Xanadu is the soundtrack to the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in June 1980 on MCA Records in the United States and July 1980 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom. The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO. In 2008 the soundtrack album was digitally remastered as a bonus CD as part of the film's DVD release titled Xanadu: Magical Musical Edition.
Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was a worldwide success and received positive reviews from music critics, earning double platinum certifications in the United States and Canada. The singles "Magic" and "Xanadu" reached number one in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. "Magic" became Olivia's ninth Number One single in The Netherlands, while "Xanadu" topped the chart in Italy. All in all, the album was the fifth most popular US soundtrack of 1981.
Background
The soundtrack featured songs on side one by the film's star, Olivia Newton-John, written by her long-time producer, John Farrar. The songs on side two were written and performed by ELO; the title track which closed side two featured Newton-John as lead vocalist.
The Newton-John side also featured Cliff Richard, the Tubes and Gene Kelly.
At the time of the album's release, Olivia Newton-John was signed to MCA Records, while ELO were signed to Jet Records. A compromise was worked out between the two companies in that the album was released on MCA in the US and Canada, and on Jet in the rest of the world. Not every song from the soundtrack was included on the album, with the Newton-John solo, "You Made Me Love You" released only on the B-side of the duet "Suddenly", "Fool Country" released as the b-side of "Magic", and ELO's "Drum Dreams" released on the b-side of both "I'm Alive" and "All Over The World".
Reception
In their review, Billboard praised the album:
Cashbox stated:
AllMusic noted:
Track listing
All tracks on Side One written by John Farrar.
All tracks on Side Two written by Jeff Lynne.
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
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Xanadu
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1980)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Billboard Benelux)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| 6
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Israeli Albums (IBA)
| 10
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese LP Chart (Oricon)
|align="center"| 6
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)
| align="center"| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| US Albums (Record World)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box)
| 1
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1980 year-end chart performance for Xanadu
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1980)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 12
|-
! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| 6
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 23
|-
! scope="row"|French Albums Chart
|84
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 45
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 53
|-
! scope="row"| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)
| 11
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1981 year-end chart performance for Xanadu
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1981)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)
| 5
|}