Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection (Vol. 1) | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 5 May 2023 | |||
Recorded | 1979–2022 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 67:47 | |||
Label | Primary Wave | |||
Producer |
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Olivia Newton-John chronology | ||||
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Singles from Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection (Vol. 1) | ||||
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Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection (Vol. 1) is a posthumous compilation album by Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. It was released on 5 May 2023 by Primary Wave. [2] [3] It is a collection of duets performed by Newton-John during her career, including unreleased tracks and some of her last recordings, as well as previously released songs. Three singles were released from the album – "Window in the Wall" (with daughter Chloe Lattanzi), " Put Your Head on My Shoulder" (with Paul Anka) and " Jolene" (with Dolly Parton) – the first two were released before Newton-John's death on 8 August 2022. "Jolene" with Parton was the final recording Newton-John made before her death. [4]
The album debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Just the Two of Us, which already was in development before Newton-John's death, is intended to be a collection of duets recorded by the singer in the span 43 years, from 1979 to 2022 – the last year of her life. Produced by music industry veteran Vinny Vero, it was originally conceived as a 32-track single album to be released in August 2021, but the original schedule was delayed and the project was split between two albums. [5] The oldest song featured in the track listing, " Suddenly", is a single from the Xanadu soundtrack, released in 1980. "Take a Chance", part of the Two of a Kind soundtrack, was released as a single in 1984, same year the promotional single " Face to Face" was also released, a song from Barry Gibb's debut solo album Now Voyager. " The Best of Me", from David Foster's 1986 self-titled album, was released as a single in the same year of its parent album.
Four of the compilation's tracks were taken from the recording sessions of Newton-John's 2002 duets album (2): "I'll Come Runnin'", "Never Far Away", "Act of Faith" and " True to Yourself" – the last one remained unreleased due to a dispute between Newton-John and Vanessa Amorosi's labels. [6] " How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", a Bee Gees cover, was released in Kelly Lang's 2016 album Throwback, and "Stone in My Pocket" is a song from Liv On, a collaborative album by Newton-John, Amy Sky and Beth Nielsen Chapman, also released in 2016. " Jolene", a Dolly Parton song already recorded once by Newton-John in 1975, as well as "Window in the Wall" and " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", are new recordings made for Just the Two of Us.
The compilation's lead single, "Window in the Wall", a duet with Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi, was released on 21 January 2021, with an accompanying music video featuring the two singers. "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", a re-recording of Paul Anka's 1959 hit single featuring Anka himself, was released as the second single in 6 May of the same year, with an animated music video released in 2 June. The song was also released in Anka's album Making Memories.
The re-recording of "Jolene", a duet between Newton-John and Parton, was recorded in December 2021 and January 2022, and released posthumously on 17 February 2023 as Just the Two of Us's third single. Its accompanying music video was also recorded before Newton-John's death. [1]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "
Suddenly" (with
Cliff Richard) (originally released on " Xanadu" in 1980) | John Farrar | Farrar | 4:00 |
2. | "
Jolene" (with
Dolly Parton) (recorded in 2022) | Dolly Parton | Dane Bryant | 3:14 |
3. | "Act of Faith" (with
Michael McDonald) (originally released on " (2)" in 2002) | Charles Fisher | 4:51 | |
4. | "Window in the Wall" (with
Chloe Lattanzi) (recorded in 2021) |
| Dave Cobb | 3:48 |
5. | "Take a Chance" (with
John Travolta) (originally released on " Two of a Kind" in 1983) |
| Foster | 4:08 |
6. | "
Put Your Head on My Shoulder" (with
Paul Anka) (originally released on Anka's "Making Memories" in 2021) | Paul Anka | Anka | 4:46 |
7. | "
Face to Face" (with
Barry Gibb) (originally released on " Now Voyager" in 1984) |
|
| 4:18 |
8. | "
I Honestly Love You" (with
Jim Brickman) (originally released as a bonus track on Brickman's "My Romance: An Evening with Jim Brickman" in 1999) |
| 3:49 | |
9. | "
The Best of Me" (with
David Foster) (originally released on " David Foster" in 1986) |
|
| 4:06 |
10. | "
True to Yourself" (with
Vanessa Amorosi) (originally released on " Change" in 2003) |
| Fisher | 4:01 |
11. | "Lost Inside Your Heart" (with
Jon Secada) (recorded in 2022) | Randy Barlow | 4:04 | |
12. | "I'll Come Runnin'" (with
Tina Arena) (originally released on " (2)" in 2002) | Diane Warren | Fisher | 4:27 |
13. | "Never Far Away" (with
Richard Marx) (originally released on " (2)" in 2002) |
|
| 4:48 |
14. | "
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (with Kelly Lang) (originally released on Lang's "Throwback" in 2016) |
| Lang | 3:47 |
15. | "Stone in My Pocket" (with
Amy Sky and
Beth Nielsen Chapman) (originally released on " Liv On" in 2016) |
|
| 3:22 |
16. | "Love Is a Gift" (with
Delta Goodrem) (originally released on " I Honestly Love You" in 2018) |
| John Shanks | 4:20 |
17. | "
Hopelessly Devoted to You" (with
Mariah Carey) (live) (performed during Carey's " Butterfly World Tour" in 1998) (originally released on Carey's DVD " Around the World" in 1999) | Farrar |
| 1:59 |
Total length: | 67:47 |
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums ( ARIA) [7] | 29 |
Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Flanders) [8] | 83 |
Scottish Albums ( OCC) [9] | 39 |
UK Album Downloads ( OCC) [10] | 46 |
US Top Album Sales ( Billboard) [11] | 26 |