Search - Cher :: Very Best of

At last a proper greatest hits!

R. Lymer | Somerset, uk | 09/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the greatest hits with the same cover as the 2 other simpler versions. But don't let it fool you as this is an australian import which gets it right with a full 42 tracks in total. This is a must have with nearly 2 1/2 hours of music. Excellent value, pity it hasn't been noticed by too many people! Many songs including quite a few 70's tracks right up to the last album with 5 of its tracks on this cd from "living proof". Some quite rare songs on here to that not many people would have heard before, check it out!"

A Lot Of Confusion Surrounding This Release

10/30/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The reason I say that in the caption is, there are several separate listings for CDs with the exact same cover and the same tracks on two discs, then there's one with a single disc and just 20-odd tracks. The one I have seems to be a match for this listing as it comes from Warner Special Marketing/MCA and has the same tracks.



I do know that, when I purchased my copy, I did so with some misgivings. I mean, here was a lady who, after splitting with Sonny, went on to register 33 Billboard Pop Hot 100 hit singles from 1965 to 1999 plus two more that made only the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts. So, I was kind of hoping that, in a collection with 42 tracks, we'd be getting all 35 of those hits at least, along with perhaps some of the better B-sides.



But no, instead they throw in five of her duets with Sonny (tracks 8, 9, 14, 20 and 21 on disc 2), and you have to wonder why since those are readily available on several CDs dealing with the duo (e.g., The Best Of Sonny & Cher: The Beat Goes On from Atco/Atlantic). Anyone who knows Cher's music will see at a glance that at least half a dozen of the cuts here were not among her "very best" - at least insofar as that term applies to her hit singles.



Where, for example, is Where Do You Go? which, at # 25 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in late 1965 on Imperial, was really her first true "solo" hit, even though All I Really Want To Do (which is here) came out a few months earlier and went to # 15, since Sonny provided "backing" vocals on that Imperial release. And what about Alfie, a # 32 in summer 1966 and You Better Sit Down Kids, a # 8 in late 1967 and her last Imperial hit.



In June 1972, now at Kapp Records, she had Living In A House Divided go to # 3 AC/# 22 Hot 100 and, in August 1974, had I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife make it to # 3 AC/# 42 Hot 100. Some might argue that the latter was not included since it failed to reach the Hot 100 Top 40, but then they do include the 1996 # 52 One By One and the 1999 # 57 Strong Enough (which also made # 8 and # 29 AC respectively). By that reckoning they could have included the Neil Sedaka-penned tune, Don't Hide Your Love, which finished at # 19 AC/# 46 Hot 100!



What is here has excellent sound reproduction, and while the four pages of liner notes by author, film critic, and TV personality Kurt Loder are interesting and informative, having it printed in light grey font on a purple background makes them very difficut to read, even if you have 20-20 vision. Also, the re-listing of the tracks, while showing composers/writers, year of recording, and the album in which each originally appeared, offers nothing in the way of chart results. Two more nice shots of the beautiful Cherilyn Sarkisian are included.



Not a bad collection - just that it could have been more definitive of her "very best" with just a bit more thought."

Divine Diva

Robert Petersen | Durban, South Africa | 06/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A fantastic 2CD greatest hits collection with all the hits, old and new!"