American release of a classic UK LP
4
By Germo1978
Another surprise release here in the US from Primary Wave Music is this 1974 album that was released in the UK and Australia, but didn't hit the shelves here unless you ordred it as an import. Instead, Olivia's US label, MCA, took half of the songs from this LP and compiled them with songs taken from earlier UK albums (see: "Music Makes My Day" also available now!) to create the classic "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" LP (recently issued onto digital platforms after being out of print for over 30 years!) "Free The People", "Country Girl", Olivia's cover of "God Only Knows", "Home Ain't Home Anymore", "I Honestly Love You" and "The River's Too Wide" were released on the "If You Love Me" album in the US about a month before this LP was released in Europe. Of course, "I Honestly Love You" became the smash hit from both albums and was her first #1 hit on the Billboard charts. It also won her the Grammy for Record of the Year. The other songs were written for the Eurovision song contest. Each week Olivia would sing a selection on British TV and then the country would vote on which song they wanted her to sing when she represented them in the contest. The people chose the title track, "Long Live Love" and she came in fourth place. A little Swedish group called ABBA won with a song titled "Waterloo." Whatever happened to them? Olivia has gone on record in interviews saying that she was not fond of the title track and wished one of the ballads either "Angel Eyes" or "Someday" had been chosen. One of my personal favorites from this LP is a song called "Loving You Ain't Easy" and I'm gald to see that it and the rest of this album are now available here in the US for old fans to enjoy and new fans to discover!
