Xanadu has to be one of the finest soundtracks ever produced, working totally as a 'pop' album also. Olivia Newton-John comes out well on top with her 'side', which features duets with the likes of Cliff Richard, The Tubes and Gene Kelly! Her US #1, Magic, is probably the most exquisite thing here. A beautiful swirling melody with ONJ's sweet voice hitting every note with great precision. Suspended In Time is another fan fave. It was never released as a single in the UK or US, but would surely have been a chart topper had it been. Dancin' is a fabulous big band/rock fusion between Olivia and The Tubes and though probably not single material, it's a definite highlight. Whenever You're Away From Me, a 40's style duet with Gene Kelly, shouldn't work but it does. If you've seen the movie you'll remember the beautiful dance sequence that goes with the track. Suddenly, with Cliff, was another hit, though quite a small one, but like the rest of the material flows wonderfully.
Olivia also crops up on ELO's 'side' (the original LP had 5 songs by ONJ on side 1 and 5 by ELO on side 2) duetting on the title track. UK fans will remember it soaring to #1 in the summer of 1980. It's a brilliantly catchy tune (if a little repetitive!) that pushes Olivia's often wispy vocals to new heights. Olivia should team up with Jeff Lynne again!
The other 4 ELO tracks are also alarmingly commercial, but in truth, these aren't their strongest songs. For that you'll have to seek out Discovery, Out Of The Blue and A New World Record. However, I'm Alive and All Over The World are pop gems, the latter in particular really brightens the day. The Xanadu Soundtrack is a joyous listening experience and I recommend it unreservedly. It's been remastered so it sounds great, too!
If you haven't seen the movie, do try to. It's quite absurd with a dreadful script and performances of pure oak from it's 3 leads. Poor Olivia comes across as a rollerskating Barbie doll with mental health issues, spouting some of the worst dialogue of all time. Her dancing is mostly remarkably clumsy and out of sync, as well! That said, watching Xanadu is a blast with the colourful, and often ahead of the time, dance routines (don't look at Olivia, though!), stunning soundtrack and Olivia looking absolutely glorious. It's a camp classic in every sense of the word. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.