Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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"If You Love Me, Let Me Know" is a United States and Canada-only album by singer Olivia Newton-John, released in May 1974. Other than the title track, all the material was from her previous albums, "Olivia" (1972), "Music Makes My Day" (1973) and "Long Live Love" (1974). It is the first of her albums to top the Billboard 200 pop albums chart. Two hit singles were issued from the LP in the US: the title song and "I Honestly Love You", the latter of which became Newton-John's first number-one US single, and her signature song as well. Six of the tracks on the album are from her European and Australian release, "Long Live Love", two are tracks from "Olivia" and one from "Music Makes My Day", with the title song being the only new addition. Essentially, this is the second of the two early compilation albums released by MCA Records, the other album being the US version of "Let Me Be There", released in 1973. The result of MCA picking Newton-John's stronger tracks plus newer singles in the same vein led to the album earning widespread critical acclaim and strong album sales in North America. It was the first of two Newton-John albums to top the Billboard 200 pop albums chart, the second being "Have You Never Been Mellow" the following year. Two hit singles were culled from the LP in the US: the title song (#5) and "I Honestly Love You", the latter of which became Newton-John's first number-one single in the US after listener requests for the song prompted MCA to release it as a single, much to Newton-John's delight after she originally pleaded with the label to release it as such. Both songs reached the top 10 of the US Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts, affirming Newton-John's status as the top female country-crossover star of the day and continuing the chart hot streak begun with the Grammy-winning "Let Me Be There" the previous year. The title track ranks as Newton-John's highest charting single on the country charts, reaching #2, although she would have more top 10 hits. The album was certified Gold in the US.

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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In May and August of 1974, Olivia Newton-John broke through in a big way with this album, the number five title track written by John Rostil, and the number one smash "I Love You, I Honestly Love You" by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen quickly established Olivia as a superstar to be reckoned with. The album is beautifully produced by John Farrar with his friend Bruce Welch of Marvin, Welch & Farrar fame helping out with the production on two of the tracks, Gerry Rafferty's "Mary Skeffington" and Olivia Newton-John's sole composition, the acoustic "Changes." The singer is a very good songwriter, and why she didn't put more songs together, or cover some of the wonderful material her mentor was releasing elsewhere, is something to speculate. "Home Ain't Home Anymore" is the one co-write of Farrar's on this collection. Their version of Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows" is short and intriguing, and it is interesting to hear Farrar create a light environment for what was such a big production number for "The Beach Boys." "You Ain't Got the Right" is smart country pop, with Newton-John in excellent voice and showing a remarkable consistency. Barbara Keith's "Free the People" is, in the hands of Delaney & Bonnie, a wonderfully deep gospel experience. Countrified and given a snappy treatment here, it remains a good song, but doesn't have the balance that Bonnie Bramlett breathed into her version. It's the hits here, though, which are outstanding, and the bright pop is better suited to the title track than to Barbara Keith's masterpiece. "If You Love Me Let Me Know" is a great question for lovers who aren't quite sure, and a marvelous bridge from country music to pop. It might not have the intensity of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man," but it climbed higher up the charts and, along with Kenny Rogers work, helped Nashville find a wider audience. Topping it off by literally owning adult contemporary on the same album with the ballad "I Love You, I Honestly Love You" is pretty amazing when one looks back at how effectively Farrar and Newton-John set out to conquer the charts, and succeeded. If You Love Me Let Me Know works on many levels, and is a strong chapter in Olivia's catalog.

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

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Olivia Newton-John - If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) [1987, Reissue] {Japan for USA}

Close