MCA Records releases an album of songs from the upcoming movie musical Xanadu, with the first side of the LP devoted to songs performed by Electric Light Orchestra, and the other filled with songs by Olivia Newton-John (who also stars in the film). Hit singles from the album include the ELO/ONJ team-up “Xanadu”, Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic”, and ELO’s “All Over The World” and “I’m Alive”. The album is a bigger hit with critics and the public than the movie (which premieres well after the album’s release). 
At the time of this review, Xanadu doesn’t seem to have been pressed on CD in the States, at least not recently, so I had to get a Japanese import, but at least the Japanese realized where the true value of this movie’s music was and put the ELO tracks first! (Oh, all right, just to be fair, I really, really like Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic”, and the big-band/rock combo “Dancin'” featuring The Tubes is really nifty. There, I admitted it.) Among the ELO tracks, the only weak entry is “Xanadu” itself, but even so it’s not a bad song. It may not be the lost holy grail that ELO fans would really like to hear – Jeff Lynne’s abandoned instrumental score for the movie itself – but in general, the music was better than the movie.
ELO tracks:
- I’m Alive (3:47)
- The Fall (3:36)
- Don’t Walk Away (4:47)
- All Over The World (4:05)
- Xanadu (with Olivia Newton-John) (3:28)
Olivia Newton-John tracks:- Magic (4:28)
- Suddenly – with Cliff Richard (4:00)
- Dancin’ – with the Tubes (5:15)
- Suspended in Time (3:53)
- Whenever You’re Away From Me / with Gene Kelly (4:18)
Released by: MCA
Release date: 1980
Total running time: 41:37
1993 music review by Earl Green