Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta - Two Of A Kind (1983 Film)

Career killer!

This half-hearted soundtrack accompanied John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's second pairing in the 1983 movie of the same name (obviously). Many people are oblivious to the film's existence which gives some idea of how well it was received back then. 20th Century Fox actually banned journalists from seeing the film! They didn't over-react...

Olivia has spoken at great length over the last 20 years about her other 2 mainstream movies, Grease and Xanadu, but clearly can't bring herself to elaborate on this clunker which effectively ended her big screen career. Olivia isn't the only bad thing about the film, old Travolta doesn't discuss it much either, but to my mind she was never worse as an actress than in TOAK. Grinning, gurning, squealing and over-acting madly, Olivia was annoying and strangely for her, rather unlikable. The script and plot were dreadful and one can only wonder what possessed the then hot stars to appear. What must the other films they were offered have been like?!

Then there was the music. The lead single, Twist Of Fate, became a top 5 hit for Olivia and was perhaps her finest pop hit since Magic. Produced and co-written by David Foster, it was a frenetically paced dance song unlike anything she'd previously recorded. 2nd single (Livin' In) Desperate Times was more of the same though it didn't fare as well chartwise. Sadly, here it's been given a dire remix (why?) which quite ruins it. Travolta joins Olivia for the ballad Take A Chance, pleasant enough but a bit routine. Olivia's lovely multi-tracked vocals help divert attention from John's weak, girly tones. O's last track, Shakin' You, is a fan fave though I've never thought much of it

After this, it's mostly all downhill. Steve Kipner's Catch 22 is a goodie but lame AOR by the likes of Chicago and Journey were never going to save the day. They aren't even GOOD Journey and Chicago songs! Foster's ultra dull Night Music winds things up not before time.

As an 'Olivia' album, this is hardly amonsgt the best, though the soundtrack did go platinum, it was the last time the artist was to receive that honour.

For me the TOAK film and soundtrack were huge disappointments. It took Travolta 10 years to recover from it and Olivia never really did. The great sadness is that with a better film maybe the duo could have made movies for years to come.. August 8, 2007

Video

My daughter was very pleased with the video. It arrived very fast.
Thanks, January 19, 2007

This CD is one of a kind

Another 80s gem. The Two of a kind soundtrack is just... well, could "awesome" fit ?

From track 1 onwards, it's just about 40 minutes of musical pleasure. The Patti Austin track is very uplifting, the Boz Scaggs ballad is plain awesome, not to mention David Foster's "Night Music".

Call me biased, but the highlights for me are the 4 Olivia Newton-John tracks. "Shaking you" is one of the most powerful ballads she's ever recorded, "Livin' in Desperate times" and "Twist of fate" are amongst Olivia's most energetic performances ever and the duet with John Travolta, "Take a chance", is far better than the Grease duets...

A must have. Really. October 4, 2004

A "Divine" Soundtrack

I was very suprised to see this soundtrack released on CD nearly 2 decades after its release. The CD is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name released in 1983. The movie itself is currently out of print and not available on DVD. There are some great songs on the album. However I think this one is aimed at the hard core fan of Olivia or John Travolta. The packaging is great, they included the gateway fold out of the original LP album. There are a few "filler" generic songs on the CD that are skip worthy, but there are some very strong points as well. Let me break it down one by one.

"Twist Of Fate" performed by Olivia Newton-John. This was the smash hit from the album. Reaching the top of the charts at number 5 in the USA. The song was released along with an imaginative video of Olivia being judged by a heavenly jury. Great lines in the song include "The gift of life extension, by divine intervention". Produced by David Foster. Still a favorite of Olivia fans and appears on many of her greatest hits compilations. 9/10

"Take A Chance"(duet by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta). The public expected more from the couple that sang a number one smash in Grease. This song was intended to be the B-side to "Twist of Fate" but ended up being a minor adult contemporary hit. Co-written by Olivia and accompanied with a beautifully done video. 7/10

"It's Gonna Be Special" by Patti Austin. This song was a R&B hit and deserved to be one. A nice adult contemporary song. 6/10

"Catch 22" by Steve Kipner. Mostly forgettable filler song. Although I should point out he is the song writer of "Physical" for Olivia. 4/10

"Shakin' You" by Olivia Newton-John. Stunning love ballad of trying to get over an ex-love. Accompanied by a piano, Olivia shines in this one. A tear jerker for sure. Accompanied by a stunning video shot in Venice. 9/10

"Livin' in Desperate Times" by Olivia Newton-John. A top 40 new wave hit. The song has been edited for the CD version though, I cannot understand the point of the edit. But you'll barely notice it. A fun and funky song that was released with a fun new wave video. The single 45 version was also remixed to be funkier. 8/10

"Perfect One" by Boz Skaggs. A nice adult contemporary song. It should have been a hit. Very suave and mellow. 7/10

"Ask The Lonely" by Journey. I like the guitar in this song but it has a typical Journey sound. 5/10

"Prima Donna" by Chicago. I am sure this song was included as a tribute to Olivia's character in the film. Not a bad song and carries the traditional Chicago sound. 6/10

"Night Music" by David Foster. A wonderful song. This is an instrumental piece that deserved more attention. Written by the same composer who brought us "Love Theme From ST. Elmo's Fire". I just cannot praise this song enough, although I find it sad. A definite high point of the album. 10/10

Other items released to coincide with the movie include:
A 12 inch remix of "Twist of Fate", with the B-side being a remix of "Livin in Desperate Times"
A VHS called "Twist of Fate" featuring the videos from the soundtrack, along with 2 additional ONJ videos.
A 45 single "Twist of Fate" with a picture sleeve.
A 45 single "Desperate Times" with a picture sleeve.
Various posters.
A VHS of the movie "Two Of A Kind" July 29, 2003

It's a twist of fate this soundtrack's so good considering

'Oh sheesh, ANOTHER five stars for an Olivia Newton-John recording'

Yes it appears I've been dishing out quite a few recently, but it's unfair not to give Olivia the dues she deserves when she delivers like this. Especially in comparison with her latest release, (2), which is quite possibly one of the weakest albums in her entire career.

The 'Two Of A Kind' soundtrack is, somewhat self-explanatorily, the accompanying album to the film of the same name. Olivia shines in her four inclusions on this record, offering up three brave and stunning songs as well as one colour-by-numbers pop duet which if nothing else serves its purpose. The first single and opening track, 'Twist Of Fate', unintentionally became Olivia's swansong to the popular music world. Talk about going out with a bang. The single was an extremely successful #3 hit with a mega-budget video to boot, and no wonder - it is bouncy, dance-oriented, rock-synth at its very best with an amazing chorus and similarly awe-inspiring vocals from Ms Newton-John.

'(Living In) Desperate Times' remains one of the most aggressive songs of Olivia's career. With a thunderous beat, frighteningly loud drum fills, and a powerful synthy chorus, it almost gave Olivia another Top 30 hit, stalling at #31. A fantastic video clip perfectly capturing the overbearing commercialisation of the modern world, Olivia's social commentary is all but forgotten in the intricate and compelling melody of this punk-pop classic! 'Shaking You' is Olivia balladry at its finest, up there with 'Boats Against The Current' from the 'Totally Hot' album and her fine 1973 offering 'Leaving'. Made even better by the heartbreakingly beautiful video (shot in Venice), this proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Olivia excels in a simple setting - just her, and those gorgeous words. The final Newton-John tune on this CD is her duet with John Travolta 'Take A Chance' which also proves something: singing was not his strong point. The song is very pleasant though, and Olivia sounds fantastic, and throughout all the overwhelming production and Olivia's backing vocal attempts to make John sound better, there's something appealing about this shimmery eighties pop confection.

The other songs on this soundtrack are also rather spiffy. Patti Austin's 'It's Gonna Be Special' sounds like the predecessor to Madonna's 'Holiday', and 'Ask The Lonely' by Journey is powerhouse eighties synth-rock at its most memorable. Steve Kipner's offering, 'Catch 22', proves he was a better songwriter than he was a performer, but Chicago's fantastic 'Prima Donna' more than compensates.

Overall, this is probably only a must-have purchase for Olivia fans, but for fans of eighties pop music this is probably also a viable release. A nostalgia-charged eighties aural feast! April 8, 2003

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