Customer Reviews

All I Ever Need Is You

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm prepared to take a lot of flack for this but I think there are 3 really good reasons to buy this CD and they are the same 3 reasons that the other reviewers of the disc have listed for not buying it. First, this is the only place on CD to get the full 9 minute version of Mama Was A Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs. The double disc anthology, while a great collection, has the single edit. Then there are the Sonny solo tracks. Both You'd Better Sit Down Kids and Bang Bang are wonderful guilty pleasures. Bono's sincerity on Better Sit Down kind of chokes me up. He puts much more into the song than Cher (or anyone else) ever did. Bang Bang is a live track and is funny, exciting, and a great workout for the S&C band, which included future members of Toto. Sorry, I just had to stick up for ol' Sonny. I honestly think he's a very underrated songwriter and performer. Then again, maybe I'm an idiot.

This is not the original All I Ever Need Is You album which contained other excellent cuts not included on this cheap compilation. The entire album should be released on compact disc without these added live tracks.

What this album consists of is the content of the early 70's greatest hits album (the one with the mustard colored cover and the photo with Cher in profile and Sonny face-on). Some of the songs are studio editions, others live versions. It's really quite a pleasant album, especially for the price.

One thing I'll never understand though, is the way the record companies seem to attempt to confuse the consumer by repackaging and renaming. Why couldn't they just put out this CD with the same cover as the original (which was quite a bit more attractive) and leave the name the way it was as well.

A terrific nostalgic CD. Could have some better tracks added but over all good lestening! Memories of the Sonny and Cher show and his silly jokes certainly take you back.

For awhile this was the only cd availiable on Sonny and Cher and their MCA recordings. For the money it was rather good , representing many of the live recordings from their Vegas act. It has all the bigger hits. Sonnys' solo " You Better Sit Down Kids", has one wishing he'd left it for Cher to sing,and that goes for "Bang Bang" too!. All in all it's a good budget disc, showcasing the loved couple . Thank god MCA finally released the stuff in two other volumes, packaged properly for fans!That was the least this famed duo deserved!

I used to watch their show with my Mom (deceased now) and it was full of laughs. I love how Cher has grown, and really upset about Sonny dying it was not fair.

"Mama Was A Rock And Roll Singer And Papa Used To Write All Her Songs" is as eclectic and acrimonious 10 minute long funky 70's groove. The lyrics alone blow my mind, as it's quite obvious what Sonny is blatantly saying here (The S&C relationship was toast by the time this song was done). When the session for the song was done, it was said that 50+ musicians left the studio.....Sonnny Bono's final opus in his career as the Sonny portion of Cher.

I'm from the camp that believes that Sonny was a highly underrated producer and writer who really deserves more than the joke of a repuatation he's maintained due mainly to his goofball persona on the Sonny and Cher show. Yeah, he had a nasal, drone of a voice ...and he knew it, but his skills in the studio were learned from his go-pher days with Phil Spector. Sonny soaked it all in and as far as I'm concerned his 60's recordings with Cher and for Cher, from a production stand point are not given the credit due. Sonny was also outstanding in PR and the business portion of the music industry.

This CD also contains a live version of "Bang, Bang" sang by Sonny, and it's just over-the-top camp. Indeed Cher, Sonny made you and I'm glad you finally realize it. Too bad it took his death for her to verbalize it, as her constant snide remarks about his svengali/guru ways really hurt him. The truth is that he never intended to sing with Cher, she was simply too shy to do it on her own (who'd believe that now) and pulled him into the studio with her. He pushed and pulled her kicking and screaming onto the stage, and she rewarded him with vicious verbal remarks until his death. I'm a Sonny & Cher fan, but I think Bono really got the shaft at the end of their career and personal relationship. This CD is worth every penny of its bargain price.

It has the deliciously campy album version of "Mama Was A Rock and Roll Singer and Papa Used To Write All Her Songs", and the tacky pseudo-psyche "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done", the lovely "All I Ever Need Is You", the stupid "When You Say Love" ( once the musical jingle for a Coca Cola ad campaign ), and Sonny on vocals in "You Better Sit Down Kids", a hit record where divorce is put to melody. The live tracks are comedic nightclub versions of their biggest hit records, ( "I Got You Babe", "The Beat Goes On" ), and a dumbed-down version of ( as if it could get any dumber ) "Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". I love the original if not classic hit records here but the live tracks are like a bad lounge act on a cheap cruise line. But if you like Sonny and Cher, then you like Sonny, and you'll like this.

Beutiful songs that take you places are songs that say sonny SHUT UP AND LET CHER SING. The song Bang Bang and You'd better sit down kids are on this album Sonny Solos. Enough said right? Chers parts on the album are great but Sonny Spare Me. Just another breif note: Stay clear from Momma was a Rock'n'Roll Singer...!