Cher Album By Album

...or Dionne Warwick(e)?

 

That's not the right cover for Backstage, it's a fan made version. Here's the actual artwork and it has the accent over the E in her name:

 

Love this album. @antonkk and me are probably the only ones that do. My favorite of the Snuff Garrett-produced. The title track and Train Of Thought are pretty frantic, but to me there's sort of a relaxed feel to the rest of the album that is refreshing. Arrangements aren't overthought. Her vocals are maturing a lot more here. 'Apples' is a big fave....also Dixie Girl.

 

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1. Love Enough
2. Bell Bottom Blues
3. These Days
4. Mr. Soul
5. Just This One Time
6. Geronimo's Cadillac
7. The Bigger They Come The Harder They Fall
8. Love Hurts
9. Rock And Roll Doctor
10. Stars

11. Geronimo's Cadillac (Mono Version)

 

Agreed. This image belongs in a coffee table art book.

I wonder why the UK 2fers never used the MCA artwork?

 

1. Long Distance Love Affair
2. I'd Rather Believe In You
3. I Know (You Don't Love Me)
4. Silver Wings & Golden Rings
5. Flashback
6. It's A Crying Shame
7. Early Morning Strangers
8. Knock On Wood
9. Spring
10. Borrowed Time

11. Long Distance Love Affair (Mono Version)



1. Pirate
2. He Was Beautiful
3. War Paint And Soft Feathers
4. Love The Devil Out Of Ya
5. She Loves To Hear The Music
6. L.A. Plane
7. Again
8. Dixie
9. Send The Man Over
10. Thunderstorm

11. Pirate (Mono Version)
12. War Paint And Soft Feathers (Mono Version)

 

Just discovered this thread. It's really, really sad how totally underrated and overlooked her classic 60's and 70's albums are. 4 pages and we're at 1977 and not even a single post about the merits of this and that album. Truly sad.

 

Well feel free to contribute. I'd write more stuff, but I'm usually pooped after searching and writing all the different versions - which will get worse once we move into the 80s.

 

From my Top 50 favorite albums of all time thread:

Number 17

CHER - DARK LADY (1974)



Of course when I grew up I was aware of Cher, I liked a few of her 80's AOR tunes and liked her as an actress but had no clue what treasures were hid amongst her 60's and 70's catalogue. I was 20 and studying in Wales when I purchased a couple of cassetes and boy was I blown away! I fall in love with Cher so much I bought my first turntable when I got home! This voice was pure drama and passion and the songs were great storytelling MOR - dark and menacing stories of sluts, ageing beauties, cheeting and desperate housewives and yes, halfbreeds and yes, plenty of gypsies, tramps and thieves. Cher 70's work was like a theater of female fates gone wrong, all backed by luscious MOR arrangements and sung in a voice that sounded 40 when she was 18 (check out her 1965 rendition of Sunny!) and was first mistaken for a voice of man by a radio executive ("we're not gonna play this gay dude singing "Ringo I love you!") in 1964. This was the music of sin and dark passions - only it wasn't done by Lou Reed but by 70's showqueen and TV darling! Of all her 1971-1974 MCA Snuff Garrett produced LPs my favorite was always Dark Lady. I know most fans would rather choose 1971's self-titled (aka Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves) but I think Cher and Snuff reached the pinnacle of their creative vision on the last one. The songs are jawdropping good and there's no filler in sight. The record starts with a band - a powerful dark R&B tune Train of Thought where Cher literally sounds evil and goes from strenght to strength - gypsy title track with it's story of New Orleans fortune teller trying to steal protagonist's man ending with murder, the hilarious story of aging Miss Subway 1952, the bleak americana melancholy of stranded in the middle of nowhere diner waitress slut (Dixie Girl) and the total slutfest of Apples don't fall far from the tree. Not every song tells a story but there's not a mediocre musical moment here and Cher's rendition of Irving Berlin standart is nothing short of breathtaking. Sadly this masterpiece of her solo career was only released on a crappy sounding no-noised and long OOP MCA twofer in the early 90's so if anyone wants to check out this beaty vinyl is the only way to go. As it should be!

 

Not sure why these two albums are being posted at the same time with no commentary but anyway.......

Is Cherished the one with same photo shoot session used on it's back cover as "I'd Rather Believe in You" used on front cover? Cher must have really liked those Norman Seeff photographs to use them on two different albums. Please post back cover shot to show what I am referring to, or I will if I can dig it up.

 

Aah, Cher's Warner Bros. years... when she became an artist with musical vision and better taste in producers... and zero commercial success... It's really unfortunate because the first two albums, "Stars" and "I'd Rather Believe In You" were fantastic.

"Stars", especially shows Cher really singing from the heart -- her version of producer Jimmy Webb's "Just This One Time" is a song that I'd play for anyone that says Cher cannot sing. When she goes into the "glass shattering" note at the end -- something definitely uncharacteristic for her -- it just gives me chills. This album really should have made Cher a "recording artist", but sadly it was a flop -- I keep hoping that it will get a reevaluation, a la "Dusty In Memphis", and be recognized for the perfect album it is. The song selection was stellar, and Cher proved she could "rock" and sing with nuance.

"I'd Rather Believe In You" was more of a return to "commercial pop", but with better songs and minus Snuff Garrett's tacky production. The title song is a "power ballad" before they were called that, and "Flashback" is an underrated gem and should have been a huge hit. She does a fine remake of "It's A Crying Shame", which also should have been a hit, and she sounds real soulful on "Knock On Wood". While I figured "Stars" was too different for Cher to be a commercial success, this should really have brought her back to the charts. Did Warner Bros. not promote her properly? Except for Cher singing a few songs from this on her variety show, was there much promotion done for this?

"Cherished" is wretched. There's not a single redeeming song on it. Snuff Garrett's production and song selection is absolutely hideous on this godawful mess.

 

I find it interesting that her Kapp/MCA era albums haven't been reissued by Raven, BGO or one of the other labels that specialize in this type of thing when much lesser titles and artists have been. Compilations of the hits from these discs are over-abundant.
These titles would be even more enticing with the addition of alternate images from the many photo sessions.

 

Here are links to Cher's WB albums that Cher now owns and that have been never been reissued.

Stars


I'd Rather Believe In You
Cher I'd Rather Believe in you (Full Album) »

Cherished
Cher Cherished (Full Album) »

 

They were both released in the same year and are rather insignificant. They might as well be discussed in the same breath.

 

I understand why you put them together, but I honestly don't think "I'd Rather Believe In You" is insignificant. "Cherished", on the other hand, is horrible (see my post above).

 

But anyway, Norman Seeff photo shoot is used on two different albums. One front cover, the other back cover. Cher looks great, and I think she loved the pictures. Don't you??????

 

Wasn't an image from this serious used by MCA on a compilation too?

 

It's my favorite Cher era so it's bloody significant to me. I once bought a turntable just to hear those records.

 

No it's not. Lots of great tunes on Cherished.

 

Your opinion. I hated it the first time I heard it, and cringe every time I look at the track listing. I think it was especially disappointing because she seemed to have moved on from those tacky songs and production with her first two albums for the label that I just couldn't ever listen to it fairly. Maybe if this was released after "Dark Lady" I would have liked it better... Love the cover photo though.

 

Well, it's not as good as I'd rather believe in you or Allman and Woman (both 9/10 records in my book) but still classic Cher and sadly the last record with classic Cher heartfelt storytelling spirit. From 1979 on it's going to be mostly calculated hits with very little soul (with some exception's like Too Far Gone). Cherished is a great throwback to her 1971-1974 era which I personally love.

 

Listening to Stars right now. I like it. Nice album. Like most of these I remember it with a saw mark.

 

I think that the reason that these sold poorly is the same reason the Sonny and Cher show without Sonny failed. People were just tired of the whole soap opera. And lets face it, Cher's life HAS been a soap opera. With plotlines nobody would touch if they weren't real. Including Sonny, their divorce, his political career and his death, Chastity/Chaz, and Cher's own affairs with Simmons, Allman, and Dudek among others.

 

Thank God I didn't witness any of it and was able to discover these wonderful 70's Cher records judging them by the music only.