So none of you told me that the stars of “Grease” got back together in 2012 to make a Christmas record?
I’ve read that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John put together a “This Christmas” album as a benefit for their respective charities, and for that reason alone I wasn’t going to go too hard on it. This is the season of giving, after all. But now that I’ve listened to the whole thing, I… will again state that this was done for charity.
Just kidding. Newton-John is a very good pop singer, highly underrated. Travolta can carry a tune well enough and he keeps things loose, as if Danny and Sandy were hanging out at Stockard Channing’s holiday party or something. (I haven’t seen “Grease” in at least 20 years, don’t at me.) Most of this album is pretty standard stuff, except for two songs. One is a lilting, folksy and surprisingly affecting rendition of “Deck the Halls” with James Taylor. The other is “I Think You Might Like It,” which has rootsy guitars and close to the same bouncy tempo as “You’re The One That I Want,” only the lyrics here are about a guy who’s coming home to see his sweetheart for Christmas, and their entire plan is to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” and hop into bed. And they’re both very into it.
