The music industry is a great place to make your words and ability to carry a tune come together in a song that hundreds if not millions can appreciate. It is a tough business to get into if you do not have the proper grooming or the right-look a record company is seeking. Well most wanna-be performers record something and push it along the information highway either mailing in or visiting every darn radio station or record producing company across the nation, to get ‘signed’ with someone.

A man named Sonny Bono who would eventually become her husband, found Cher alluring and almost like a songbird who sounded afraid to take flight and really sing her best and convinced her gently to start singing as a session singer. Studio albums by other performers always need an unfamiliar newbie to fill in places, and she was it, never featured just shadowed at first.

Her two early recorded attempts in the 1960’s as a pseudo name and then Cherilyn herself, were not successful covers; yet after Sonny joined her and the two became Caesar and Cleo, things started looking up for them as a duo. Of course years together as husband and wife successfully completing their own hit show for 2 seasons and producing a beautiful daughter Chastity, Cher went on to do excellent solo work and this song is one of those pieces in which semi-creative manipulation of perfection is offered for your dancing pleasure.

A [Maxi Single] is one that takes one, two or three cuts off an album already receiving great promotions and making those singles readily available to preview greats on the entire album. Many of these are recorded by the record company not who originally signed the artist but has various artists under them in contract and subcontract with each other. This is the case with this Song For the Lonely [Maxi Single] by Cher.

Now on with my review . . .

|| About Performer ||

The sultry sexy still song-writer and performer of nearly 5 decades and still going, is Cherilyn Sarkesian LaPiere Bono Allman otherwise known to fans as simply CHER. I have been intrigued and entertained by this normally long sleek dark haired vixen who adopts all rainbows of colors for wigs yet chooses a simple platinum-blonde one for the cover of this Maxi Single as well as the cover of Living Proof (which the song came from).

She was NOT born in the wagon of a traveling show BUT on May 20, 1946 this Half-Breed shy and feeling awkward kind of gal was born. A Heinz-57 heritage made up of Cherokee Indian, Dutch, English, French & German from her mother and Armenian from her father, that heritage and far away looks gave an appeal most people found alluring and catchy, rather than intellectually stimulating.

I find her both intellectually and amazingly talented in her musical and acting work over the decades and with this song, emotional as it was to record, this maxi single was done to promote money and record sales, not sympathy, although the intention was empathic.

We find out from her memoirs that the song done seven ways on this Song For the Lonely [Maxi Single] by Cher was created for honoring the firefighters who went in and saved many people on 911 but Living Proof was a huge success because of the launch of singles from the album used to promote its sales.

If these did well, so would the overall album, and that went on to sell over 115 thousand copies. The figures tripled by 2007 in that over 500,ooo copies had been sold, and that means a lot of buyers were impressed with what radio stations played on club or college-radio stations.

|| Awards ||

This particular 7 song compilation of the same song re-mixed by three top dance-club mix masters or ‘crews’ as they call themselves: Almighty, Illicit and Thunderp**s companies, was received well. In its release as a by-product created from sadness of the 911 outcome, the US, UK and other country Billboard charts found it great that the clubs were increasing their crowds when one of these mixes made a night’s dance-athon.

It held the #1 position on US Hot Dance Club Play list; #85 on the Hot US chart; #63 on Argentinian Singles chart and #18 on the Canadian Singles chart. It stayed 12 weeks at Dance Maxi’s chart.

|| Negatives ||

Songs #3, #5, #6, and #7 are okay but don’t make the maxi single great.

|| Positives ||

The first version is the longest and I sweat enough to it, so the others just are extras.

|| The Songs, in general ||

There are seven mixes of the song “Only The Lonely” which was featured on her 25th studio album entitled, Living Proof. I was hoping when I bought this cheap at a yard sale back in 1994, that the versions would be uplifting and showing creative composition. I was disappointed in the mixers, not in Cher. Yet, its one song done seven ways and you be the judge.

1) “Song For The Lonely-- (Almighty Mix) 8:46 Very repetitive, highly dance-able ***

2) “…” (Illicit Vocal Mix) 8:09 bit slower, melodramatic **

3) “…” (Thunderp**s Club Mix) 8:43 repeat of #1 style but faster at certain riffs **

4) “…” (Thunderp**s Sunrise Mix) 8:25 same as #1 & #3 **

5) “…” (Almighty Radio edit Mix) 3:34 slower, voice not drowned by beats *** ½

6) “…” (Illicit Radio Mix) 3:51 nearly same as #5 ** ½

7) “…” (Thunderp**s Club Mix Edit) 3:43 same old same old **

Honestly, I only liked the 1st version mix cut of this song AND just tolerated the others, some better some not. #3, #5 and #7 are truly unnecessary and it may be because I just don’t like Thunderp** Companies way of highlighting riffs, choruses or adding such a techno beat, you never hear the artist. I love CHER and her voice is too good to be drowned out by heavy alternating thumps, loose guitar kicks, monotonous tones and over-bearing bass. Its just not a good compilation, sorry.

|| Stats ||

Formats Available are as follows:

Audio Compact Disc 2002
Mp3 Download 2009
Vinyl 2002
This [maxi single] 3/19/2002

Producer: Mark Taylor

Record Label: Warner Bros/ WEA Records

|| Verdict (my) ||

If you really digg Cher and wish to own EVERYTHING she ever recorded and those that were re-recorded for her, then by all means add this one to your collection. I mean its just the same song that you can dance a couple of different steps to over and over for about 46 minutes.

A workout must, okay I’ll give it that. A keeper for those times when you just want to hear the same thing over, but slightly different, okay.

I like the song, tolerate a small portion of the [Maxi Single] but knowing the tragedy of 911 and lives lost was planned and could have been avoided, I am disappointed it was recorded for that purpose.

The mixes were done because the club scene absolutely went gaga over the dance-ability of the versions and for that I will give it a *** star rating.

I thank you so kindly for reading, Enjoy your dancing !

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising