YOUR GROOVY HOST:
Billy Ingram
Cher / Stars
Album Reviewed
The greatest entertainers of the seventies -
especially those you never heard of!
Cher / Stars
Hard to believe a Cher album could actually be excellent? Well, this one was.
'Stars' was Cher's first album release since splitting with Sonny Bono. As long as her former singing partner had control over her recordings, Cher was relegated to gimmicky songs like "Half Breed" and "Train of Thought". All superior recordings, for what they were, but hardly serious listening material.
After a failed attempt recording with a crazed Phil Spector (a single was released that bombed) music mogul David Geffen signed Cher to a 3 album deal in hopes of bringing her to the same, more adult, audience that was attracted to Linda Ronstadt and Janis Ian.
'Stars' was produced in 1975 by the immortal Jimmy Webb, who previously was closely associated with Simon & Garfunkle. The tunes were all covers of seminal rock hits (like Eric Clapton's "Bell Bottom Blues", Neil Young's "Mr. Soul", Jackson Browne's "These Days" and the title song from Janis Ian). There was a brilliant new song by Webb, "Just This One Time", thrown in for good measure, with Cher singing in a much higher register than before.
My 8 Track cassette was played until it practically disintegrated back in 1975, the production was that lush California studio sound that was so popular, with a twist of Southern rock. In retrospect the production seems somewhat constraining but, for me, this still ranks as the best album Cher ever recorded.
Cher's voice, displaying a much broader range both in lower and higher ranges, was perfectly suited to the material. Although why she sang with a Southern accent when Cher's a Southern California native has always been a mystery.
This album failed to get any traction; two singles, "These Days" and "Geronimo’s Cadillac", failed to chart.
Cher's next album, 'I'd Rather Believe in You' was a weak follow up, Cher was pregnant and the songs were mostly stories about affairs and denial. I did really enjoy the title track, it's an okay LP if you like Cher's voice, but an obvious attempt to find the singer a hit single without the gimmicky production values of her earlier hits.
Her third release for Geffen was 'Cherished', a desperate attempt to return Cher to her white trash roots with silly tunes about pregnant ladies and pirates. Again, no sale so Cher recorded an album with her then husband Greg Allman called "Allman and Woman" - this stiff ended her relationship with Geffen Records. Cher then moved over to Casablanca and a disco smash hit, "Take Me Home".
Sadly, 'Stars' and the other 3 Geffen releases have never been released on CD or iTunes.
Side A 1. "Love Enough" / Tim Moore 2. "Bell Bottom Blues" / Eric Clapton 3. "These Days" / Jackson Browne 4. "Mr. Soul" / Neil Young 5. "Just This One Time" / Jimmy Webb |
Side B 1. "Geronimo's Cadillac" / Michael Martin Murphey, Quarta 2. "The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall" / Jimmy Cliff 3. "Love Hurts" / Boudleaux Bryant 4. "Rock and Roll Doctor" / Lowell George, Fred Martin 5. "Stars" / Janis Ian |
The music you hear from the 1970s on the radio tends to be the same old tired hit songs they've been playing for decades.
Rarely will an oldies station stray outside of the top ten songs of the decade. That's because there were so darn many - it was the era of the 'one hit wonder.'
Obscure 70s looks at LPs and singles that may not have made the top of the charts but were amazing none the less.
Obscure 70s Looks At:
Walter Murphy's Phantom of the Opera
Mary Kay Place's Tonight at the Capri Lounge
Barbra Streisand's 1970s Albums
Sonny & Cher's Unreleased 1977 Album
Melissa Manchester's Bright Eyes
Obscure 70s Looks At:
Walter Murphy's Phantom of the Opera
Mary Kay Place's Tonight at the Capri Lounge
Barbra Streisand's 1970s Albums
Sonny & Cher's Unreleased 1977 Album