Xanadu (soundtrack)

Newton-John's first soundtrack since the multi-platinum Grease has her romping through a variety of cuts, ranging from the bewitching ballad "Magic" to the rock-inflected title cut, written by Jeff Lynne. Newton-John duets on three of her numbers - ballads with her costar Gene Kelly and onetime mentor Cliff Richard and a hot rock number with the Tubes. The other side of the soundtrack is dominated by four ELO tracks, including the hot single "I'm Alive." Since Newton -John and ELO are both coming off top 10 albums -"Totally Hot" and "Discovery" - it's hard to see how this single-disk package can miss. ^[8]

Cashbox stated:

While ELO and Olivia Newton-John supply most of the musical fireworks on this beautifully produced LP, winning performances are also turned in by The Tubes, Cliff Richard and artist/producer John Farrar. ELO's rock dancer "I'm Alive" is already headed toward the Top Ten, and John's "Magic" should follow suit. The album and the film should cross promote each other beautifully. ^[9]

AllMusic noted:

This soundtrack is fluff stuff to be sure, but some pearls float amongst the mire. Lead-off "Magic" remains a fine single. "Suddenly," a duet ONJ ekes out with British luminary Cliff Richard, seems better than most love themes. The sudden appearance of the Tubes almost saves the doomed swing/rock hybrid "Dancin," but the two styles should never meet. The second half glows from the Electric Light Orchestra, soaring at its commercial height, escaping this crippling fairy tale fairly untarnished with three more hit bits: "I'm Alive," "All Over the World," and the Olivia Neutron Bomb showcase title track. "Don't Walk Away" and "The Fall" stand as two of Jeff Lynne's finest, thus the flip nukes the front which should stay stuck to the theater floor. Listening to this soundtrack may beat watching the actual film, but know that if you didn't dig Xanadu when it came out, the platter gains nothing through time. ^[1]

Track listing

All tracks on Side One written by John Farrar.

Xanadu
Soundtrack album by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra
Released	June 27, 1980
Studio	Musicland (Munich, West Germany) David J. Holman (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Pop rock disco soft rock
Length	41:34
Label	MCA (US & Canada) Jet (international)
Producer	John Farrar Jeff Lynne
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Totally Hot (1978) Xanadu (1980) Love Performance (1981)
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
A Box of Their Best (1980) Xanadu (1980) Four Light Years (1980)

Side One

No.	Title	Performer	Length
1.	"Magic"	Olivia Newton-John	4:31
2.	"Suddenly"	Olivia Newton-John with Cliff Richard	4:02
3.	"Dancin'"	Olivia Newton-John with the Tubes	5:17
4.	"Suspended in Time"	Olivia Newton-John	3:55
5.	"Whenever You're Away from Me"	Olivia Newton-John with Gene Kelly	4:22

All tracks on Side Two written by Jeff Lynne.

Side Two

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
6.	"I'm Alive"	Electric Light Orchestra	3:46
7.	"The Fall"	Electric Light Orchestra	3:34
8.	"Don't Walk Away"	Electric Light Orchestra	4:48
9.	"All Over the World"	Electric Light Orchestra	4:04
10.	"Xanadu"	Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra	3:28
Total length:			41:34

Personnel

Side One: Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John – lead vocals, backing vocals John Farrar – electric guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals David Hungate – bass guitar on "Magic" and "Suspended in Time" David McDaniel – bass guitar on "Suddenly" Ed Greene – drums, percussion (except on "Magic") Carlos Vega – drums, percussion on "Magic" Jai Winding – electric piano on "Suddenly" Michael Boddicker – vocoder on "Suddenly"

Additional personnel Cliff Richard – co-lead vocals on "Suddenly" Fee Waybill – co-lead vocals on "Dancin'" Roger Steen – guitars on "Dancin'" Bill Spooner – guitars on "Dancin'" Michael Cotten – synthesizer on "Dancin'" Gene Kelly – co-lead vocals on "Whenever You're Away from Me" Lou Halmy – whistling on "Whenever You're Away from Me" Strings arranged and conducted by Richard Hewson David J. Holman – engineer and mixer Recorded and mixed at David J. Holman Studio in Laurel Canyon

Side Two: Electric Light Orchestra

Jeff Lynne – lead vocals (except on "Xanadu"), backing vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, synthesizers Bev Bevan – drums, percussion, tympani Richard Tandy – pianos, synthesizers, keyboards Kelly Groucutt – bass guitar, backing vocals

Additional personnel Olivia Newton-John – lead vocals on "Xanadu" James Newton Howard – synthesizers on "Xanadu" Strings by Louis Clark Mack – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Xanadu Chart (1980) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] 1 Belgian Albums ( Billboard Benelux ) [12] 1 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [13] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [15] 6 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [16] 1 Israeli Albums (IBA) [12] 1 Italian Albums ( Musica e dischi ) [17] 10 Japanese LP Chart (Oricon) [18] 6 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [19] 8 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [20] 1 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [21] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [22] 1 UK Albums (OCC) [23] 2 US Billboard 200 [24] 4 US Albums ( Record World ) [25] 1 US Top 100 Albums ( Cash Box ) [26] 1

Year-end charts 1980 year-end chart performance for Xanadu Chart (1980) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [27] 12 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [28] 6 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) [29] 21 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [30] 23 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [31] 21 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [32] 45 UK Albums (OCC) [33] 53 US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) [34] 11 1981 year-end chart performance for Xanadu Chart (1981) Position US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) [35] 5

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Xanadu

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [36]	Platinum	50,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [37]	2× Platinum	200,000^
France	—	100,000 [38]
Germany (BVMI) [39]	Gold	250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [40]	Platinum	20,000*
Italy	—	100,000 [41]
Japan	—	312,150 [42]
New Zealand (RMNZ) [43]	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [44]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [45]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
Summaries
Worldwide	—	5,000,000 [46]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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