Chér (1971 album)

Chér (eventually reissued under the title Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves) is the seventh studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released in September 1971 by Kapp Records. For this album, Cher left her husband Sonny Bono to produce the album, and for the first time she collaborated with Snuff Garrett[1] and with Al Capps for the arrangements. The album was retitled after the success of the single of the same name. It received positive reviews from critics, and the RIAA certified it Gold on July 2, 1972.[2] The album was her first and most successful album of the 70s. Two singles were released from the album, "The Way of Love" and "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves", both reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Chér
Studio album by
Cher
ReleasedSeptember, 1971
Recorded1971
Genre
Length27:57 (US edition)
33:33 (UK edition)
Label
ProducerSnuff Garrett
Cher chronology
Chastity
(1969)		 Chér
(1971)		 Superpack
(1972)
Singles from Chér
  1. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"
    Released: September, 1971
  2. "The Way of Love"
    Released: February, 1972

Background

After the failures of the previous albums, Cher signed a contract with Kapp-MCA Records in 1971.[3] Kapp and MCA were the labels with which Cher had more success in the seventies and she remained with them until 1974. Johnny Musso of Kapp Records thought that Garrett and Cher would work well together and decided to team them up.[3] This time Garrett was introduced to redesign the Cher sound for her first comeback.[1][4]

The album was initially released under the name of Chér in September, and later re-released and retitled as Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves due to the success of the first single. Its success followed the debut of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which premiered on CBS in August 1971 as a summer series.[3] This was also due to Cher's new image, as she dropped her hippie attire and began being dressed by fashion designer Bob Mackie, who emphasized her exotic looks and made her one of the most fashionable and glamorous women of the 70s.[5]

Composition and recording

The opening track of the album is "The Way of Love", a cover song originally by Kathy Kirby. Other covers are "Fire and Rain" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". The rest of the album includes narrative ballads.[1]

During the recording session, three other songs were recorded, "Classified 1-A", "Don't Put It On Me" and "Gentle Foe". The first two were added in the UK version of the album, and later released as a single in the US. "Don't Put It On Me" was added as a bonus track on the official 8-track tape of this album that closed program four. In 2000, "Classified 1-A" appeared as a bonus track on the album not.com.mercial. "Gentle Foe" was used in 1971 as a soundtrack for the documentary Once Upon a Wheel, but remains unreleased.

Release

The album was originally released in 1971. In 1992 it was released on CD for the first time. In August 1999, the US version of the album was re-issued on Universal Records and in the UK in 1993 the original album and Cher's next studio album Foxy Lady were re-issued together on one CD called Cher/Foxy Lady, which features all of the tracks from both albums.

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", the album's first single release, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was her first number one in the US as a solo artist on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Adult Contemporary chart; it also reached #1 in Canada and Japan. The song was performed live on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, featuring Cher dressed as a gypsy wearing a huge wig singing in front of a wagon. The second and last single was the opening track "The Way of Love". It peaked at #7 in the US, #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #5 in Canada. The song's melody sounds very similar to the melody of the 1970 hit "It's Impossible" by Perry Como. Both tracks were performed on numerous Cher tours.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Rhapsody(favorable)[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Yahoo! Music(favorable)[9]

Chér received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Joe Viglione of AllMusic described the album's songs as "middle-of-the road pop", and called Chér a "good album with some great moments". He also wrote that "Cher never minded androgynous or neutral gender identity in her songs" and musically "her solo material could soar to heights not possible in a partnership — "The Way of Love" being one example".[6] Rolling Stone said that "Cher does possess one of the distinctive voices in popular music today" and about the album, "Here she gets some lush orchestral frameworks within which to tell her story".

Commercial success

Chér debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 194 in late September 1971.[10] During 1972 sales reached 500,000 copies in North America, and it was certified gold by the RIAA.[2] The album became one of Cher's biggest hits at the time and the lead single was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Female Vocalist".

The album also charted in the Canadian album chart and reached number 14. In Europe it charted only in the Norway album chart, failing to enter the UK Albums Chart. It also peaked on the Australian albums chart at number 43.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Way of Love"
2:32
2."Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"Bob Stone2:38
3."He'll Never Know"
  • Harry Lloyd
  • Gloria Sklerov
3:27
4."Fire and Rain"James Taylor3:01
5."When You Find Out Where You're Goin' Let Me Know"Linda Laurie2:17
6."Classified 1A" (UK bonus track[11])Sonny Bono2:58
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
3:31
2."I Hate to Sleep Alone"Peggy Clinger2:28
3."I'm in the Middle"Billy Gayles2:45
4."Touch and Go"Jerry Fuller2:00
5."One Honest Man"Ginger Greco2:25
6."Don't Put It on Me" (UK bonus track)Sonny Bono2:38

Personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves Review". CherScholar.com. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  2. "American album certifications – Cher – Cher". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.  Note that certification is under the original title "Cher"
  3. ""Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" song". Superseventies.com. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  4. "Cher LPs of the 1970s". TvParty.com. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  5. Dziemianowicz, Joe (2008-08-01). "After 4 decades, Bob Mackie still has designs on Cher". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  6. Chér at AllMusic
  7. Rhapsody review
  8. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 158. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone cher album guide.
  9. S.L. Duff. "Cher Reviews on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  10. "Billboard LP's". Books.google.com. 25 September 1971. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  11. "Cher UK 1971 Vinyl". Eil.com. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5323". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  13. "Cher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  14. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1972". Archived from the original on August 26, 2012.. Cash Box magazine.
  15. "Top Pop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  16. "American album certifications – Cher – Chér". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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