Customer Reviews

Don't Stop Believin

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got to meet Olivia one time, and this CD (wish I'd brought the LP) was the only item of the hundreds of momentos I own, I asked her to autograph. Awesome, one of a kind. Furthermore, it's structure (song selection and order) remind me a lot of the long deleted If You Love Me, Let Me Know, the album that made her a star, but with all original songs instead of covers.
She should have recorded all her albums in Nashville. Simply the best work she has ever done. The title cut should have been a huge hit, especially considering the time of release

By the time this album was released in September 1976, Olivia Newton-John had begun to suffer a career dip. Her incredible US debut with 2 #1 albums, the last of these only a year and a half ago, showed how an artist could burn out and suffer overkill in the '70's.

I wish I could say that 'Don't Stop Believin' reversed this slide but that wasn't to happen for a couple of years yet. DSB only continued her fall from grace, sales wise. It really shouldn't have been so. The title track peaked at #33 in the Billboard charts, which was a real shame as it was her strongest lead single since 'Have You Never Been Mellow', IMO.

Second single 'Sam' made #20 the following year. It was a bigger European hit than in the States, which was a rare thing. The final single, 'Every Face Tells A Story' only made ther mid 50's, a pity as it was one of Olivia's most unusual singles to date.

Although this album was recorded in Nashville, it was perhaps the least country album of her US releases thus far. Sure, 'I'll Bet You A Kangaroo' has a certain twang but the rest of it is either quite poppy ('Hey Mr Dream Maker', the excellent 'Compassionate Man') or heavy on lush balladry ('New Born Babe', 'The Last Time You Loved', 'A Thousand Conversations')

Although this is perhaps an album only ONJ diehards will possess or remember with fondness, it has to be said it's a strong and diverse collection by a singer at the peak of her vocal powers. It's preferable to the preceding 'Come On Over' and succeeding 'Making A Good Thing Better' albums and should have opened new doors for O. Still, never mind. In a couple of years she would be the darling of the silver screen and end the year 'Totally Hot' once more!

This 1998 Festival remaster sounds OK and they've managed not to clip any of the songs this time, but the lovely sleeve artwork is so poorly replicated it looks like a bootleg. I'm not expecting a Beatles-esque stereo/mono box set but I wish someone would give Olivia's the respect and care it deserves. For now, this will have to suffice.

Olivia's latest pre-pop album is also her best in this fan's opinion.It's a mix of nice ballads and country songs.The song"Sam" was the most succesfull single Olivia had in a long time back then,and certainly deserved to be the hit it was.My favourites tough are"New born Babe" and "Mr Dreammaker".

This is the end of her mid-'70s sterling spectrum.

The title track is beautiful. It sounds as if John Farrar was writing a song about Olivia herself. Pristine, wholesome--looking at both the past and the future with hope and fondness.

There's also the well-sculpted sensitive ("The Last Time You Loved"), the wispy, whimsical waltz ("Sam"), not to mention the corny and the stupid ("I'll Bet You a Kangaroo").

John Farrar does an honorable job of straddling the line, but I get some sense of "filler material" here.

This was the first Olivia Remaster I got, as I suffered for years of only having this album on Cassette (went through two of them actually) Not only was I completely grateful I had this on cd, I was BLOWN AWAY by the sound quality of this particular release in comparison to my MCA Cds.

My favorite song is A Thousand Conversations. The Kangaroo song is Corny, but makes me smile. I also love Every Face Tells A Story, an underrated single. And of course, Sam and the title track are just wonderful. A Really really great record. You also get the priviledge of hearing her sing accapella on the intro to Last Time You loved. Great Idea for Olivia.

First off, let me say that I am a proud fan of Olivia Newton-John's and I have been for many years. Something about her voice soothes me and I often play her records when I need to relax and 'de-stress'. This album, in particular, is one of my favorites to unwind to. I especially love the title track. Listen to the lyrics and you'll discover that the song is one of her most inspirational and comforting songs. It basically says that no matter how bad things are going in your life, you have to keep holding on and doing your best and eventually you'll pull through. The rest of the album is equally soothing and many songs are quite lovely especially the biggest hit on here the longing 'Sam' as well as the bittersweet 'A thousand conversations'. The one song I could do without is the somewhat annoying 'I'll bet you a kangaroo' but it isn't all that bad and the quality of the other songs on the album makes it easy to overlook this one small misstep. Overall, I highly recommend this album to people who want to hear an album of songs that soothe the weary mind and touch the heart.

This album has everything. Even past the songs we know such as Sam and Dont Stop Believin'- Olivia comes out with passion and it shows in this selection of love songs. From Love you hold the key-The last time you loved and compassionate man. The album was the 1st that Olivia recorded in the US and I'd say she was off to a great start. This album is soothing and definately needed for those tracing her back to her country roots.
Still to this day- I smile and think back everytime I hear the song A thousand conversations. It's a real feel good album

On "Don't Stop Believin'" Olivia Newton-John delivers standout performances on every single track, making this one of her best albums ever. The popular hit "Sam" is delivered with a fresh, sparkling production, and the title track easily ranks as one of the artist's best songs ever. But there are other gems here - "New Born Babe" "A Thousand Conversations" and "Every Face Tells a Story" are all worthy of her supreme voice and true works of art. A wonderful recording through and through. Not to be missed by any fan, and certainly one of the artist's absolute best.

First, I loved this album growing up, and I am glad to finally have the remastered import CD version. However, the packaging was a great disappointment not only for this CD, but all the Olivia Remastered CDs. Sure it comes with a booklet of lyrics and pictures from the original albums, but EVERY photo is so grainy that it looks absolutely amatueristic. This includes the front and back covers and the photos inside the booklet. I would have sworn they were booklet copies if I hadn't purchased them from Amazon directly.

1976 yielded two of Olivia's finest albums. The other, Come on over, was dominated by covers but contained a few original songs. This one is made up exclusively of original material.

The album includes the British top ten hit Sam, which also happens to be the best track on the album - but not by much. Every face tells a story (how true that is) and Hey Mr Dream-maker are brilliant upbeat songs. There are superb ballads including Don't stop believing, Love you hold the key (which Olivia co-wrote), The last one you loved and A thousand conversations. I'll bet you a kangaroo is a slightly silly title but the song works well.

Everybody has their own opinions about Olivia's music. I love all the early music up to 1977 and I also enjoy some of her later music, but this is definitely one of my favorites.