Review of Olivia Newton-John's Gaia: One Women's Journey

"No matter what you do, I'll send you love," Olivia declares on the first track of the classic album "Gaia: One Woman's Journey" that was released in 1994. It deserves to go down in history as one of the best albums of the decade. For the singer, it's a special album in many ways, the first completely written by Olivia herself. She also co-produced this gem written while she was recovering from breast cancer. Many of them were written in Byron Bay in Australia, but some came to her throughout the recovery process.

According to Olivia's fan club Only Olivia, "Gaia" was released through many independent labels internationally, and it got a mainstream release in Australia on Festival Records, a label that Olivia was signed with.

On the album, Olivia addresses her own healing experiences, as well as other passions that come across so clearly expressed within the lyrics of the album.

"Trust Yourself" starts off the album. It is about self-empowerment, and it's almost impossible to not feel a bit stronger after listening. "No Matter What You Do" is the follow up, also the first single from the album, that packs a catchy tune with spiritually uplifting lyrics.

Two songs that closely touch upon Olivia's path to recovery that she was on during the creation of the entire album are "Not Gonna Give Into It" and "Why Me." Olivia's father died of cancer on the day that she was diagnosed with it, and she dedicated "Why Me" to him, stating that he never complained for a moment. It's a positive tune that asks the listener to avoid self-pity. "Not Gonna Give Into It" provides an upbeat anthem for overcoming any obstacle.

Olivia touches on her passion for the environment in a song that is sung from the tree's perspective, "Don't Cut Me Down." The song went on to be featured in the movie "It's My Party," a film about a farewell party for a man dying from AIDS, The masterful lyrics include, "Don't cut me down, for I am innocent. Don't cut me down; I am your friend." Being as it is written from the tree's perspective, I used to terrorize friends and family on Christmas tree trips, hoping the song from the tree's perspective might result in going the artificial route instead for the tree's sake. In that vein, it can also be considered a Christmas song, although that may require a similarly morbid sense of humor.

Olivia got even more personal and dedicated "No Other Love" to her daughter Chloe Rose and then-husband Matt Lattanzi. Chloe (also a singer herself now) sang with her school choir on "The Way of Love," a song about peace, love and acceptance.

The zen theme of the album truly climaxes on the title track itself, "Gaia." This song is spoken from the perspective of the spirit of Mother Earth She begs, "Protect me. Let's start a new world from this day on." The track "Pegasus" is a fanciful tale of a meditation experience with a vision of the mystical creature.

For a song with a somewhat sad title, "I Never Knew Love" is one of the most upbeat of the album, and it speaks of a love finally realized and fulfilled. Also merry, "Do You Feel Like I Do" was dedicated by Olivia to kindred spirits everywhere. The most powerful and haunting song of the album, "Silent Ruin," is a song that calls upon Olivia's passion for animals and animal rights. She calls upon us to address the plight the animals and fixing the damage down with lyrics like, "For although there's a dark side to all human nature, our true selves are born in the sun."

Olivia named the album "Gaia: One Woman's Journey because, as the album notes state, "GAIA (pronounced Guy-ya) is the spirit of Mother Earth. She is the giver of dreams and the nourisher of plants and young children." The album is appropriately titled because the universal sounds are sure to leave a trail of inspiration for all listeners.

You can get the album a the following venues:

http://www.amazon.com/Gaia-Olivia-Newton-John/dp/B000065V8Khttp://product.half.ebay.com/Gaia-One-Womans-Journey_W0QQprZ3488872QQtgZinfo

http://mp3.rhapsody.com/olivia-newton-john/gaia-one-womans-journeyhttp://www.emusic.com/album/Olivia-Newton-John-Gaia-One-Woman-s-Journey-MP3-Download/11013437.html

http://www.itunes.com