Don't Stop Believin' (album)

''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) 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.

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."

'' 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."

''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."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians
* Olivia Newton-John – lead and backing vocals
* Shane Keister – keyboards
* Warren Oates – clavinet (4)
* Chris Christian – acoustic guitar
* John Farrar – acoustic guitar, electric guitars, backing vocals
* Steve Gibson – acoustic guitar
* Weldon Myrick (5)
* Joe Osborn – drums, percussion
* Charlie McCoy – harmonica (8)
* Bergen White – string arrangements
* Shelly Kurland String Section – strings
* Donna Fein – backing vocals
* Muffy Hendrix – backing vocals
* Lisa Silver – backing vocals
* Hurshel Wiginton – bass vocals (9)

Production
* Produced and arranged by John Farrar
* Recorded at Creative Workshop, (Nashville, Tennessee)
* Recording engineer – Brent Maher
* Mixed at Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles, California)
* Mixing – Bill Schnee
* Assistant engineer – George Tutko
* Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, California)

Design
* Cover photos – Charles Bush
* Black and white photos – Jeff Dunas
* Art direction and design – George Osaki
* Costume design/wardrobe/stylist – Fleur Thiemeyer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

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1976 albums
Olivia Newton-John albums
Albums produced by John Farrar
MCA Records albums