"One by one" - A listen back through Cher's entire discography. (1 Viewer)

[Vicky the Vole]

I've been toying with the idea of listening to all of Cher's albums from start to end, plus the tracks which didn't make it onto a studio album - so here it is! I thought I would post my ratings of each one on here, but I've decided to start from the most recent and work backwards (as I didn't want to get bored with all the early stuff and never reach the later classics!). Opinions and ratings of the albums I've posted are most welcome.

Also she has just released the album of this Christmas, so when better time to do this one?!

Cher – Christmas (2023)

DJ Play A Christmas Song - 9
What Christmas Means To Me (with Stevie Wonder) - 8.5
Run Rudolph Run - 8.5
Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) (with Darlene Love) - 9
Angels In The Snow - 10
Home (with Michael Buble) - 8
Drop Top Sleigh Ride (with Tyga) - 9.5
Please Come Home For Christmas - 8
I Like Christmas - 9.5
Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without You - 10
Santa Baby - 8.5
Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart (with Cyndi Lauper) - 9
This Will Be Our Year - 9

Total = 8.9615

I'm actually feeling quite sad that there's only 2 days left until Christmas, and this festive box of delights will have to put to bed until next December (although it was released in October this year, so I could get it down early I suppose!). It really has been the treat of the year for me, and has surpassed all expectations that I could have wanted from a Cher Christmas album. It has been a massive success for her, and given the legendary diva a top 5 album and top 20 single in her 77th year as a human, and astounding 7th decade as a hitmaker.

Opening track DJ Play A Christmas Song sets the tone of the album, and leaves us wanting nothing more than the DJ to play us some Cher this Christmas. I've given it a 9 because some of the other new tracks are even better, and it is the new songs that I actually enjoy most on this album. Angels In The Snow, which features an uncredited Cyndi Lauper, is an absolute banger - and my favourite song on the whole album, with Christmas Ain't Christmas Without You coming in at a close second. Tyga duet (whoever he is), Drop Top Sleigh Ride, is another festive feast and future Christmas staple for me anyway. I Like Christmas isn't far behind, and neither is Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart, which Cyndi did warrant a credit on.

Stevie Wonder and Darlene Love pop up to guest duet on each of their Christmas classics, and both are enhanced by the addition of Queen Cher. In fact I only found out on Rylan's interview that Cher sang backing vocals on Darlene's original Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home), and Cher said she would only record it if Darlene returned the favour - which luckily she did! Run, Rudolph Run is as good as Chuck Berry's version (and probably Kelly Clarkson's too!), and Please Come Home For Christmas is an ok Christmas song, but I can take or leave it (8 was quite generous really, but Cher does do a slightly better job on it than Bon Jovi). Even the Buble duet is really pretty good, and I normally want him to be locked up for his murder of so many Christmas classics.

When I saw Santa Baby was on the track-list, I must admit I wasn't that excited as there are only so many versions you need of that song (i.e. just Eartha Kitt's), but I have to admit she does give it her all and I do prefer it to Kylie's (sorry Kylie). The album closes with a song for the new year, which is a cover of a song originally recorded by the Zombies in 1968 - This Will Be Our Year. I know it more for the Beautiful South version, but I absolutely love Cher's take on it.

Overall the album is a thoroughly decent and enjoyable effort, and one that I am sure to come back to year after year. The scores may seem high, but I find it hard to mark down something I'm really enjoying, and it's probably a sign of what is to come .

 

[Voodoo]

Keep the reviews coming!

I'm loving the album. It has been such a pleasant surprise for me. I didn't expect it to be this good. The original songs are superb. Queen Cher never disappoints.

 

[Jark]

Angels In The Snow, which features an uncredited Cyndi Lauper, is an absolute banger

does it? does miss @Jingle POP! know this?

love your write-up, doll. Santa Baby is quite awful though she really doesn't hit the right beats at all, you'd think she'd never HEARD the SONG BEFORE! on balance it's definitely miles better as a record than I think anyone could've expected.

... in her 77th year as a human

I'm not sure she's been human since about her 49th year, teebs.

 

[POP!]

does it? does miss @Jingle POP! know this?

love your write-up, doll. Santa Baby is quite awful though she really doesn't hit the right beats at all, you'd think she'd never HEARD the SONG BEFORE! on balance it's definitely miles better as a record than I think anyone could've expected.


I'm not sure she's been human since about her 49th year, teebs.

I did not! I will have to check out this evening. Although I’ve never actually listened to Cyndi’s own Christmas album truth be told

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Thank you for your replies, and glad that people are interested in this thread.

The next one will be up soon. I think the slow period between Christmas and New Year is the ideal time for reliving Cher does ABBA!

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Cher – Dancing Queen (2018)

Dancing Queen - 7
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - 8.5
The Name Of The Game - 7
SOS - 8
Waterloo - 7.5
Mamma Mia - 8
Chiquitita - 7.5
Fernando - 8.5
The Winner Takes It All - 8
One Of Us - 9

Total = 7.9

This has been a really difficult album to rate, as all of the songs are obviously a 10/10 but (even though it's Cher) they are just not the originals. That said, it has been a pleasurable experience revisiting an album that I listened to once on its release - and then never again. Because, well what is the point when you can just bung on ABBA Gold if you only want the big hits.

Obviously this was recorded on the back of her appearance in the film extravaganza 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again', and there was even talk of a follow-up album to this one, which I think may have been a step too far. Sadly there is no 'Happy New Year', as it would have been a nice time to hear that one. I also would have preferred some lesser known ABBA classics to make it all seem a bit less obvious.

It is what it is though, and what it is is Cher belting out ABBA classics over a backing track, in mostly karaoke style. The main standout for me (and one of my favourite ABBA songs anyway) is One Of Us, which is slowed right down and makes you realise what could have been done with this project. All in all, I like the project for what it is, but Erasure had showed the world how to cover ABBA in 1992 and I don't think anybody has matched them since. Still a respectable score for Cher though.


The rankings so far:

1. Christmas (2023) 8.9615
2. Dancing Queen (2018) 7.9

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Now and again I will be posting a few songs which didn't make it onto a studio album, and as I've just done ABBA it's a good time to do the couple of songs that she featured on on the film - as well as the couple of singles she's released in between albums.

From Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (The Movie Soundtrack)

Fernando - 9
Super Trouper - 10

Fernando is different enough from the 'Dancing Queen' version to warrant being rated separately, but I won't be making a habit of rating different versions of her songs as there are just too many remixes out there. I actually slightly prefer this version (hence the extra half a point I've given it) as I prefer the theatrical theme to it, and me being me (and loving a big production number) I think Super Trouper is just fabulous, and my favourite number that appears in either of the 2 films. I actually would have preferred her to do an album of productions like this one! It's also my current favourite ABBA song, so that helps too.

Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe (2020) - 6.5

I'd completely forgotten she'd done this cover of a 1943 standard for use in Joe Biden's election campaign. It's OK, and a competent enough cover, but not something I've felt the need to listen to much.

Walls (2021) - 9

This is more like it. A classic Cher ballad that could have been a hit if released at the height of her chart career. Originally recorded in 2017 to raise funds for the Free the Wild Foundation, this was released in 2021 to coincide with her documentary 'Cher & the loneliest elephant' and it really hits hard. I love it - it should have been huge!

 

[Jark]

I forgot about that year in her career when all the Cher news was about a sad elephant. icons only!

 

[Voodoo]

Fernando is different enough from the 'Dancing Queen' version to warrant being rated separately

What are the differences other than Andy Garcia being featured on the film version? To my ears the productions sound about the same.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

What are the differences other than Andy Garcia being featured on the film version? To my ears the productions sound about the same.

Point taken. I have just listened to them both again and you're right, they are not that different.

I guess I just like the feel of the film soundtrack in general, more than the polished album versions. I probably let it cloud my judgement a bit.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Ooga Boo (2017) - 6

I'd completely forgotten about this random single she bought out in 2017, as the theme to the Dreamworks series "Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh" on Netflix. It's really short, at less than two minutes long, but completely throwaway and I doubt I would ever choose to listen to it for anything other than a project such as this one.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Cher – Closer To The Truth (2013)

Woman’s World - 9.5
Take It Like A Man - 8.5
My Love - 10
Dressed To Kill - 9.5
Red - 9.5
Lovers Forever - 8
I Walk Alone - 10
Sirens - 10
Favorite Scars - 9.5
I Hope You Find It - 10
Lie To Me - 8.5
I Don’t Have To Sleep To Dream - 10
Pride - 10
You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me - 9

Total = 9.42857

It's hard to believe this is a decade old already, but at the time this was Cher's big comeback album - and provided the Goddess with her sole top 40 hit of the twenty-tens. Who would have predicted that she would get another one in the following decade? That's another story though - this album is something I was completely obsessed with at the time, and something which sounds just as brilliant listening to today!! I figured the big dance numbers would get me in the mood for New Year's Eve, and I was right!

Kicking off with Cher's big shift from her 'It's a man's world' stance, is her girl power anthem Woman's World, which was supposed to be the lead single but I'm not sure it ever was (in the U.K. at least). Whatever, it kicks ass straight away, and leads nicely into another dance banger Take It Like A Man. The album really hits its first slice of perfection though with the brilliant My Love, and then Dressed To Kill (which I never realised at the time was a cover of a Preston song).

The big song on the album though is one of the few ballads, I Hope You Find It, which is another cover - this time of a little known Miley Cyrus song, and it was a surprise hit in the U.K. for Cher - reaching #25 in the singles chart. This song is one of my favourites on the album, and so is the rather wonderful and catchy I Walk Alone, which is one of the best songs P!nk has ever written, in my view. The song which follows this, Sirens, is a heartfelt ballad which is up there with the best songs Cher has ever recorded IMO. It's my favourite song on the album too.

I've used the international version of this album, which has three songs extra on the end from the U.S. edition. You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me is tagged on the end, and from her 2010 film 'Burlesque'. The other 2 songs though, I Don't Have To Sleep To Dream and Pride are absolute dancefloor masterpieces and should be much more well known than they are. I sometimes play those songs before the rest of the album, and then listen to them again - they really are that good. I'm surprised Pride hasn't been picked up by actual Pride events yet - or maybe it has and I've just missed it. Either way it should be an anthem for the cause.


Bonus:
Will You Wait For Me - 8

This is a track hidden on the end of the Target Deluxe edition of the album, after 2 more remixes of 'Woman's World', and it's a pretty decent love song that I only just heard today - but I feel it could be a grower.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Rankings so far:

1. Closer To The Truth (2013) 9.42857
2. Christmas (2023) 8.9615
3. Dancing Queen (2018) 7.9

 

[Halli]

Woman’s World was the first UK single I think, it just didn't do anything

Sirens is one of my all time faves. What an album.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Welcome To Burlesque (2010) - 7

The 'other' Cher song from the 'Burlesque' soundtrack, and I have to admit that I've never seen the film or have listened to the Christina Aguilera tracks - and I'm not dissing Christina here but there's just too much music in the world to do everything! This song is OK, and I probably like it more now than I did at the time. I can see why they felt it didn't fit on the end of 'Closer to the truth' though.

 

[VoR]

Lovers Forever getting the lowest score on your Closer to the Truth rating is outrageous! It's one of my all-time Cher faves. That Pet Shop Boys-esque synth wigout at 3.05



Fun fact - it was originally recorded as a soft rock track for the Interview With the Vampire soundtrack in 1994, but was rejected.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Living Proof (2001)

The Music’s No Good Without You 8
Alive Again 9.5
(This Is) A Song For The Lonely 9.5
A Different Kind Of Love Song 8.5
Rain, Rain 8
Love So High 9
Body To Body, Heart To Heart 9.5
Love Is A Lonely Place Without You 8
Real Love 9.5
Love One Another 8
You Take It All 8.5
When The Money’s Gone 9

Total = 8.75

At only four albums in, we're already at the turn of the century and an album that is probably Cher's danciest in terms of consistency. I must admit I was expecting it to score higher in total with me as I've always really liked it - but the lack of a 'Believe', or even a 'Strong Enough', moment meant nothing quite reached that 10/10 maximum score for me - although a few came close.

In my opinion they messed up by releasing The Music's No Good Without You as its lead single, as even though it's not a bad song, the vocoder effects alone do not a classic like 'Believe' make. I think it did about right chartwise over here, reaching #8, but sadly it's not up there with her most memorable singles and I can't remember the last time I heard it before today. I still gave it a generous 8 though, so it's not all bad.

What I really want to know is, what the hell happened to Song For The Lonely (as it later became known)? I seem to remember it being played everywhere at the time, and it was all set for a follow-up release to 'No Good', but then it got cancelled or something and the potential for a massive hit off the album was wasted. After that the project just sort of faded away (as did Cher for a good many years!). That song, and Alive Again, as well as Body To Body, Heart To Heart and Real Love too could have all been quite big hits IMO - as they are all dance stompers!

The whole album is one big dance-fest to be honest, with Love Is A Lonely Place Without You being the nearest thing to a ballad. It's obvious she wanted something to follow in the footsteps of 'Believe', and they got it - but they just needed to keep plugging it!

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Rankings so far:

1. Closer To The Truth (2013) 9.42857
2. Christmas (2023) 8.9615
3. Living Proof (2001) 8.75
4. Dancing Queen (2018) 7.9

 

[Halli]

Yes I agree about the lead single for Living Proof - I can kind of see what they were trying to do but Song for The Lonely was the hit from that album and it was a missed opportunity, in the UK at least. Its nice that it does seem to have found some kind of recognition here, used on adverts and sung on tv talent shows etc.

It is really interesting how much her profile dipped from this point for YEARS wasn't it.

 

[BoysForSeles]

The lead single and ‘A Different Kind Of Love Song’ were and still are my two takeaways from ‘Living Proof’.

 

[Voodoo]

Don't forget the American exclusive track, When You Walk Away, and the Japanese one, The Look. Both are very good.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Don't forget the American exclusive track, When You Walk Away, and the Japanese one, The Look. Both are very good.

oh I haven't heard of either of those. I will have to go and find them, and check them out!

 

[VoR]

God Living Proof is a masterpiece of exclusively gay interest only amyl nitrate pop. No wonder it tanked spectacularly

 

[Jark]

obsessed with your rating system where nothing ever scores below an 8, @Vicky the Vole either Cher has the highest quality control of any artist out there or you're a stan, ma'am!

poor The Music's No Good though, only getting an 8 (or a 6 in standard scoring terms)

 

[jivafox]

Living Proof being below Christmas?!

 

[Halli]

Where did Living Proof chart in the UK? I can only remember MNGWOY going top 10 and then...NOTHING

#Weightwatchersisthepromo

#9/11isthepromo

 

[Sheena]

As much as I ADORE MNGWY, it really was a disastrous lead single.

Song For The Lonely was the obvious lead choice, then Different Kind of Love Song. Though whether things would have been different, I don’t know…

 

[AGinAg (39)]

I think Closer to the Truth is better than Living Proof, by a whisker admittedly. Believe was obviously the prototype (with the monster hits).

Her dance pop era, really is three albums over 15 years, but utterly essential and in terms of gay interest careers, absolute peak.

 

[VoR]

Where did Living Proof chart in the UK? I can only remember MNGWOY going top 10 and then...NOTHING

#Weightwatchersisthepromo

#9/11isthepromo

UK Chart run: 46-63-98

I remember picking it up for £1 in a bargain bin just a few months later.

 

[Sheena]

I think Closer to the Truth is better than Living Proof, by a whisker admittedly. Believe was obviously the prototype (with the monster hits).

Her dance pop era, really is three albums over 15 years, but utterly essential and in terms of gay interest careers, absolute peak.

I was thinking this the other day- how’s she’s viewed as a dance artist when she’s actually don’t comparatively little in that genre.

Admittedly the remixes helped…

 

[GALA]

I would say Close to the Truth is up there with her very best albums (of which I think she has 4 outstanding ones). Glad that both Sirens and My Love got 10s. Will catch up on Living Proof in due course, but will quickly add that I think You Take It All is one of the best things she ever did.

 

[Sheena]

TOP TEN CHER ALBUMS

1. Living Proof
2. Heart of Stone
3. Cher(1987)
4. Closer To The Truth
5. Love Hurts
6. Believe
7. Take Me Home
8. I Paralyze
9. Dark Lady
10.It’s A Man’s World

 

[BoysForSeles]

I still think of Cher as more rock than dance despite evidence to the contrary I guess and I think most casuals do, they’re probably unaware of the dance stuff beyond ‘Believe’.

1 Heart of Stone
2 Cher (1987)
3 Living Proof
4 Love Hurts
5 Believe

 

[passthatdutch]

Lovers Forever getting the lowest score on your Closer to the Truth rating is outrageous! It's one of my all-time Cher faves. That Pet Shop Boys-esque synth wigout at 3.05



Fun fact - it was originally recorded as a soft rock track for the Interview With the Vampire soundtrack in 1994, but was rejected.

I never knew that about Vampire! Listening to it now it makes total sense, as it sounds very of the Love Hurts era. As much as I love this version, I'd love to hear the original too.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

oh I haven't heard of either of those. I will have to go and find them, and check them out!

As promised:


When You Walk Away (2001) - 7

This is reasonably good, but nothing outstanding. It could be a grower, but I can see why they left it off the UK version of the 'Living Proof' album. As it stands you can only get it on the US version, or YouTube obviously.



The Look (2001) - 7.5

Japanese only bonus track on 'Living Proof', which I did wonder if it would be a Roxette cover. It isn't, but it's not a bad song. Again it could be a grower, but it reminds me a little bit of 'D'ove' L'amour' - although not as good, obviously!

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Now a couple of other random singles from the 2000s before I move on to the 90s:

Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (2003) - 7

This was released as a single (apparently) from Rod Stewart's 'As Time Goes By: the Great American Songbook, Volume II' album. I like Rod, but even I found his venture into jazz standards a bit jarring after the first album (and he released four of the things!!). On their own though I can tolerate some of the tunes, and this was a pretty good interpretation of the 1940 Rodgers and Hart show-tune. That said, I can't see me feeling the need to check it out again for another 20 years.

Più che puoi (2001) - 8.5

I never even knew this existed, and probably never would have had it not been for Wikipedia. Eros Ramazzotti is an Italian singer, who has apparently sold over 60 million records during a 40 year career, and the song is sung in a mixture of Italian and English. I have to say he is rather handsome, and if he looked like he did on his album cover in 2000 then he was bloody good for 37! I rather like the song actually - I think it's rather sexy, and definitely would add it to a best of Cher playlist.

 

[Vicky the Vole]

Before I move into the 90s, here are my top 30 Cher songs of the 2000s (based on my scores):

1. Sirens
2. I Don't Have To Sleep To Dream
3. I Hope You Find It
4. Pride
5. I Walk Alone
6. Angels In The Snow
7. Super Trouper
8. My Love
9. Christmas Ain't Christmas Without You
10. (This Is) A Song For The Lonely

11. Drop Top Sleigh Ride
12. Alive Again
13. Favorite Scars
14. Real Love
15. I Like Christmas
16. Dressed To Kill
17. Body To Body, Heart To Heart
18. Red
19. Woman's World
20. DJ Play A Christmas Song

21. One Of Us
22. Walls
23. Put A Little Holiday In Your Heart
24. Fernando
25. Love So High
26. When The Money's Gone
27. This Will Be Our Year
28. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
29. You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me
30. Più che puoi

 

[Voodoo]

Are you going to continue this?

 

[Halli]

Glad to see the SIRENS love, its superb

 

[tommie]

I remember picking it up for £1 in a bargain bin just a few months later.

As was classic with that era, Living Proof was wastly over-shipped to stores and certified Gold on release. It was released during a high sales period, but I'd be surprised if it even passed the silver mark in actual sales.

After Song For The Lonely didn't take off in the US, they did the usual gay club diva tactic of releasing singles in only select markets and 2 da clubzzz. I remember When The Money's Gone / Love One Another getting a random remix release long after the album was dead and buried.