don Kirshner was involved he apparently decided to go to a team of unknown writers for this project and it shows.

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