Warm and Tender (Olivia Newton-John album)

Warm and Tender is the fourteenth studio album and first of children's lullabies released by Olivia Newton-John in September 1989. After being absent on Newton-John's last album The Rumour, producer John Farrar returned for this album. After recording extensively in the UK and US throughout her career, this was Newton-John's first album recorded in her hometown of Melbourne.

Warm and Tender
Studio album by Olivia Newton-John
Released	9 September 1989
Recorded	1988
Genre	Children's
Length	41:27
Label	Geffen
Producer	John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John chronology
The Rumour (1988) Warm and Tender (1989) Back to Basics: The Essential Collection 1971–1992 (1992)
Singles from Warm and Tender
"Reach Out for Me" Released: 1989 "When You Wish Upon a Star" Released: 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

"Reach Out for Me" peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts ^[2] and number 153 on the ARIA Charts.^[3]

Reception

AllMusic praised the album as "a major achievement for Olivia Newton-John, a majestic combination of lullabies and standards," further commenting "if Olivia Newton-John made Warm and Tender to prove to the world that she is an artist with depth and courage, she achieved her goal. It's a marvelous recording."^[4]

In their review of the album, Billboard commented that "(Geffen) label debut finds the Aussie lass gratefully shedding her contrived sexpot image and donning the serene veneer of motherhood. Beautifully orchestrated set of lullabies could warm the heart of the toughest AC programmer...This is the perfect environment for Newton-John's smooth and silky voice, and may very well be the springboard for her return into the pop spotlight." ^[5]

Cashbox noted that "motherhood has really had quite an effect on everyone’s favorite Xanadu roller babe. No longer does she yodel about hopeless devotion or high school graduations. This is Olivia: the Mother, crooning every childhood ditty that you can recall and even a few that you can’t. ...The entire album is dreamy, ethereal sleepy-time music, so effective...I don’t see a lot of commercial possibilities here, but it seems as if Olivia is after a more loving-expression kind of thing rather than her former hungry-for-pop success."^[6]

Track listing

Warm and Tender track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jenny Rebecca"	Carol Hall	3:46
2.	"Rocking"	Traditional, lyrics by Percy Dearmer	3:05
3.	"Way You Look Tonight"	Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields	2:59
4.	"Lullaby, Lullaby, My Lovely One"	German lullaby	1:16
5.	"You'll Never Walk Alone"	Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II	2:49
6.	"Sleep My Princess"	Mozart's Cradle Song	1:08
7.	"The Flower That Shattered the Stone"	Joe Henry, John Jarvis	3:22
8.	"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"	Traditional	0:55
9.	"Warm and Tender"	Newton-John, Farrar	3:21
10.	"Rock-a-bye Baby"	Public domain	0:42
11.	"Over the Rainbow"	Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg	3:26
12.	"Twelfth of Never"	Paul Francis Webster, Jerry Livingston	4:23
13.	"All the Pretty Little Horses"	Traditional	1:10
14.	"When You Wish upon a Star"	Ned Washington, Leigh Harline	3:22
15.	"Reach Out for Me" (with Brahms Lullaby intro and reprise)	Burt Bacharach, Hal David	5:55

2002 reissue bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Part of Your World" (2002 version)	Alan Menken	3:13

Personnel

Musicians

• Olivia Newton-John – vocals, arrangements (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15)

Conducted by and all Orchestral Arrangements by Graeme Lyall AM

• The Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra:
• Rudolf Osadnik – leader
• Ron Layton – contractor
• Joe Chindamo – acoustic piano, keyboards
• Adrian Scott – programming
• Ben Robertson – bass
• Don Stevenson – guitar
• Robert Clarke – percussion
• Alex Pertout – percussion
• Vernon Hill – flute
• Vicki Philipson – oboe
• Stephen Robinson – Cor anglais
• Julie Rains – harp

Other musicians

• "Warm and Tender" – all instruments by Brian Mann and John Farrar
• "Reach Out for Me" – all instruments by Brian Mann and John Farrar; Synclavier by Sean Callery
• "The Flower That Shattered the Stone" – synthesizers by Brian Mann; Synclavier by Sean Callery

Production

• Producer – John Farrar
• Engineer – Allan Sides
• Additional engineering – Ian McKenzie
• Assistant engineer – Eric Rudd
• Recorded at the Melbourne Concert Hall and Metropolis Audio (Melbourne, Australia); Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, CA).
• Mixed by Allen Sides at Ocean Way Recording.
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Album art direction – Gabrielle Raumberger
• Album logo and design – Larry Vigon Studio
• Front cover photography – Alberto Tolot
• Dust sleeve photography – Nancy Manning

Charts

Chart performance for Warm and Tender

Chart (1989–1990)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[citation needed]	109
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7]	43
US Billboard 200[8]	124
US Cashbox Top 200 Albums[9]	151

References

1. Viglione, Joe. Warm and Tender at AllMusic
2. "Olivia Newton-John | Biography, Music & News". Billboard.
3. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 14 November 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
4. "Warm and Tender - Olivia Newton-John | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
5. "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard Music Week. No. 11 November 1989. p. 90. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
6. "Pure Pop For Now People" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 11 November 1989. p. 22. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
7. Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. p. 349. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
8. "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
9. "Top 200 Albums" (PDF). Cashbox. p. 15. Retrieved 14 August 2022.