I actually give this cd a total of 3 1/2 stars, but since you can't do halves, I'm rounding it to four.
Now for my review...
I just purchased this cd and gave it a listen. I love Olivia, but wasn't quite sure if I wanted an album of duets. Then I realized Darren Hayes was on it so I had to get it.
Here are my thoughts on each song. I'm rating them from 1-10, 10 of course being the best.
1. Sunburned Country - This is a great country/rock song with Keith Urban. Great start for this record. Really enjoyed this one. 8/10.
2. Lift Me Up - Two angel voices on one song?!?! It's always so wonderful to hear Darren's voice. This isn't the strongest song he's ever done, but it's still nice. 7/10.
3. I'll Come Runnin' - Nice little pop song. I'm not familiar with Tina Arena, but she sounds good to me. 7/10.
4. Tenderfield Saddler - This song didn't do too much for me. I assume it's supposed to be some kind of Australian folk song. Didn't quite dig it. 4/10.
5. I'll Be Right Here - Very nice ballad, perfect for Olivia. Not familiar with this male singer either, but nice combo. 7/10.
6. Love You Crazy - Another nice song. I'm assuming Human Nature is a boy band. No offense to Olivia, but I think this should have just been their song. I think they could have done more with it. It's almost like they were afraid to put themselves into it and wanted it to be more of an Olivia song. 7/10.
7. Bad About You - I dig this one. Very catchy. At first was thinking maybe it was a little too rough of a song for Olivia (might have been better for a country singer with a stronger voice rather than a light one like Liv's), but she surprised me at the end. 8/10
8. I'm Counting On You - What is this?? This one confuses me. Is it an old song that she just added her voice to? By itself it probably was a decent little ditty. But I don't much like this duet at all. 3/10.
9. Never Far Away - Wow did they ever miss a great opportunity with this one! This is with Richard Marx, another great voice. But this song is BORING! What a let-down. 4/10.
10. Happy Day - Don't really like this one either. I almost skipped to the next song halfway through. This song is boring, I don't like this guy's voice and he even sounds bored singing it! I'll give it a couple points only cause the chorus is a tiny bit catchy and Olivia giggles at the end. 3/10.
11. Act of Faith - A decent last song with Michael McDonald. What's funny about this song is that it automatically started sounding familiar to me. Maybe that's because Michael McDonald has pretty much sung with everyone! This isn't a great song, but not bad either. Definitely typical MM, probably could have been one of his singles in the 80s. 6.5/10
Then after this song is a bonus "jazzy" version of Physical. Kinda cute, but I don't really like when she goes up really high. That's a bit annoying. But still a classic no matter how it's arranged. 7/10.
This is really an album for die-hard Olivia fans or fans of any of the artists she duets with. But maybe not for everyone.

Having lived in Australia for a decade, all I can think of is this album truly lives up to the popular level of Oz rock; ie very very dull.

A bunch of ordinary and some below par numbers, this is not inspiring by far. Why not an album of women's songs - by such great writers as Tori Amos, Jane Siberry and all?

I had been personally waiting for a renaissance by olivia since the mid-80s, so I guess maybe it's now too late to ask the Pet Shop Boys, Nick Cave or Morrissey for a number or two.

This is definately not Olivia's best album, but it is not the worst. Her voice is not at it vocal height, but it is still and album that I would not exclude. My favorite duet on here is the one with Keith Urban, "Sunburned Country."