One Woman's Journey Tour was the eighth concert tour by Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. It promoted her seventeenth studio album, Back with a Heart. The tour was announced after the success of the Greatest Hits Tour, and had 30 dates across the United States.
Background The song "The Long and Winding Road" was performed as a tribute to Linda McCartney who died of breast cancer in 1998 (her husband, Paul, originally wrote the song for The Beatles). The songs "The Flower That Shattered the Stone" and "(They Long to Be) Close to You", are respectively tributes to the Columbine High School massacre victims and Olivia's deceased personal friend, Karen Carpenter (the song was made famous by the duo Carpenters).
The tour band was the same formed for the John Farnham tour shows (Newton-John performed with Farnham on their The Main Event Tour). Newton-John also talked about her battle against the breast cancer during the 1990s, which originated the names of this tour and her sixteenth studio album, Gaia: One Woman's Journey.
Critical response The One Woman's Journey Tour received generally positive feedback from critics. Lisa Jann from The Seattle Times wrote: "Sticking with signature songs and old favorites, the Aussie princess of '70s pop and Grease icon surprised with a fun song list that spanned the entirety of her career, her ever-pleasant charisma, and her sweet voice, which sounded as fresh as ever". Kevin C. Johnson from St. Louis Post-Dispatch commented that "[...] One of the better nostalgia tours to catch this summer is Olivia Newton-John's low-profile trek, which drew a crowd of respectable size to Riverport Amphitheatre on Saturday night". The Kansas City Star published a mixed review, writing: "The singer has taken her knocks, some of them well-deserved, for bland interpretations of some mindless pop melodies. If white bread could sing, the classic put-down goes, it would sound like Olivia Newton-John". Thomas Kintner from Hartford Courant stated that: "[The] most important to the two-hour, 27-song show was that none of it seemed dated, not its hardly-looking-50 star, not her still-clarion voice, and not its songs". John Curran from The Press of Atlantic City wrote: "In fact, 'nice' might be the only word to accurately describle Newton-John's two-hour performance Thursday night as she opened a two-night stand at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. It was wholesome, it was earnest, it was nostalgic, it was inspirational, it was sugar-sweet".
Opening act Jim Brickman (selected dates)
Set list "Xanadu" "Magic" "Don't Stop Believin'" "Precious Love" "Sam" "Let Me Be There" "Have You Never Been Mellow" "If Not for You" "Jolene" "The Long and Winding Road" "Take Me Home, Country Roads" "The Flower That Shattered the Stone" "Over the Rainbow" "(They Long to Be) Close to You" "Not Gonna Give Into It" "Please Mr. Please" "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" "You're the One That I Want" "Summer Nights" "Hopelessly Devoted to You" "Suddenly" "Don't Cut Me Down" "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" "Back with a Heart" "Twist of Fate" (selected dates) "Physical" "I Honestly Love You"
Broadcasts and recordings
The concerts audio of 26 and 27 August 1999, at Trump Taj Mahal, was recorded for a commercial release. One Woman's Live Journey is Newton-John third live album and was released in 2000, on CD and DVD-Audio. The album only charted in the Newton-John native country, Australia. The tourbook, titled as Olivia: One Woman's Journey features several pictures of Newton-John across the years, with personal comments by herself.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Opening Act North America16 July 1999Las VegasUnited StatesDesert Grand BallroomN/A17 July 199918 July 199920 July 1999AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum22 July 1999San DiegoHumphreys Concerts by the Bay23 July 1999Los AngelesGreek Theatre24 July 1999OakvilleMondavi Winery Concert Venue26 July 1999SaratogaMountain Winery Amphitheater28 July 1999EugeneSilva Concert Hall30 July 1999RenoGrande Exposition Hall31 July 19991 August 1999Paso RoblesMid-State Fair Main Grandstand4 August 1999PortlandArlene Schnitzer Concert Hall6 August 1999SpokaneSpokane Opera House7 August 1999SeattleBenaroya Hall12 August 1999ColumbusPolaris AmphitheaterJim Brickman14 August 1999Maryland HeightsRiverport Amphitheater15 August 1999Bonner SpringsSandstone Amphitheater17 August 1999NoblesvilleDeer Creek Music Center19 August 1999BostonHarbor Lights PavilionN/A20 August 1999WallingfordOakdale TheatreJim Brickman21 August 1999HopewellFinger Lakes Performing Arts Center25 August 1999WestburyWestbury Music FairN/A26 August 1999Atlantic CityEtess Arena27 August 199930 August 1999UncasvilleMohegan Sun Events Center1 September 1999ClarkstonPine Knob Music Theatre2 September 1999Grand RapidsVan Andel Arena3 September 1999ChicagoChicago Theatre4 September 1999MilwaukeeRiverside Theater
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances a This concert was a part of the California Mid-States Fair.
Personnel Olivia Newton-John – vocals Lindsay Field – backing vocals Lisa Edwards – backing vocals Angus Burchall – drums Joe Creighton – bass, backing vocals Stuart Fraiser – guitar Steve Williams – saxophone, harmonica
References
External links Tour dates at Newton-John's official website