Album Notes Personnel: Olivia Newton-John (vocals); Michael Thompson, James Harrah, Dean Parks (guitar); Jay Dee Manes (pedal steel guitar); John Farrar (guitar, synclavier); Jeffrey Vanston (synthesizers); Sean Callery (keyboards, synclavier); Robbue Buchanan (keyboards); Neil Stubenhaus, Jimmy Johnson (bass); Carlos Vega (drums); Peter Asher (percussion programming); Jean McClain, Terry Wood, Larry Jacobs, Mariette Waters, Debbie McClendon Smith, Michael Eric Hall (background vocals).Producers: Peter Asher, John Farrar, David Foster, Giorgio Moroder, Louis St. Louis, Guy Roche, Dianne Warren.Engineers: Guy Roche, Mark Hagen, Mario Luccy, Frank Wolf, Tom Winslow, Alan Sides, Steve Bates.Recorded at Criterion Studios; The Village Recorder; Ocean Way; Carla Ridge Camp.An artist well-defined by her hit singles, Olivia Newton-John has had a stylistically varied career, as is illustrated on Back to Basics: The Essential Collection 1971-1992, a set that ranges from her teary ballad "I Honestly Love You" to that bouncy paean to getting horizontal, "Physical." Fans may quibble that such hits as "Let Me Be There" and "Make a Move on Me" are not included, but Newton-John's two greatest-hits albums are out of print, and this is the only collection to combine both her good-girl and bad-girl personae. ~ William Ruhlmann Editorial Reviews Spin (19920801) |