It's A Man's World (Cher Album)
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''It's a Man's World'' is the twenty-first
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American singer and actress
Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
released on November 6, 1995, by
WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...
, and distributed in North America by
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
in 1996 with an adjusted track list. As of 1997, the album has sold 700,000 copies worldwide. In the UK the album peaked at number 10 and was certified Gold by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) for selling more than 100,000 copies.


Background

''It's a Man's World'' found Cher singing "unconventional" songs in a style more associated with the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
, rather than her more familiar
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
roots. The album also stands out for Cher stretching her vocals to head register for such songs as " One by One" and "The Gunman", getting out of her comfort zone of her trademark husky
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
. Cher signed with Warner Music UK in 1994 and recorded ''It's a Man's World'' in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1995. That same year the album was released in Europe with "
Walking in Memphis "Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year tha ...
" as its lead off single. It was certified gold in the UK by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
. The original album release included fourteen songs. The United States release from 1996 includes eleven songs, removing "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)", "Don't Come Around Tonite" and "Shape of Things to Come". Five songs were also remixed for the United States release: "Not Enough Love in the World", "Paradise Is Here", "Angels Running", "What About the Moonlight" and "One by One. Their new sound carried R&B influences, while their original versions were influenced by
Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...
and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
. Both the original album and the United States edition were released in Australia. "The Gunman" was written by
Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, t ...
lead vocalist
Paddy McAloon Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest be ...
, who eventually released his recording of the song on the 2001 album '' The Gunman and Other Stories''. On July 14, 2023, Cher released a deluxe version of the album on both vinyl and CD.


Singles

Five singles were released to promote the album. A cover of
Marc Cohn Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song " Walking in Memphis", from his 1991 album '' Marc Cohn'', which was a To ...
's "
Walking in Memphis "Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year tha ...
" served as the lead single off the album in Europe, Australia and Canada. In Europe, the single was a notable hit and charted higher than the original version. It peaked at #11 in the UK and reached the top 20 in several European countries; however it failed to gain notable attention elsewhere. A music video for the song portrayed Cher walking around Memphis dressed as
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
and singing in a bus. " One by One", co-written by Cher, saw more success. It was released as the second single in the UK and as the first single in the United States. The song peaked inside the top 10 in the UK and across Europe, as well as charting at #52 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #22 in Canada. Three music videos were released to promote the song worldwide, all following a story of an unhappy couple trying to get over their struggles and showing scenes of Cher singing. Two covers,
Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...
's "
Not Enough Love in the World "Not Enough Love in the World" is a soft rock song written by Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, and Benmont Tench. The lyrics describe a rocky relationship, with the singer proclaiming he's still in love. It is rumored that it was about Henley's rela ...
" and
Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman (lead singer) of The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons. He is known for ...
's " The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", were released as next singles off the album, both charted moderately in the UK and Scotland. The final single in the US was a cover of
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
's " Paradise Is Here" which was remixed and reached #11 on the US
Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart.


Critical reception

Upon release, the album received generally favorable responses from international music critics.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Jose F. Promis praised the album for its "torchy ballads, Western-themed epics, and R&B influences" and described it as "one of the singer's finest, as well as one of her most overlooked and underappreciated orks to date. Jim Farber from ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the album a C and while he appreciated "Walking In Memphis", stating that the song "must be heard to be believed" he wrote that the songs of the album "lack some of Cher's old camp". Paul Verna from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' said the album helped her open a new chapter on a "softer, often sullen rhythm pop note", as it reveals "vibrant and previously unheard colors of her voice". ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' rated ''It's a Man's World'' two and a half out of five stars.


Commercial performance

''It's a Man's World'' was successful in Europe. It debuted at number 28 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
on the week of 12 November 1995. The album rose to its peak position of number 10 during its thirteenth week on the chart following the commercial success of " One by One". The album spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart, sold over 100,000 copies in the UK and was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
. It proved to be successful in other European countries peaking inside the top 20 in several of them and number eight in Austria. The album failed to gain notable attention elsewhere peaking number 64 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with only 9,000 copies sold in its first week, and number 46 in Canada. As of 1997, the album sold 700,000 copies, according to ''Billboard''.


Track listing

Notes * signifies a remixer * Cher is credited as composer only in the US edition * signifies an additional producer


Personnel

*Cher – main vocals *
Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...
– string arrangements Original versions *Tracks 1, 5, 8, 9 produced by Christopher Neil *Tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 14 produced by Stephen Lipson *Tracks 4, 10 produced by Greg Penny *Tracks 11, 12, 13 produced by Trevor Horn American remixes *Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 remixed by Sam Ward *Track 3 remixed by Daniel Abraham *"The Gunman" edited by the original song producer, Trevor Horn Design *David Scheinmann – photography Production *Craig Kostich – executive producer *Steve Fitzmaurice – mixing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:It's A Man's World Cher albums 1995 albums 1996 remix albums Warner Records albums Warner Records remix albums 1990s covers albums Albums produced by Trevor Horn Albums produced by Stephen Lipson Albums produced by Greg Penny