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It's a Man's World
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| It's a Man's World | ||
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| Studio album by Cher | ||
| Released | November 6, 1995 (Europe) June 25, 1996 (North America) |
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| Recorded | 1995 | |
| Genre | Pop/Rock (Europe) Pop/R&B (North America) |
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| Length | 63:31 (Europe) 49:23 (North America) |
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| Label | Reprise Records | |
| Producer(s) | Craig Kostich | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Cher chronology | ||
| Greatest Hits: 1965-1992 (1992) |
It's a Man's World (1995) / (1996) |
Believe (1998) |
It's a Man's World is the title of Cher's twenty-second studio album which is mainly a cover album.
Contents |
It's a Man's World is arguably Cher at her best, singing 'unconventional' Cher songs in a style more associated with the Deep South, rather than her more familiar pop and disco roots. The album also stands out for Cher stretching her vocals to sing in an unusually high voice for such songs as One by One and The Gunman, getting out of her comfort zone of the trademark deep-huskiness.
Cher recorded It's a Man's World in London, England in 1995. That same year the album was released all over Europe with Walking in Memphis as its lead off single. The original album included fourteen songs, but when it was released in the United States in 1996 the setlist included only eleven songs. Three songs, I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me), Don't Come Around Tonight and The Shape of Things to Come had been removed from the American release. The American release was also reviewed by critics as a 'mid-'90s R&B/pop phenomenon' due to the removal of the few pop/rock songs on the album and also due to five songs being remixed and being heavily influenced by R&B. Not Enough in the World, Paradise Is Here, Angels Running, What About the Moonlight and One by One were remixed and labeled as album versions in the United States. Their new genre included pop and R&B, however their original versions were influenced by pop/rock. Because of the new change, the American release was also compared to Madonna's Bedtime Stories which at the time showed a new change in Madonna's music. The album was also compared to the style of Boys II Men. One critic Jose F. Promis from All Music Guide described the album as one of the singer's finest, which justifies Cher as a true singer rather than a mere entertainer. While the album was temporarily sidelined with her dizzying worldwide success with Believe, in recent years it has been rediscovered and credited.
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| Year | Title | Chart positions | Sales | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot100 |
U.S. Sales |
U.S. Dance |
U.S. Sales |
U.S. AC |
CAN | UK | GER | NOR | SWE | EU | |||
| 1995 | "Walking in Memphis" | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 63 | 7 | 13 | 36 | 1.30m |
| 1996 | "One by One" | 52 | 52 | 7 | 6 | 9 | - | 7 | - | - | - | 34 | 0.80m |
| 1996 | "Not Enough Love in the World" | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | - | - | - | - | 0.20m |
| 1996 | "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 | - | - | - | - | 0.30m |
| 1996 | "Paradise Is Here" | - | - | 11 | 27 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | unknown |
These are the covered songs on the album and their original singers.
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| “ | Cher's mid-'90s album It's a Man's World can safely be labeled as one of the singer's finest, as well as one of her most overlooked and underappreciated albums. Full of steamy, torchy ballads, Western-themed epics, and R&B influences, the album finds the singer sounding vocally relaxed and self-assured. Around this time, Madonna made an album of heavily R&B-influenced material (Bedtime Stories) to capitalize on the mid-'90s R&B/pop phenomenon (when Boyz II Men and all their clones ruled the music charts); this album could be classified as Cher's similar effort. "One by One," the album's opener (and first single), is an irresistible, mid-tempo soul number that never made the American Top 40, yet became a club hit in its remixed form. The original album version, however, is decidedly superior. She also includes several covers, among them Don Henley's 1985 hit "Not Enough Love in the World" as well as a rousing rendition of Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis," which became an international hit. The real highlights, however, are the set's three closers. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" is epic and beautiful, complete with echoes of the Wild West, which then lead into the similarly Western, and extremely steamy "The Gunman," and ends with a smoldering version of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." This is Cher at her best, and bridges the gap between late '80s/early '90s faux metal-babe Cher and her 1999 dance-club comeback album Believe. This album is also available in a better (and more expensive) import version, which includes three extra tracks and features different mixes of the first five songs. | ” |
- "Walking in Memphis", "Angels Running", "Don't Come Around Tonight" and "What About the Moonlight" original versions produced by Christopher Neil
- "Not Enough Love in the World", "One by One", "Paradise Is Here", "I'm Blowin' Away" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" produced by Stephen Lipson
- "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)" and "The Same Mistake" produced by Greg Penny
- "The Gunman", "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and "The Shape of Things to Come" produced by Trevor Horn
- "One by One", "Not Enough Love in the World", "What About the Moonlight" and "Paradise is Here" were remixed by Sam Ward
- "Angels Running" was remixed by Daniel Abraham
- "The Gunman" was edited by the original song producer, Trevor Horn
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart | 8 |
| German Albums Chart | 74 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 16 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 64 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 18 |
| UK Albums Chart | 10 |
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 64 |
Studio albums: All i Really Want to Do (1965) · The Sonny Side of Cher (1966) · Cher (1966) · With Love, Cher (1967)
Backstage (1968) · 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) · Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (1971) · Foxy Lady (1972)
Bittersweet White Light (1973) · Half-Breed (1973) · Dark Lady (1974) · Stars (1975) · I'd Rather Believe in You (1976)
Cherished (1977) · Take Me Home (1979) · Prisoner (1979)
Black Rose (1980) · I Paralyze (1982) · Cher (1987)
Heart of Stone (1989) · Love Hurts (1991) · It's a Man's World (1995) · Believe (1998) · Not.com.mercial (2000)
Living Proof (2001) · TBA (2007)
Discography · Tours and Concerts · Videography · Filmography