When Cher announced her intention to retire from live performing, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt a twinge of sadness at the passing of an era. On the positive side, her many fans could take heart that she ended her 4-decade run on the pop music stage looking half her age and singing at the top of her form. Further, she went all out to say goodbye to the many who have appreciated her music over the years with a no holds barred farewell world tour.

Live - The Farewell Tour

The source recordings for the subject collection emanate from Cher’s concert at the Miami Continental Arena in November 2002. Backed by an array of dancers and acrobats, spectacular visual effects and of course a sea of costume changes and wigs, no stone was left unturned in making sure the event was a blockbuster. As evidenced by this CD, however, these features were just icing on the cake. The real attraction was the music, the memories and its most talented star – Cherilyn Sakasian La Pierre (AKA Cher).

The Tracks

There are 18 tracks on this collection. The choice of material expands the entirety of Cher’s nearly forty years in the music business. For ease of reference I have grouped my discussion of the most interesting tracks based on the decade in which they were originally recorded.

The Sonny side of Cher (the 60’s)

As most will know Cher started her music career in the mid-sixties as part of the hippie-singing duo Sonny and Cher. Sonny Bono, who by any accounts was not much of a singer, was one hell of a producer and writer of songs. Cher’s unique vocals were a perfect vehicle for his unique style and the two of them not only rode high on the charts (both as a duo and Cher as a solo artist), but also achieved a long running and highly successful TV show.

Unfortunately, Cher avoids performing any of her Sonny and Cher hits on stage and instead prefers to run for the audience old video footage of the couple singing them. On this occasion, however, she does take time out to sing two of her solo hits, namely “All I Really Want to do” (1965: US #15; UK #1) and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” (1966: US #2; UK #3)).

“All I Really Want to do” is given a treatment very similar to the original recording right down to the wall of twanging guitars that defined much of Sonny’s early work (recall “Needles and Pins”). Aside from an undeniable sense of confidence, Cher’s vocal treatment remarkably is almost identical to the 1965 recording. The sense of nostalgia is so prominent on this performance that you can almost see Sonny smiling in the background.

By comparison, “Bang Bang” is catapulted into the 21st century with a heavy machine gun electric guitar accompaniment and prominent drums. When combined with the haunting female back up singers repeatedly chanting “bang, bang” and morbid keyboards, the whole atmosphere is dark and foreboding. Through all this, Cher’s appropriately melodramatic vocals continue to burst through. In short, a fantastic performance full of imagery that finds depth previously unnoticed in the original hit.

Take me home dark lady (the 70’s)

Cher combines her three US #1’s “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” (1971), “Half Breed” (1973) and “Dark Lady” (1974) into a rollicking 5 minute medley. These minor masterpieces of thought provoking seventies pop-rock generally survive the truncated treatment pretty well. The anti-racist message of the first two is particularly preserved and there is a great use of the traditional Indian sound in “Half Breed”. The only casualty is “Dark Lady” as the impression given here is that the fortuneteller (ie the dark lady) is helping the main character with her marriage problems. This is very different to the hit version where the fortuneteller is a manipulative witch who is chillingly gunned down for having an affair with the husband.

While the above classic cuts are given the shortchange treatment, Cher’s minor disco hit of 1979 “Take me Home” lasts for around six minutes. This routine disco number does not showcase either the disco era of Cher at their best. The extended musical interludes seem to go on forever. In addition, there is a never ending squawking bird sound going on that is not quite a return of the Disco Duck (thankfully), but still pretty awful.

Fortunately, the above exercise in artistic insanity is redeemed by the inclusion of a complete version of one of Cher’s most poignant ballads “The Way of Love” (1972: US #7). In the Roy Orbison tradition of song writing, this great number does not rely on a chorus section to get it through, but simply steps things up an octave in each verse. Cher, with the assistance of some strong keyboards, draws on the emotions from her many broken relationships to deliver a heart wrenching interpretation.

Turning back time with Jesse James (The 80’s)

Cher spent most of the eighties furthering a successful Oscar winning acting career. Her return to music making in the later part of the decade was no less impressive. Her best work from this period features prominently on this collection, including “After All” (1989: US #6), “Heart of Stone” (1989: US #20), “I Found Someone” (1987: US #10) and the rollicking “If I Could Turn Back Time” (1989: US #3). Cher effortlessly recreates the atmosphere of these hit recordings and gives them a vocal treatment second to none.

The real surprise is the inclusion of the contemporary cowboy ballad “Just Like Jess James” (1989: US #8), which Cher openly admits she cannot stand. That being said, you would never know it from the performance here. With more than a hint of the Eagles in its style, the number is characterized by clever lyrics and outstanding lead guitar work. The material perfectly suits her earthy voice and there is no doubt Cher has a real feel (albeit unwillingly) for this genre of music.

Strong enough to believe in the Shoop Shoop (the 90’s)

Cher’s cover of the well-known early sixties rocker “Shoop Shoop (Its in his Kiss)” gave her a surprise 1990 UK #1. With its sing along charm, this bouncing piece of innocent US rock is made for the stage. Further, Cher clearly enjoys the lighthearted material and gives the number a suitably tongue in cheek delivery (no pun intended) that brings out its best qualities.

Also well done is Cher’s 1999’s disco style single release “Strong Enough”. While the song did only moderately well on the US charts (it really was released 20 years too late), this is no reflection on its quality or that of the artist. With hints of Barry White everywhere you look in the musical support department, this historical trip back to the world of flared pants and John Travolta, makes for a fun nostalgic listen.

An extended version of Cher’s most recent #1, “Believe”, is the closer on the set. While by no means tragic, it falls well short of the single. In the early verses, Cher’s voice is injected with intentional computer generated distortion causing an inconsistency in the sound volume. Later on there is an attempt to get the audience to sing along, which again does not quite come off in the audio only format. It also suffers from being the last number, as Cher is (understandably) focusing on connecting one last time with the audience rather than her vocal performance.

Other tracks

For unknown reasons, the Epinions database does not provide track details for this CD. For completeness, the following tracks not mentioned above are also included:

- “I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
- “Song for the Lonely”
- “All or Nothing”

Liner notes

The liner notes are a visually appealing 3-page foldout with a purple theme. There are 5 color photos inside of Cher in various onstage costumes. The rear cover is a series of artistic cartoon drawings of Cher in various garbs and wigs. There is also a one page commentary on the final tour on the inside cover, as well as a 100 or so list of every person involved with the tour.

Rating

While not without its faults, this CD has a lot going for it. It showcases on numerous occasions Cher at her vocal best and for the main represents a “hip” fun-filled journey through the colorful musical history of this most talented and enduring legend of popular music. My rating - 4 stars.

If you liked this CD, what else would I recommend?

The Beat Goes On: The Best Of Sonny & Cher (Review)


Recommended: Yes