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Still, what IS here is certainly worthwhile. Olivia gives a superb performance of 'Sam', as always, touches on Mariah-territory with freakishly high notes in the country-rock 'Jolene', and serves up a surprisingly great performance of 'Physical' which sounds almost as bubbly and convincing as her 1982 incarnation of the tune. The midtempo pop songs of her seventies career are covered in-depthly, with airy but stunning performances of 'Don't Stop Believin', 'Have You Never Been Mellow' and 'Please Mister Please'.
Her two most popular movies, 'Grease' and the less successful but cult classic 'Xanadu', are giving a liberal airing with three hits from each offered up with the frivolity and camp value they deserve, whilst she addresses her then-recent releases the new-age 'Gaia' and country/pop 'Back With A Heart' with a sprinkling of tracks.
One wishes she'd waited until one of the subsequent tours she performed in 2000 and 2001, as the setlist was far more varied with tracks like 'Falling', 'Suspended In Time', 'Changes', 'Twist Of Fate', 'A Little More Love' and 'The Promise' which would have made for a far more fascinating listening experience for the hardcore fan. However as live recordings go 'One Woman's Live Journey' is solid and enjoyable. It's not Olivia at her peak, and there's nothing so chillingly brilliant on this 70-minute disc to make you hit that 'repeat' button over and over again, but it proves beyon any reasonable doubt that Olivia is still very much an able and captivating performer.
This album is quite pleasant though the arrangements are bland and there's a lack of upbeat material. Her voice has suffered with time, often cracking and appearing croaky, like she has a throat infection.
She's happiest on songs like DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' and HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW, two absolute highlights she sings to perfection. XANADU, PHYSICAL , the GREASE songs and A LITTLE MORE LOVE... well, she sounds quite uncomfortable now, to be honest.
Olivia's overwhelming sentimentality is explored on the dreadful self-penned DON'T CUT ME DOWN and the ultra sickly OVER THE RAINBOW. And, of course, the show ends with I HONESTLY LOVE YOU, just as it's always done.
The packaging is OK. Festival aren't known for their high-quality sleeve art on Olivia releases, but at least you can tell it's her on the cover this time!
So, ONE WOMAN'S LIVE JOURNEY is representative of Olivia's work. All the best stuff happened in the '70's and the first couple of years of the '80's, and pretty much everything after that is redundant.
Olivia has certainly had many chances over the years to re-launch her career, but her lack of commitment and, often, interest, have ensured they've all fallen by the wayside.
ONE WOMAN'S LIVE JOURNEY is nice for her diehard fans, especially those who've seen her shows, but Olivia is basically an upmarket retro act now, as this release shows.
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