Gaia (One Woman's Journey) - Olivia Newton-John > Reviews > Pacific Pop Positivity

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Consistently lovely like Olivia herself, with an uplifting positive spirit to the lyrics .  Wonderful easy - listening pop for a sunny Sunday afternoon .
Disadvantages:	Nothing negative is allowed here .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was twelve when I queued round the block to see "Grease", and fifteen
when the video to "Physical" <ahem> came out. So when I saw an Olivia Newton-John CD on sale in a Barnardos shop for £1 how could I say no?
What a bargain it turned out to be.

Gaia (or Gaea) was the Greek goddess of the Earth, and more recently the name given by author William Golding to the theory that planet Earth behaves as a single complex organism.*

On the cover is a picture of Olivia barefoot, cuddling planet Earth,
and inside these words explain the album's genesis:

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on
July 3rd, 1992. Not only am I a survivor,
but I have never felt stronger physically
or spiritually...this is my journey.

Along with the lyrics there are short explanations of how each song came about. For example, of the title track she says:

This song came to me at 3:00am one cold winter
morning in Byron Bay and I was compelled to write
and finish it. I felt the spirit of Mother Earth
speak to me...I felt her pain.

"Trust Yourself" opens the CD, with it's catchy rhythm and melody,
this song is typical of the whole album. It begins with a Xanadu-ey intro.
and then Olivia sexily announces:

~I need to tell the truth, I can't lie anymore...
~I need to speak my mind...

"No Matter What You Do" is another classy up-tempo pop song imbued
with the positivity that permeates this CD and makes it quite uplifting.
"No Other Love" is quite a low-key ballad, Olivia harmonizing with herself accompanied by acoustic guitar, soft clarinet and percussion. Dedicated to hubby Matt and daughter Chloe, it may explain her low profile recently:

~I want to spend my life with you,
~No other love can make me feel this sure

About "Pegasus" Olivia says she saw the fabled winged-horse in a "meditation" and woke up the next night with this song in her head -
which explains the dream-like lyrics, ethereal production and hippy flute!

She wrote "Why Me" after undergoing surgery, and it is dedicated
to her father who died of cancer on the day that she was diagnosed...

~Take the time to see your child grow, Daddy now I know

But there is no self-pity here. Her determination to be positive is what this album is all about, it has a lilting breezy melody and the message in the lyrics is: "don't say why me" and "never never never ever give in".

There is also an enviromental theme to this album, which the next two tracks exemplify. "Don't Cut Me Down" is a plea to save the forests, and "Gaia" the planet itself. This album is about survival not sentimentality:

~Respect me, respect me, I need you to protect me
~For it is you not me, whose fate's in jeopardy.

Both feature didgeredoo, bamboo flute and an Erhu (a Chinese stringed instrument) the exotic instruments giving an ethereal atmosphere.

The next two songs are a superfluous diversion. The guitar & flute intro.
to "Do You Feel" promises something magical which doesn't materialize
and is the least memorable track musically. While "I Never Knew Love" although "born of joy" is no more than a pleasant filler.

"Silent Ruin", originally written for a documentary called "The Last Whale", is very much a companion piece to "Don't Cut Me Down" and "Gaia".

~How can I justify to my child what we're doing?

~And I cry for their beauty I cry for their pain
~And I cry that my child may not see them again

It's impossible not to compare "Not Gonna Give In To It" to Gloria Estefan, with it's opening lines in Spanish and irresistable Cuban rhythm,
it is an infectious track. What makes it all the more remarkable
is that it was written after a session of chemotherapy.

Appropriately, Gaia closes with another up-beat song: "The Way Of Love"
In her notes Olivia says: "I find it painful that people are so unaccepting
of each other's beliefs" and she pre-empts cynical critics with lyrics like:

~I believe in one thing-you believe another
~Doesn't mean I'm wrong
~It just means each of us has the right to choose
~Don't let anything get in the way of love

If you've ever liked Olivia, or if you like pure pop music, keep an eye out
for this delightful album in your local charity shops and bargain bins,
maybe you can find a copy and give it a good home.

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* The theory was proposed by James Lovelock who also invented the microwave oven - which, sadly for him, he didn't patent!

And Who Shall Save The Earth:

http://tierramerica.net/2000/suplemento/page7.htm

Greenpeace:

http://www.greenpeace.org/