Jane Olivor - The Best Side of Goodbye (1980)

Jane Olivor (born May 18, 1947) is an American cabaret singer. She was initially compared, often favorably, to Barbra Streisand and Edith Piaf. After releasing five albums from the late 1970s through the early 1980s, her stage fright, anxieties over her rapid success, and her husband's illness and death caused her to take a 10-year hiatus from her career. Reviving her performing and recording career in the early 1990s, she released five more albums from 1995 through 2004. Since 2009, she has been retired from the public eye.

Her fourth album, The Best Side of Goodbye, produced by Louie Shelton, Michael Masser, and Jason Darrow, was released in 1980 and climbed to number 58 on the Billboard charts. Columbia released the song "Don't Let Go of Me" as the album's only single.
Jane Olivor was a stranger in a strange land crafting albums in the '70s which never reached the potential of Love Decides, her Varese Sarabande compact disc released in 2000. The Best Side of Goodbye (1980) comes close with its sensitive settings for Olivor's thoughtful vocals.
Producer Jason Darrow creates a subdued Barry Manilow-type production with the title track, while Michael Masser produces what is arguably the definitive version of his collaboration with Linda Creed, the George Benson hit from 1977 "The Greatest Love of All." Whitney Houston would take it to number one in 1986, but in Jane Olivor's care the song enjoys a different nuance, perhaps one that its co-creator had in mind to begin with. Olivor sounds absolutely determined as the strings swell up behind her and she belts out the philosophy. Louie Shelton also offers his vision for the singer, and "Manchild Lullaby" becomes a serenade for adults, the other side of Linda Ronstadt's Dedicated to the One I Love. Olivor's singing is ghostly and ethereal on Gordon Lightfoot's "Weeping Willows, Cattails," empowering on Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser's "To Love Again," and heartfelt on Randy Edelman's "Don't Let Go of Me."
Three producers on one project is the Tina Turner Private Dancer approach, and hearing what these individuals do with Olivor's perfect vocal instrument is as enjoyable as listening to her take each note and stretch it for all it is worth. As Olivia Newton-John would go to different extremes, keeping it loose on Totally Hot and going beyond serious on Warm and Tender, Jane Olivor takes both paths and builds a satisfying set of performances. It took two decades before she could surpass this effort, as she did so admirably with Love Decides.
"The Best Side of Goodbye" stands on its own as a valuable look at a valuable artist. It has a special power and some of its moments are quite moving.

Track listing

01. "Manchild Lullaby"  (S. Schwartz, L. Snow)  - 4:22 
02. "A Long And Lasting Love"  (G. Goffin, M. Masser)  - 3:46 
03. "Golden Pony"  (K. Dunham, B. Gundry)  - 3:25 
04. "Weeping Willows, Cattails"  (G. Lightfoot)  - 3:54 
05. "To Love Again"  (G. Goffin, M. Masser)  - 4:37 
06. "Don't Let Go Of Me"  (R. Edelman)  - 3:33 
07. "Love This Time"  (P. McCann)  - 3:49 
08. "The Best Side Of Goodbye"  (G. Cohen, M. Berardi, R. Berardi)  - 3:40 
09. "The Greatest Love Of All"  (M. Masser, L. Creed)  - 4:49 
10. "Vagabond"  (C. Assous, E. Marnay)  - 3:00 

Credits
Jane Olivor - vocals
Frank Owens - strings
Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Willard Waters, Oren Waters - background vocals
Audio Mixers - Jimmie Haskell, Michael Delugg, Rob Mounsey
Arrangers - David Frank, Gerard Cohen, Jane Olivor, Louie Shelton, Michael Masser, Perry Botkin Jr., Rob Mounsey, Randy Edelman, Greg Mathieson.
Engineers - Doug Epstein, Joe Bogan, Michael DeLugg
Design [Cover] – John Berg
Photography By – Brian Hagiwara
Producer – Jason Darrow, Louie Shelton, Michael Masser

Notes
Genre:  Pop, Music Hall
Length:  39:07
© 1980

Label - Columbia Records