Customer Reviews

Not.com.mercial

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of Cher's best. As other reviewers have said, it is deeply personal and the lyrics are well written. 'Still' is my favourite, and 'Our Lady of San Francisco', 'With or Without You' and 'Fit to Fly' are also great. The only one I don't like on this album is 'Classified 1a'. This album is a great buy - and as it is rare, get it now, it's worth it!

First of all I have to say that this cd is Awesome, and she wrote eight out of the ten songs and did the music to the ones that she wrote! and in my opinion that is what makes a great artist, she can not only sing her little heart out she can write great music!!! Now there is Language in this cd, so I dont recommend it for younger audiences, she uses the f-word a few times! but hey thats Cher!!! LOL I do recommend this cd for any Cher fan out there, definatley a collectors item! Rock on Cher LOVE ya LOTS!!!!!!!!

In the spring of 1994, Cher was invited to a writers retreat in France. While there, she penned a number of songs which made it onto this album, not.com.mercial, so titled because her record label found it too deep and personal, and feared it wouldn't sell. Cher herself didn't feel too confident about her penmanship.

It was finally released as a download only in 2000, a few years after her worldwide smash hit album dance/electronica album "Believe".

Musically, it couldn't be more different. It harkens back to her rock/folk (and even a little country) roots in the sixties as half of the duo Sonny and Cher, with loads of acoustic guitar, and storytelling lyrics.

Opening cut "Still" has got to be the most beautiful Cher ballad ever, a stunning acoustic profession of undying love.

"Sisters of mercy" is an angry mid tempo rocker telling the tale of an experience she and her mother had at the hands of a Catholic orphanage. It's laced with harmonica/accordion.

The blues tinged "(The fall) Kurt's Blues" is her ode to Kurt Curbain, written shortly after he died.

"With or without you" is an organ driven, sixties sounding ballad, "Fit to fly", an upbeat lovely pop/rock tribute to American war veterans, and "Classified 1A", a beautiful piano ballad with a raspy/raw vocal delivery, and a Sonny Bono composition, one of the 2 songs Cher didn't write, the other being "Born with the hunger".

My favourite song is the stirring folky "Our lady of San Francisco", a heartfelt ballad about a brush with a homeless lady. My only gripe is that the song is too brief.

This is my favourite Cher album, and it sounds like what Sonny and Cher would be recording today, if they were still together.

I'll keep this simple: This is a good album. All but two of the songs ("Born With the Hunger" and "Classified 1A") were written by Cher, and there is only one bad song on the CD ("Disaster Cake"). While there are conflicting reports on why this album was never widely released, the fact remains that it is a fine piece of work by Cher.

The crowning jewel of this collection is "Fit To Fly," a remarkable diatribe about how terribly America treats its war veterans. Other stellar tracks are "Still," "Born With the Hunger" and "Runnin'." These recordings are mostly acoustic, so you won't hear anything resembling "Believe." Buy this, Cher fans, and enjoy a deeply personal work by this astounding singer.

I'm a HUGE Cher fan. I got this cd and from the moment "Still" began, I fell in love with it. It is one of those cd's that one can listen to over and over and never get tired of it. If you want to hear great songs written by the greatest performer of all time then I highly recommend this album.

From what I understand Cher was self-conscious about this CD because she had a hand in writing all the songs , hence the limited distribution. Although not her best album, it contains a Cher classic, "Still". The CD should be added to your collection for this cut alone.

A sidebar: I discovered "Still" on a p2p and I would have never known the story behind the recording without the Internet. How can I say this nicely? The recording slimeballs should remove their collective heads from their dark, dank nether regions, and understand that the net is responsible for more sales than it takes away.

If you are a fan of her more modern over engineered albums then this is not for you, on the other hand if you want to hear a very proffesional entertainer singing from the heart then this is a must. The arrangements are great and her voice is superb, every track has a quality that can only be found from a mistress of her art. This is what Cher is all about!

This cd is another side of Cher.It!s kind of Cher as a Bonnie Raitt meets Leonard Cohen. Cher sings ballads with a blues rock edge.The mood is dark,and rock is the underlying feel.Cher sings about Kurt Cobain,loneliness,social politics ,the homeless and more.The cd was released to allow her to be another type of performer.Released through her website,it went out of print in a couple years.The old Sonny Bono composition is the weakest,and really no bonus(classified 1 a)I wonder how it found its way here.Still this is an honest if not completely realized work of art.The cd is honest,heartfelt,though seems to miss some type of style center.Perhaps this effort was somewhat isolated from her alternate Cher personna.The unique rock blues sound may have been even better with some instrumental creativity,using strings or woodwinds?This is a testament to Cher proving to be a decent writer in the singer song writer tradition.I still thing her "Its a mans world "1995, was the crown of her singing career.Fave cut here is "sisters of mercy" with its anger and haunting guitar riff. "Still" is a beautifully sung ballad that floats and soothes with Cher's plaintive reading. This is a different Cher,stripped of obvious personna and working with a respectful band.Try it,it's a good effort from a complex personna.

if you are a Cher fan, this is a must. She both wrote all the songs as well as singing them. it's not a pop album. and really shows off her talent. Very different, and a got to have it if you are a die-hard cher fan. this just shows another side of her talent... ENJOY!!!!!! if you are not a die-hard Cher fan; this may convert you...

This album is one of my favorite of Chers, a must for fans.
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