Tied Up is definitely one of my all time favourite ONJ songs and who doesn’t remember that HOT Greatest Hits album cover? In fact, it was the first song I ever tried to remix. Released around the same time as Heart Attack (which I like, but don’t love) it always gets me – probably due to the big chorus. Or maybe it’s because for years I didn’t know some of the actual lyrics and just made up the words. Remixing Tied Up (In Promises), it’s actual title, was a labour of love. When I say ‘labour’, I mean it. The core of the 2 mixes were finished a year ago…..but they were never quite right. Olivia fans can be very critical when one their favourites isn’t shown the respect it deserves so I’ve been very selective about putting them out until I was confident I could do them justice. My remixes are usually categorised as house (128bpm) and the Cahill mix reflects that but the Nth Degree mix really maintains the integrity of the song and with 3 breaks and a re-edited bridge, the track soars to its crescendo perfectly. I’ve avoided doing the big ONJ hits on purpose because my amateur skills weren’t up to the task, namely because there are no known Acapella versions of her songs and I just do this stuff in my spare time at home.
I hope you like them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIav7ly804
Here’s another fan who loved the song
Posted on August 17, 2012 by Dan
Tied up in promises
My pal John pointed me in the direction of this post last night. It was a little write-up about Olivia Newton-John’s 1983 single “Heart Attack.” I’ve always liked “Heart Attack” enough, but I do vividly remember being a little bit underwhelmed by it at first, much preferring it’s B-side, the Physical album cut “Stranger’s Touch.” As one of two new songs on Olivia’s second greatest hits album, it was hanging with some pretty impressive songs.
But for me, I’ve always kind of liked “Tied Up” – the OTHER new song – a lot better.
I had this single too – I remember being a little bit scandalised by it because Olivia’s pants were kind of falling down on the front cover. Little did I know what was to come with Soul Kiss! Anyway, “Tied Up” is one of those generic 80s songs that could have been sung by just about anyone. Lord knows that Olivia’s version didn’t exactly light the world on fire, although it did slip into the top 40 for probably a week.
It also has an amazingly cheesy video. Really, I’ve said it before, but I stand by the assertion that Olivia made some of the cheesiest videos in the history of music video. And I just can’t quite forgive that mullet.
I’m pretty sure that this song is where I learned what “the nth degree” meant. I remember looking it up in the dictionary because I had no idea what she was talking about. Give me a break, I was 11.
What I did NOT know until probably 15 years later was that Stevie Nicks also recorded a version of this. Originally slated to go on the Rock A Little album, it was eventually scrapped and it became one of those zillion and a half Stevie Nicks demos that fans traded on cassette tapes on the days before mp3. Honestly, I love Stevie, but her voice sounds completely destroyed on this demo. As one of the commenters on the YouTube video said, Olivia’s version was sensual, whereas Stevie’s version sounds like cats fighting in a bag.
Perhaps if it had been as glossed up as the rest of the Rock A Little album was, it would be more listenable. Or perhaps it was just a one time situation. What does it matter?
