Search - Cher :: Heart of Stone

Turn back time to 89 and a great album by Cher

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 06/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cher followed up the success of her self-titled 1987 album with Heart of Stone, whose first two singles did better on the charts. She had retained the same production team-if it ain't broke... But the followup benefits from having better arrangements and instrumentations, while embodying a musical style now sadly long gone.



Instead of merely writing this song, Diane Warren puts on her producer's hat with Guy Roche. "If I Could Turn Back Time," whose strident rhythms with the same synth and fiery guitar from her previous album, made it to #3 on the charts and a week atop the Adult Contemporary charts. With a host of backing vocalists, including Desmond Child, Robin Beck, and Maria Vidal, plus guitar from Steve Lukather, who'd contributed on "I Found Someone," this couldn't fail and it didn't. However, with the video aboard a US aircraft carrier with an ever-so revealing outfit, the song might as well have been called "If I Could Show My Behind." What's also revealing and tried and true are some things I have experienced: "Pride's like a knife it can cut deep inside/words are like weapons they wound sometimes." Words have hurt me too much at times, so I know.



The second single, the power ballad written by Diane Warren and Desmond Child, "Just Like Jesse James," challenging a ladykiller and trying to drop him off the swaggering macho cloud he's floating on, indeed has lyrics with the aura of a Western showdown. This #8 hit also features backing vocals by Child, Warren, and Brenda Russell ("Get Here," "Piano In The Dark"). Another winning song.



Bolton and Warren co-write, with the former producing and arranging "You Wouldn't Know Love," which is straight 80's synth-laced music complete with its host of backing vocals. His production and songwriting on "Still In Love With You" and "Starting Over," the latter co-written with Journey's Jonathan Cain embodies the same style.



Her cover of Desmond Child's reflective "Love On A Rooftop," produced by Asher, also on percussion, was not the first time I'd heard it, as Ronnie Spector had done her version two years earlier on Unfinished Business, which makes at least three versions, including Child's own, which came out in 1991. This has more of a crunch to it, airy keyboard-wise and guitar-wise, the latter courtesy of the Heartbreakers' Waddy Wachtel. A strong single-worthy rendition, though the more low-key version by Spector fits me more. Asher also produced the duet between her and Peter Cetera, "After All," which was from the movie Chances Are. A #6 hit, this spent 4 weeks atop the AC charts, and is a classic 80's type pop ballad, and something Chicago probably'd have no problem doing around their 17 or 18 albums. Wachtel also does guitar here as well. Another favourite here.



The other Child-produced songs, "Emotional Fire" has the raging power to be on a Bon Jovi album, with harmonic chorus as strong as on BJ's "Living On A Prayer." Speaking of which, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora help co-write "Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore." A rhetoric question posed here is: "There's a lonely world around me/I get sucked in by the tide/I said, hey, love ain't no crime/so why is everybody so afraid to cross that line." I found out the hard way. This is the song Kane Roberts later did in 1991.



A successor to Cher's 87 album, this is evidence enough that Cher had that second wind going for her. I mean, three Top Ten singles, one of them Top 5, and the #20 title track, not bad. Cher would repeat the formula for one more album before going on another hiatus, and redefining herself in 1998 with oontsa oontsa music with Believe."

Cher: Heart Of Stone (1989)

Chad DeFeo | Philadelphia, PA USA | 05/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cher has been one of the best successful female solo artists ever, right behind my favorite, Madonna. Ever since her success with Sonny and ever since the start of her success of her solo career, Cher has been known to shock the people with her unbelievable style. During the duration of her time with Sonny, Cher had also a solo career on the side. Her solo albums include, ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO (1965), THE SONNY SIDE OF CHER (1966), CHER (1966), BACKSTAGE (1967), WITH LOVE CHER (1968), 3614 JACKSON HIGHWAY (1969), GYPSYS, TRAMPS & THIEVES (1971), FOXY LADY (1972), HALF-BREED (1973), BITTERSWEET WHITE LIGHT (1974), DARK LADY (1974), GREATEST HITS (1974), STARS (1975), I'D RATHER BELIEVE IN YOU (1976), CHERISHED (1977), PRISONER (1979), TAKE ME HOME (1979), I PARALYZE (1982), & CHER (1987) (her second album with this title). But in 1989, Cher released the album that was chosen to be the favorite amongst many of her fans: HEART OF STONE. This album was Cher's first most successful commercially released album, the second being BELIEVE, where it reached triple platinum status.



IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME

The second single from the album. One of Cher's best and none of you can deny that. This is a love song that's as original as they come. Cher tells her ex-boyfriend that "if she could turn back time" she would never have said all the rotten things she said to him and that they would still be together. The music video featured Cher in her most revealing outfit ever. The video was shot on a Navy Battleship with Cher performing the song in front of a bunch of sailors. Cher had a completely stocking-like material made see-through outfit with a thin black leather strap to cover her chest and her privates. The only thing the strap did not cover was her rear, which was tattooed. This outfit caused MTV and VH1 to air the video after midnight.



JUST LIKE JESSE JAMES

The third single from the album. Cher did something we never thought she would do: she made a country-western song. This happens to be one of my favorite Cher songs of all time. In this song, she talks about how her boyfriend acts like he's a bigshot by breaking the hearts of every woman he's ever dated, including Cher. She tells him that if he's going for breaking her heart, then it's gonna take a lot to break it because Cher is a fighter and she promises that her boyfriend is gonna go down the way ole Jesse James did.



YOU WOULDN'T KNOW LOVE

I couldn't believe how much of a great tune this one is. This is a song that all die-hard Cher fans will most likely adore, just as I do.



HEART OF STONE

The fourth & final single from the album. An amazing song all together. You cannot tell me that this is not a great song. Its acoustic guitar is out of this world.



STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU

I bet almost every ex-boyrfriend or ex-girlfriend has said this statement, more than a few times. This is a song for everyone who has been dumped by their girlfriends or boyfriends.



LOVE ON A ROOFTOP

I wonder what Love On A Rooftop feels like. I guess we'll all find out, won't we? This is one hell of a song.



EMOTIONAL FIRE

Great song. I always make sure I play this one before turning the album off.



ALL BECAUSE OF YOU

Great.



DOES ANYBODY REALLY FALL IN LOVE ANYMORE?

Great song. And to answer Cher's question. Yes, anyone who is anyone falls in love.



STARTING OVER

Amazing. Not many couples ever get the chance to start over. Since I am a fan of the hit show, "Friends", I was able to see Ross (played by David Schwimmer) & Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston) get their chance to Start Over.



KISS TO KISS

Great song. You have to listen to this song before you go to the next. I mean it. You'll all love this song.



AFTER ALL (duet with PETER CETERA)

The first single from the album. This incredible duet was made the love theme to the 1989 film CHANCES ARE, starring Robert Downey, Jr. Everyone knows that this is a classic and classics never die. Remember when I said that we FRIENDS fans hope that in the season finale ROSS and RACHEL will get back together? Well, if they do, I hope they tie the knot and if they do tie the night, this song is the perfect wedding song for them. The lyrics are a more than perfect fit. The chorus goes like this: AFTER ALL THE STOPS AND STARTS, WE KEEP COMING BACK TO THESE TWO HEARTS. TWO ANGELS WHO'VE BEEN RESCUED FROM THE FALL. AND AFTER ALL THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO ME AND YOU. I GUESS IT'S MEANT TO BE FOREVER YOU AND ME AFTER ALL.



This album is just unbelievably amazing. This is my first favorite Cher album, the second being I PARALYZE, the third being, IT'S A MAN'S WORLD. If you are all Cher fans, then HEART OF STONE is the album for you to enjoy."

My favorite CHER album!

PePsI987 | USA | 08/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this as a tape when I was in first grade and lossed it a while back, so I decided to buy it on CD. I forgot how much I loved this album! All the songs are great and it includes some of her biggest hits like "If I Could Turn Back Time", "Just Like Jesse James" and "After All (theme from "Chances Are")" I also like "You Wouldn't Know love", "Love on a Rooftop" and "Heart of Stone." Her voice has really matured when this album came out. If you're a fan of Cher's 80's work or a fan of Cher in general then this is a great album to start out with. Also reccomended is her other best work of the 80's "Cher""