Don't Stop Believin' (album)

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Don't Stop Believin'
Studio album by
Olivia Newton-John
Released30 October 1976[1]
RecordedApril–May 1976
StudioCreative Workshop (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length34:19
LabelMCA
ProducerJohn Farrar
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Come On Over
(1976) 		Don't Stop Believin'
(1976) 		Making a Good Thing Better
(1977)
Singles from Don't Stop Believin'
  1. "Don't Stop Believin'"
    Released: August 1976
  2. "Every Face Tells a Story"
    Released: November 1976
  3. "Sam"
    Released: January 1977

Don't Stop Believin' is the eighth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 30 October 1976. The album received a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[2] and reached number 33 on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the US Top Country Albums chart.

The first single released from the album was the title track, which peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart. "Every Face Tells a Story" ended Newton-John's streak of seven consecutive number-one Adult Contemporary hits. "Every Face Tells a Story" also ended her streak of nine consecutive top-40 hits. "Sam" was Newton-John's highest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 since the number 13 peak of "Something Better to Do".

A live album recorded on the promotional tour for Don't Stop Believin', Love Performance, was released in Japan in 1981, the LP vinyl sold 123,590 and the cassette 10,600 copies there.[3]

Reception

In their review, Billboard praised the "super smooth and soft Olivia vocals and elegantly tight Nashville studio production" calling the album "an outstanding musical treat. Newton-John's singing is at its most expressive and the songs chosen far the LP are of high quality in the ballad to mid-tempo range. The singer can sound perky or ethereally pretty to suit the material and bring off either style. This newest Olivia LP shows her gifts continuing to sharpen."[4]

Cashbox said "Olivia Newton-John's LPs are always greeted with much consumer and industry excitement upon release, and this should be no exception. The title track is already making waves as a single offering, which shouldn't hurt sales at all. John Farrar's production, like the last album, is ultimately sensitive to Newton-John's needs: the instrumentation is sharp, and gives her emotive voice direction, and, at the same time, room to move. Look for 'Every Face Tells a Story' and 'A Thousand Conversations' to get serious play as album cuts. As always, the record will suit tastes across the board: pop, soft-rock, MOR, and country."[5]

Allmusic noted "the 1976 edition of Olivia Newton-John continues the positive vibe that Have You Never Been Mellow initiated...Don't Stop Believin' is one of the slickest of Newton-John's country pop releases. Despite the extra gloss producer John Farrar put on this, it still retains some of the warmth of earlier Newton-John projects while making that inevitable pitch to the '70s record buying public."[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Stop Believin'"John Farrar3:33
2."A Thousand Conversations"
2:58
3."Compassionate Man"
3:21
4."New-Born Babe"Glenn Cardier3:20
5."Hey Mr. Dreammaker"
4:05
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Every Face Tells a Story"
3:38
7."Sam"
3:43
8."Love You Hold the Key"
  • Olivia Newton-John
  • Farrar
2:31
9."I'll Bet You a Kangaroo"Larry Murray3:35
10."The Last Time You Loved"
  • Brian Neary
3:35
2010 Japanese SHM-CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Don't Stop Believin'" (Live in Osaka, Japan, December 1976)3:39
12."Looking for Space" (previously unreleased)3:48

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Don't Stop Believin'". Borders. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  2. ^ "American album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Don't Stop Believin'". Recording Industry Association of America.
  3. ^ Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. p. 349. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  4. ^ "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. No. 30 October 1976. p. 70. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 30 October 1976. p. 35. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
  6. ^ "Don't Stop Believin' - Olivia Newton-John | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5136". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Cash Box Top Albums" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Cash Box Country Albums" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  13. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. ^ "1977 Year-End Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1974". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Don't Stop Believin'". Music Canada.
  17. ^ "American album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Don't Stop Believin'". Recording Industry Association of America.