It's a Man's World (Cher album)

It's a Man's World
Studio album by
Cher
ReleasedNovember 6, 1995
Recorded1995
StudioElephant Studios (London, England)
Genre
Length
  • 63:31 (Europe)
  • 49:23 (North America)
Label
Producer
Cher chronology
Greatest Hits: 1965–1992
(1992) 		It's a Man's World
(1995) 		Believe
(1998)
Singles from It's a Man's World
  1. "Walking in Memphis"
    Released: October 13, 1995
  2. "One by One"
    Released: January 8, 1996
  3. "Not Enough Love in the World"
    Released: April 12, 1996
  4. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
    Released: August 5, 1996
  5. "Paradise Is Here"
    Released: December 3, 1996

It's a Man's World is the twenty-first studio album by American singer and actress Cher released on November 6, 1995, by WEA, a label of Warner Music UK. This is also the start of her second stint with Warner Music Group. With an adjusted track list, the album was released in the United States on June 25, 1996, by Reprise Records. 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) for selling more than 100,000 copies.

Album information

[edit]

It's a Man's World found Cher singing 'unconventional' songs in a style more associated with the Deep South, rather than her more familiar pop and rock 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.

Cher signed with Warner Music UK in 1994 and recorded It's a Man's World in London in 1995. That same year the album was released in Europe with "Walking in Memphis" as its lead off single. It was certified gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.[2]

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 and blues. Both the original album and the United States edition were released in Australia.

"The Gunman" was written by Prefab Sprout lead vocalist Paddy McAloon, who eventually released his recording of the song on the 2001 album The Gunman and Other Stories.[3]

On July 14, 2023, Cher released a deluxe version of the album on both vinyl and CD.[4]

Singles

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Five singles were released to promote the album. A cover of Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" 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 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's "Not Enough Love in the World" and Frankie Valli'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's "Paradise Is Here" which was remixed and reached #11 on the US Dance Club Songs chart.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Billboard(favorable)[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
Music Week[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

Upon release, the album received generally favorable responses from international music critics. AllMusic'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 [works to date]". Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly 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". The Rolling Stone Album Guide rated It's a Man's World two and a half out of five stars.

Commercial performance

[edit]

It's a Man's World was successful in Europe. It debuted #28 on the UK Albums Chart on the week of 12 November 1995. The album rose to its peak position of #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. It proved to be successful in other European countries peaking inside the top 20 in several of them and #8 in Austria. The album failed to gain notable attention elsewhere peaking #64 on the US Billboard 200 with only 9,000 copies sold in its first week [11] and #46 in Canada. As of 1997, the album sold 700,000 copies according to Billboard.[12]

Track listing

[edit]
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Walking in Memphis"Marc CohnChristopher Neil4:00
2."Not Enough Love in the World"
Stephen Lipson4:25
3."One by One"
Lipson5:06
4."I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)"
3:38
5."Angels Running"Patty LarkinNeil4:42
6."Paradise Is Here"Paul BradyLipson5:06
7."I'm Blowin' Away"Eric KazLipson4:05
8."Don't Come Around Tonite"
Neil4:38
9."What About the Moonlight"
  • Kathleen York
  • Michael Dorian
Neil4:20
10."The Same Mistake"
4:30
11."The Gunman"
Trevor Horn5:14
12."The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
Horn5:16
13."Shape of Things to Come"
Horn4:08
14."It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
Lipson4:40
North American edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."One by One"
  • Griffiths
  • Cher[b]
  • Lipson
  • Sam Ward[a]
4:12
2."Not Enough Love in the World"
  • Henley
  • Kortchmar
  • Tench
4:25
3."Angels Running"Larkin
  • Neil
  • Daniel Abraham[c]
4:35
4."What About the Moonlight"
  • York
  • Dorian
4:18
5."Paradise Is Here"Brady
4:40
6."The Same Mistake"Jordan
4:25
7."I'm Blowin' Away"KazLipson4:05
8."Walking in Memphis"CohnNeil4:00
9."The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
  • Gaudio
  • Crewe
Horn5:13
10."The Gunman"
Horn5:08
11."It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
  • Brown
  • Newsome
Lipson4:40
2023 deluxe edition bonus disc[13]
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."One by One" (Junior Vasquez club vocal mix)Junior Vasquez8:46
2."One by One" (JR's pride mix)Vasquez9:07
3."One by One" (piano dub)Vasquez5:27
4."One by One" (with Melle Mel)Ward4:05
5."The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" (Trevor Horn remix)Horn4:02
6."Walking in Memphis" (Shut Up and Dance vocal mix)Shut Up and Dance5:07
7."Walking in Memphis" (Baby Doc mix)Baby Doc7:13
8."Paradise Is Here" (garage revival mix)
  • Ward
  • David Ruberto
7:32
9."Paradise Is Here" (sunrise mix)
  • Ward
  • Ruberto
6:49
10."Paradise Is Here" (runway mix)
  • Ward
  • Ruberto
8:31
11."Paradise Is Here" (glow stick mix)Vasquez8:34

Notes

  • ^a signifies a remixer
  • ^b Cher is credited as composer only in the US edition
  • ^c signifies an additional producer

Personnel

[edit]
  • Cher – main vocals
  • Anne Dudley – 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

[edit]

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 100,000^
United States — 194,000[29]
Summaries
Worldwide — 700,000[12]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b It's a Man's World at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b "British album certifications – Cher – It's a Man's World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2018-10-18). "Cher's 30 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  4. ^ "IT'S A MAN'S WORLD (DELUXE EDITION) 4LP". Cher Official Store.
  5. ^ Verna, Paul (1996-07-13). "Reviews & Previews: Albums" (PDF). Billboard. p. 95. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  6. ^ Farber, Jim (1996-07-19). "It's a Man's World Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (1995-11-10). "Pop CD Releases". The Guardian: 44. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  8. ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (1996-07-07). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  9. ^ "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 1995-10-28. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Ask Billboard: 'Very Best' Sells Very Well". Billboard. 2003-06-25. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  12. ^ a b "Who's Selling Where". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 8. Nielsen N.V. 22 February 1997. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. ^ Tiller, Joe (1 June 2023). "CHER ANNOUNCES 'IT'S A MAN'S WORLD' DELUXE VINYL EDITION". WMIS Ltd.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Cher – It's a Man's World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  15. ^ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cher – It's a Man's World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  17. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  18. ^ "Cher - Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 17, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "It's a Man's World".
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  21. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Cher – It's a Man's World". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. ^ "Cher | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  23. ^ "Cher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  24. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 29. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  25. ^ "Vinyl 14 July 2023 to 20 July 2023". Promusicae. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "Cher - It's A Man's World" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Official Record Store Chart, 21 July 2023 - 27 July 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  28. ^ "The Top 200 Artist Albums Of 1996". Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  29. ^ Caulfield, Keith (June 25, 2003). "Ask Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
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