Prime Cuts: Right Here with You (with Delta Goodrem), Everything Love Is (with Jimmy Barnes), Never Far Away (with Richard Marx)

Duets have been second nature to Livvy. Prodigious collaborations have littered her extensive career. Nothing tops her duet with John Travolta, even to this day, "You're the One I Want" is still one of the most requested karaoke songs. However, it was not until 2002 when she released her first full- fledged duets CD creatively entitled "2." "Celebration in Song" is the follow-up. Reflecting her larger than life personality and influence, her singing partners come from all over the world. From the US (Barry Gibb, Richard Marx and John Farrar) to Asia (Sun Ho) to Canada (RyanDan, Jann Arden and Amy Sky) to her native Australia (Keith Urban, Delta Goodrem, Jimmy Barnes and Melinda Schneider) to Europe (Cliff Richard), this is an all-star international phenom. And just like her duet partners, these songs transcend all genres, although most of them could easily fall under the rubric of easy listening with a slight hint of country.

Standout among the bunch is the lead single "Right Here with You." "Right Here with You," a duet with Australian divalet Delta Goodrem, puts together music and message together to create an inspirational homily with encouraging lines that ought to give a boost those defeated by life. "Right Here with Here" seamlessly segues into another inspirational ballad "Find a Little Faith" with Cliff Richard. Don't expect another "Suddenly," "Find a Little Faith" borders on a non-descript melodic line and lacks the punch of the Xanadu hit. Further, Sir Cliff Richard sounds tired and weak. Much better is the piano-led "Everything Love Is" -this ballad's heartwarming message gives definition to love is made even more poignant by the contrasting voices of angelic performance of Livvy and the gravel voice of rocker Jimmy Barnes. Calling to mind Marx's own "Now and Forever," "Never Far Away" (which first appeared on Livvy's "2") is a tour de force duet of romantic proportions.

The most upbeat song in this ballad heavy CD is Keith Urban's duet "Sunburned Country" (also from "2"). Ferocious guitars by Urban himself and a pulsating beat undergirds this very Australian-themed swagger "Sunburned Country." The rest of the CD which are mostly ballads, but they suffer from a lack of edginess and piquancy. Partly responsible for such a dirge comes from Amy Sky's pretty bland production. Jann Arden, one of the most intriguing Canadian voices out there, is let down with the offer of the rather pedestrian "Angel in the Wings"-- a rather vanilla inspirational number that founders on some fluff-filled New Age lyrics. Similarly RyanDan who has an expressive tenor is tapered off with a rather understated rendition of the classic "The Water is Wide."

After associating with Amy Sky, the last few Newton-John albums have been very ballad heavy. Nothing wrong with that; However, Amy Sky's songwriting and production chores tend to lack the verve and the magic touch of say a David Foster. Nevertheless, there are duets here that are still a knock out of the park. Further, part of the album's proceeds goes to breast cancer research: such a worthy cause and such a star-studded event are reasons worthy enough to join Livvy in her "Celebration."

Olivia Newton-John proves time and time again that she is one of the greatest vocalists of all time, but like many veteran artists, her CD releases have become weak at best. Only a few bright spots light up this dull collection. The CD is certainly pleasant, but it has the tendancy to play out as one long song.

This CD provides inspiration for anyone who is facing cancer or is supporting someone who is fighting cancer. I have several friends who are dealing with Cancer right now in their lives and I gave a copy of this CD to give them strength. My Friend's mom listens to it as she is getting chemo each week. I have always enjoyed Olivia's music but these songs speak to the heart.

The only song that is good on here is Reckless Olivia Newton-John with John Farrar . Olivia should stay with him and make songs.. The last good Album Olivia made was THE RUMOUR . Amy Sky did some nice songs on there but this Album No Thank you..I still Love Olivia But I think she is going off track.....

As I understand it, this album is a benefit production for cancer research. It is a quite well-done collection of folk/ballad duets with a variety of artists. The prize goes to the opening cut with Delta Goodrem ["Right Here With You"], but the entire project is worthy of praise, with "The Water Is Wide" being especially good.

Olivia is certainly NOT an unknown quantity; she has given us a rather massive selection of records over the years. I'm still in love with her character in "Grease"...and, if the cover photo is accurate, she's the hottest 60 year old I ever saw. She's not to everybody's taste [no singer is], but if you like her, you'll like this.