In May and August of 1974,
Olivia Newton-John broke through in a big way with this album, the number five title track written by
John Rostil, and the number one smash
"I Love You, I Honestly Love You" by
Jeff Barry and
Peter Allen quickly established
Olivia as a superstar to be reckoned with. The album is beautifully produced by
John Farrar with his friend
Bruce Welch of
Marvin, Welch & Farrar fame helping out with the production on two of the tracks,
Gerry Rafferty's
"Mary Skeffington" and
Olivia Newton-John's sole composition, the acoustic
"Changes." The singer is a very good songwriter, and why she didn't put more songs together, or cover some of the wonderful material her mentor was releasing elsewhere, is something to speculate.
"Home Ain't Home Anymore" is the one co-write of
Farrar's on this collection. Their version of
Brian Wilson's
"God Only Knows" is short and intriguing, and it is interesting to hear
Farrar create a light environment for what was such a big production number for
"The Beach Boys." "You Ain't Got the Right" is smart
country pop, with
Newton-John in excellent voice and showing a remarkable consistency.
Barbara Keith's
"Free the People" is, in the hands of
Delaney & Bonnie, a wonderfully deep
gospel experience. Countrified and given a snappy treatment here, it remains a good song, but doesn't have the balance that
Bonnie Bramlett breathed into her version. It's the hits here, though, which are outstanding, and the bright
pop is better suited to the title track than to
Barbara Keith's masterpiece.
"If You Love Me Let Me Know" is a great question for lovers who aren't quite sure, and a marvelous bridge from
country music to
pop. It might not have the intensity of
Tammy Wynette's
"Stand By Your Man," but it climbed higher up the charts and, along with
Kenny Rogers work, helped Nashville find a wider audience. Topping it off by literally owning
adult contemporary on the same album with the
ballad "I Love You, I Honestly Love You" is pretty amazing when one looks back at how effectively
Farrar and
Newton-John set out to conquer the charts, and succeeded.
If You Love Me Let Me Know works on many levels, and is a strong chapter in
Olivia's catalog. ~ Joe Viglione
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