Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later

Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later is a studio album by Australian singer Diana Trask. It was released in May 1976 by ABC Records and consisted of 12 tracks. The album was recorded in California in an effort for Trask to develop a new musical sound alongside producer Joe Porter. It was given a positive review by Cash Box and resulted in one single titled "Let's Get Down to Business".

Background, recording and content

Australian-born Diana Trask went to the United States in 1958 and launched her career as a pop singer. After making two albums for Columbia Records and appearing on Sing Along with Mitch, she reinvented herself as a country recording artist beginning with her first singles for the genre in 1968. She reached her peak commercial success in the seventies with several US top 20 country songs such as "Say When" and "Lean It All on Me". Trask recalled in her memoir that she attempted to find a new record producer in an effort to have a new musical sound.

This resulted in Trask meeting with ABC Records' California headquarter where she began collaborating with producer Joe Porter. Her album was recorded at Davlen Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later consisted of 12 tracks. Included were four songs penned by Linda Hargrove: "All Alone in Austin", "New York City Song", "Sing Feelin' Sing" and "Fallen Angel". "Rock Me Sweet" was written by Waylon Jennings while "Little Joe" was written by Trask herself.

Release, critical reception and singles

Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later was released by ABC Records in May 1976 and was Trask's eleventh studio album in her career. It was distributed as a vinyl LP with six songs on each side of the disc. The album received a positive review from Cash Box which called it "a winning combination" of upbeat and ballad songs. In addition, the publication wrote, "It is one of those albums that can be classified as containing nothing but Diana Trask magic from beginning to end. Diana proves her versatility as a singer, and she is well on her way to superstardom." Trask wrote in her memoir that despite working alongside Porter for the project, "things didn't work out" in terms of commercial success. She was later dropped from the ABC label. Nonetheless, one single was spawned from the album: "Let's Get Down to Business" (1976).

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Rock Me Sweet"	W. Jennings	3:51
2.	"All Alone in Austin"	L. Hargrove	3:26
3.	"It's Too Late"	B. Goldsboro	3:28
4.	"New York City Song"	L. Hargrove	4:07
5.	"Sing Feelin' Sing"	L. Hargrove	4:21
6.	"Empty Chairs"	D. McLean	5:06

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let's Get Down to Business"	J. Dugan	3:02
2.	"But He Was Good for Me"	F. Huddleston	4:03
3.	"Fallen Angel"	L. Hargrove	3:34
4.	"Little Joe"	D. Trask	4:29
5.	"One Step Away from Your Arms"	B. Cadd	3:16
6.	"Lover and a Friend"	G. McEuen M. Manseau	4:00

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later.

Musical personnel

Mike Anthony – Banjo, guitar
John Barnes, Jr. – Piano
Ben Benay – Guitar, harmonica
James Gadson – Drums
Lonnie Groves – Singer
Bobbye Hall – Percussion
Pat Henderson – Singer
JayDee Maness – Steel guitar
Myrna Matthews – Singer
Marti McCall – Singer
Chuck Rainey – Bass
Diana Trask – Lead vocals
Julia Tillman Waters – Singer
Maxine Willard Waters – Singer
Caroline Willis – Singer

Technical personnel

John Barnes, Jr. – Arrangement
Linda Blaskey – Special thanks
Eric Hookstratten – Special thanks
Earl Klasky – Album design
Antonin Kratochvil – Photography
Bob Lyman – Special thanks
Mike Nemo – Assistant mix engineer
Nyesta – Stage wardrobe
Joe Porter – Producer
Eric Prestidge – Engineer
David Reeves & Auto Wreck Yard – Special thanks
Joy Stevens – Cover fashions
Tom Wilkes – Art direction
Thom Wilson – Assistant engineer

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	May 1976	Vinyl LP	ABC Records
Australia	May 1976	Vinyl LP cassette	Dot Records

References

^ "Country Singles Reviews/Album Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 15, 1976. p. 37. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
Brennan, Sandra. "Diana Trask Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
^ Trask, Diana; Campbell Rate, Alison (2010). Whatever Happened to Diana Trask. Melbourne Books. p. 245-246. ISBN 978-1877096808.
"Nashville Report" (PDF). Record World. March 27, 1976. p. 112. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
Kirsch, Bob (February 28, 1976). "Studio Track" (PDF). Billboard. p. 33. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
^ Trask, Diana (May 1976). "Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later (Liner Notes)". ABC Records. ABDP-948 (LP).
Trask, Diana (1976). ""Let's Get Down to Business"/"But He Was Good for Me" (7" vinyl single)". ABC Records. ABC-AA-12201.
Trask, Diana (May 1976). "Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later ". Dot Records. L-35930-ABDP-948 (LP).

v t e Diana Trask
Discography
Studio albums	Diana Trask Diana Trask on TV (with Mitch Miller's Sing Along Chorus) Miss Country Soul From the Heart Diana's Country Diana Trask Sings About Loving It's a Man's World Lean It All on Me The Mood I'm In Believe Me Now or Believe Me Later
Compilation albums	Diana Trask's Greatest Hits
Songs	"I Fall to Pieces" "Beneath Still Waters" "We've Got to Work It Out Between Us" "It Meant Nothing to Me" "Say When" "It's a Man's World (If You Had a Man Like Mine)" "When I Get My Hands on You" "Lean It All on Me" "(If You Wanna Hold on) Hold on to Your Man" "Oh Boy"

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