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Original 1968 album liner notes
side one
1. YOU BETTER SIT DOWN KIDS 3:42
(Sonny Bono)
Chrismarc Music – Cotillion Music, Inc. BMI
2. SUNNY 3:06
(Bobby Hebb)
Portable Music Co., Inc. BMI
3. COME AND STAY WITH ME 2:45
(Jackie DeShannon)
Metric Music Co. BMI
4. ALFIE 2:48
(Hal David – Burt Bacharach)
Famous Music Corp. ASCAP
5. TAKE ME FOR A LITTLE WHILE 2:40
(Trade Martin)
Lollipop Music Corp. BMI
6. ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO 2:56
(Bob Dylan)
Warner Bros., Seven Arts ASCAP (Witmark)
side two
1. BANG BANG (My Baby Shot Me Down) 2:40
(Sonny Bono)
Chrismarc Music – Cotillion Music, Inc. BMI
2. NEEDLES AND PINS 2:26
(Sonny Bono – Jack Nitzsche)
Metric Music Co. BMI
3. DREAM BABY 2:58
(Sonny Bono)
Chrismarc Music – Cotillion Music, Inc. BMI
4. ELUSIVE BUTTERFLY 2:26
(Bob Lind)
Metric Music Co. BMI
5. WHERE DO YOU GO 3:12
(Sonny Bono)
Chrismarc Music – Cotillion Music, Inc. BMI
6. HEY JOE 3:26
(William M. Roberts)
Third Story Music BMI
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There are no smiles here. We haven’t come all this way for levity. Her image is apparent: moody, emotional, nostalgic. The heavyhearted songs and pensive style are integral parts of the intricate personality of Chér. Her moods hit home. Call it communication, if you have to categorize it. Or better, call it an emotional chemistry between singer and listener. It’s not difficult to let your thoughts wander with her moods – reminiscing with her, pondering, reflecting…then one of those nearly-forgotten memories jolts your stomach into your throat, and you slip back to another time. Yesterday’s faces, jumbled hopelessly together, make momentary appearances: that 48-hour love affair in San Diego; the girl between planes in O’Hare, whom you knew briefly, but well, in the airport bar – and whose scrawled address you inadvertently, stupidly left with the empty glasses on the mahogany table.
From behind the microphone, she takes you gently, completely into her world – the voice is the vehicle; the style is the roadway. She begins with “You Better Sit Down Kids,” a lump-throated tragedy of the domestic variety providing a stark glimpse of reality on an unusual topic for song. A soft-blues guitar transports “Sunny” into a moving mood-piece; Chér changes musical keys with ease and builds, with strong instrumental accompaniment, to an electric blues crescendo. She dissolves to whispered heartbreak in “Alfie,” as soft flutes introduce off-tempo accompaniment. Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do” winds up side one.
Side two opens on a nostalgic note, as “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” brings back memories of children’s games – games that still apply in the “real” adult world. The musical accompaniment is especially intriguing – including an interlude in the gypsy tradition. “Elusive Butterfly,” a predecessor of the “Gentle On My Mind” musical movement, exhibits the progressive-country background and lyrical allusions that have found their way into pop music. “Hey Joe,” the once-rocking screamer, is transformed into a unique blues, with emphasis on singer and an interesting bass progression.
There is nothing simple about Chér. Her vocal moods become personal moods – and you can’t help but slip into her emotional, complex world. This album captures the presence of the singer; the voice flows delicately with the music. She is, unquestionably, the moody “only child” of pop music.
Al Stoffel
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Producer: Sonny Bono
Arrangers: Harold R. Battiste, Jr., Sonny Bono, Gene Page
Art Direction: Woody Woodward
Design: Gabor Halmos
Cover Photography: Ivan Nagy
IR
IMPERIAL
A PRODUCT OF LIBERTY RECORDS
Member RIAA
This record has been engineered and manufactured in accordance with standards developed by the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of recorded music and literature.
…visual sound
stereo
© Liberty Records Inc./A Division of Liberty Records Inc./ Los Angeles, California 90028. Printed in U.S.A.
LP-12406
