This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2011) |
Two of a Kind | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Soundtrack album by Olivia Newton-John / Various artists | ||||
Released | November 21, 1983 | |||
Genre | Pop, pop rock, adult contemporary | |||
Length | 40:49 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Producer | David Foster | |||
Olivia Newton-John chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Two of a Kind | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Two of a Kind: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name released in 1983 by MCA Records and features songs by the film's star Olivia Newton-John, as well as songs from various other artists.
Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was successful, especially in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by RIAA. [2]
The soundtrack was produced by David Foster. The album contains songs recorded by Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Patti Austin, Steve Kipner, Boz Scaggs, the bands Journey and Chicago.
Newton-John and Travolta had previously worked together on the film Grease , which became a box office hit, the same success awaited the soundtrack and singles from it, including their duet "You're the One That I Want." [3] This time around, they reteamed for another duet, "Take a Chance", which was released as a single in some territories, the very first a-side of a single to credit Newton-John as a writer (she, in fact, wrote the lyrics; the music was written by Foster, Toto's Steve Lukather, and Newton-John herself). In the US the song was a B-side and only serviced to radio. On the strength of the latter, it entered the top three of the Adult Contemporary chart. [4] In Canada, it hit number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. [5]
Newton-John's American top 5 hit "Twist of Fate" was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards. [6] The song also hit number four in both Canada and Australia, and was a Number One single in Luxembourg. "(Livin' in) Desperate Times" was issued as the second single in the US and reached number 31 in the Hot 100.
In support of the album, two additional singles were issued. "Ask the Lonely" by Journey, which was originally intended for the album Frontiers (1983) hit number three on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart. [7] "It's Gonna Be Special" by Patti Austin, hit number 82 on the Hot 100 and also entered the Hot Black Singles chart at number 15 and top 5 of the dance chart in 1984. [8]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In their review, Billboard noted that "Newton-John's "Twist Of Fate," produced by David Foster, is the first top 40 smash from this soundtrack to her forthcoming third film. Since both of the first two soundtracks ( "Grease" and "Xanadu ") went platinum and yielded a series of hit singles, the prospects are strong for this latest effort. Besides Newton-John, the album features John Travolta, Patti Austin, Steve Kipner, Journey, Chicago and David Foster. Most of the material is sprightly and sassy, reflecting the direction in which Newton-John has been steadily moving in recent years." [10]
Cashbox stated that "although Travolta and Newton-John get top billing on this LP, it is important to note that Travolta only appears on one duet with Newton-John while the rest of the record features such varied artists as Journey, Chicago and Patti Austin. Two Of A Kind represents more a collection of singles than an actual soundtrack...the record does, however, have a unified sound since David Foster produced most of the tracks. The songs fit into the AOR/Adult Contemporary league although many of the tracks, especially the Newton-John songs, have a rougher, more upbeat feel for the dance oriented market." [11]
Allmusic gave the album a mixed review, stating that "the soundtrack to Two of a Kind is devoted to forced mainstream pop and soft rock, none of which is as memorable as the hits from Newton-John's Physical. Her three hits from the soundtrack - "Twist of Fate," "Take a Chance," "Livin' in Desperate Times" - are not bad, but they're surrounded by filler from Patti Austin, Steve Kipner, Boz Scaggs, Chicago and David Foster; only Journey's "Ask the Lonely" offers enjoyably trashy mainstream pop. As a result, the soundtrack falls flat, functioning only as a reasonably entertaining pop artifact from the early '80s." [12]
No. | Title | Performer | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Twist of Fate" | Olivia Newton-John | 3:44 |
2. | "Take a Chance" | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 4:09 |
3. | "It's Gonna Be Special" | Patti Austin | 4:14 |
4. | "Catch 22 (2 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back)" | Steve Kipner | 3:34 |
5. | "Shaking You" | Olivia Newton-John | 4:16 |
6. | "(Livin' in) Desperate Times" | Olivia Newton-John | 4:06 |
7. | "The Perfect One" | Boz Scaggs | 4:31 |
8. | "Ask the Lonely" | Journey | 3:56 |
9. | "Prima Donna" | Chicago | 4:28 |
10. | "Night Music" | instrumental by David Foster | 3:51 |
Chart (1983–1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [13] | 33 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [14] | 30 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] | 29 |
US Billboard 200 [4] | 26 |
US Cash Box Top Albums [16] | 20 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan | — | 85,120 [15] |
United States (RIAA) [2] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Twist of Fate | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Video by | ||||
Released | 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Genre | Music video | |||
Length | 25 minutes | |||
Label | MCA Home Video | |||
Director | Brian Grant, David Mallet | |||
Producer | Chrissie Smith, Frank Hilton | |||
Olivia Newton-John chronology | ||||
|
Twist of Fate is a 1983 video collection of the music videos from the Two of a Kind soundtrack by Olivia Newton-John. The video was released on VHS and LaserDisc by MCA Home Video. All videos of standard release are directed by Brian Grant except for "Take a Chance", which was directed by David Mallet.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Twist of Fate" | 3:43 |
2. | "Take a Chance" (w/ John Travolta) | 4:09 |
3. | "Livin' in Desperate Times" | 4:07 |
4. | "Shaking You" | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
5. | "Heart Attack" (from Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 ) | 3:07 |
6. | "Tied Up" (from Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2) | 4:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
5. | "Introductions by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John" |
Dame Olivia Newton-John was a British and Australian singer and actress. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included fifteen top-ten singles, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200: If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) and Have You Never Been Mellow (1975). Eleven of her singles and fourteen of her albums have been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Stephen Alan Kipner is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", and Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle", for which he won an Ivor Novello Award for International Hit of the Year. Other hits he has writing credits on include Chicago's "Hard Habit to Break", 98 Degrees' "The Hardest Thing", Dream's "He Loves U Not", Kelly Rowland's "Stole", The Script's "Breakeven" and "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", American Idol Kris Allen's top 5 debut "Live Like We're Dying", Cheryl Cole's "Fight for This Love", Camila Cabello's "Crying in the Club" and James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go".
"Physical" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for her 1981 eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on 28 September 1981. The song was produced by John Farrar and written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, who had originally intended to offer it to Rod Stewart. The song had also been offered to Tina Turner by her manager Roger Davies, but when Turner declined, Davies gave the song to Newton-John, another of his clients.
Two of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic fantasy crime comedy-drama film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The film reunited Travolta and Newton-John who had appeared together in 1978's Grease. The original musical score was composed by Patrick Williams. Travolta plays a cash-strapped inventor while Newton-John plays the bank teller whom he attempts to rob. They must come to show compassion for one another in order to delay God's judgment upon the Earth. Despite being a critical failure, the film's soundtrack was a commercial success, yielding three hit singles for Newton-John and being certified Platinum.
"You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was written and produced by John Farrar, and released in 1978 by RSO Records as the second single from Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture. The song is one of the best-selling singles in history to date, having sold over 4 million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom alone, with estimates of more than 15 million copies sold overall.
"The Grease Megamix" is a megamix released in 1990 to commemorate the video release of Grease. The single was credited to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and released via Polydor Records. It was created by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow for PWL by the request of Polydor Records, who supplied copies of the original multi-track recordings. The megamix topped the charts of Australia and Spain and became a top-five hit in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
Physical is the eleventh studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released through MCA Records on 13 October 1981. The album was produced and partly written by her long-time record producer John Farrar. Recorded and mixed at David J. Holman's studio in Los Angeles additional recording atOcean Way, Physical became one of Newton-John's most controversial and sexual records, and her most successful studio album. Musically, the album features considerable use of synthesizers, and it explores lyrical themes such as love and relationships, sex, and environmental protection. Upon its release, while the album was a success it received positive reviews from music critics, many of them considering it to be Newton-John's best effort. The album charted high in several countries, including the United States, Japan and Newton-John's native Australia, becoming one of the most successful albums of the early 1980s. It also ranks among the best-selling albums by Australian solo artists, selling more than ten million copies worldwide.
Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease. It was originally released by RSO Records and subsequently re-issued by Polydor Records between 1984 and 1991. It has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time, also ranking amongst the biggest selling soundtrack albums of all time. The song "You're the One That I Want" was a U.S. and UK No. 1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
"Summer Nights" is a popular song from the musical Grease. Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, its best-known version was recorded by American actor and singer John Travolta and British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 big-screen adaptation of the musical, and released as a single that same year. It was released in August 1978 as the fourth single from the movie's soundtrack album and became a massive hit worldwide during the summer of 1978. Parts of the song were introduced to a new audience when it was re-released in the 1990s as part of a megamix of several songs from the movie version.
Magic: The Very Best of Olivia Newton-John is a 2001 greatest hits compilation from Olivia Newton-John. This was the first compilation from Newton-John to include all 15 of her Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first Newton-John album to include "The Grease Megamix".
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978). It was written and produced by John Farrar and originally performed by Newton-John in the film version of the musical Grease (1978). The song was released in Australia in August 1978 and peaked at number two. It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Adult Contemporary chart. On the country chart, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" peaked at number 20 and was her first top 20 country hit in two years. Newton-John performed the song at the 21st Grammy Awards in 1979.
"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Written and produced by Newton-John's frequent collaborator John Farrar, "Magic" was released as the soundtrack's lead single in May 1980 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing".
"Twist of Fate" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1983 film Two of a Kind. Written by Peter Beckett and Steve Kipner, and produced by David Foster, the song was released as the first single from the album on 21 October 1983, and reached number four in Australia and Canada. It reached its peak position of number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1984, becoming Newton-John's 15th and last top 10 single on the chart. Billboard magazine ranked "Twist of Fate" as the 42nd most popular single of 1984.
The albums discography of British-Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John consists of twenty-six studio albums, six live albums, fourteen compilations and six soundtracks. According to Billboard, Newton-John is the 44th most successful artist of all time. She is also listed as the 36th top female artist on the Billboard 200 all-time female list. To date, she has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
Gold is a double album of greatest hits by Olivia Newton-John released on 14 June 2005. It contains all but one of her solo Billboard Hot 100 hits and is the first CD to contain the track "Fool Country". The album is considered the most thorough of all of Newton-John's many compilation albums.
The videography of British-Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John consists of sixty-two music videos, three concert tour videos, four music video collections, two music video compilations, one TV special video and three promotional videos for television programs.
"Heart Attack" is a song recorded by English-born Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for her second greatest hits album Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982). Written by Paul Bliss and Steve Kipner, and produced by John Farrar, the song was the first single released from the album and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1983.
This Christmas is a Christmas album by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, released on November 9, 2012, by Universal Music Enterprises. The first time that Travolta and Newton-John worked together was on the musical film Grease (1978), in which they performed the songs "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights". Both the film and the songs were a commercial phenomenon. This album is the first new artistic work they have done together since the 1983 film Two of a Kind. This Christmas is also the 25th studio album, following the 2008 release A Celebration in Song, and the third all-new Christmas album by Newton-John.
"Let Her In" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Gary Benson, and released as a single in 1973. It was covered by John Travolta in 1976, and was released as the first single from Travolta's self-titled second album. Travolta's version was a hit, spending five months on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and peaking at number 10. It also reached number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. On the Cash Box chart, the song peaked at number five. In Canada, "Let Her In" reached number seven on the RPM Top Singles chart.
The singles discography of British-Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John consists of 69 singles, three as a featured artist and 25 promotional recordings. She was a four-time Grammy award winner who amassed five number-one and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, seven Top Ten Billboard Hot Country singles, and two number-one Billboard 200 solo albums. Ten of her singles topped Billboard's adult contemporary music singles chart. Eleven of her singles have been certified gold by the RIAA. She sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.