Ruining a fairly good song is one thing but what about when you aren't able to do anything with rubbish material? Does this further condemn a crummy artist or should we take pity on him or her?
Oliver was the third and last act to have a Canadian number one with a song taken from the smash musical Hair. He was also the only one of the lot to then follow it up with another chart topper. (Both The 5th Dimension and The Cowsills had had number ones prior to "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" and "Hair" with "Up, Upand Away" and "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" respectively) He would never again have this level of fame so he was right to strike while the iron was hot. And it seemingly mattered little that his second RPM number one was much weaker than his first (which wasn't very good to begin with).
Given that he'd done so well with a song from Hair, it was only right that Oliver should have taken on material from another soundtrack, this time from the British motion picture The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring the great Maggie Smith. Adapted from the acclaimed Muriel Spark book of the same name, it did well with critics, earning Smith an Academy Award for playing the titular character. The theme song was nominated for an Oscar as well, proving that film critics have no business adjudicating music.
As I say, it's not all Oliver's fault (except for the fact that he chose to record it). "Jean" was written by poet and songwriter Rod McKuen. If you've ever wondered why there aren't more individuals who specialize in both disciplines, McKuen managed to prove that one could make money from verse without being any good at it. His poems belonged in Hallmark greeting cards while his songs wouldn't have been acceptable to even the most tasteless advertising executives. Bryan Adams on his worst day puts more care into his lyrics than McKuen ever did.
Poor words are bad enough but the melody is so syrupy sweet that I can practically feel tooth decay setting in. As if resigned to his fate, Oliver's interpretation goes full melodrama. Hey, who can really blame him? The material he had to work with called for it. Hard to rise to the occasion under the circumstances. Oliver is probably the very best thing about this utterly grim recording but he wasn't up to the challenge of making chicken salad from chicken shit. I'll say I feel sorry for his nibs but only up to a point. Save the pity party for me since I had to listen to this monstrously awful song.
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