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

It's a Man's World
Studio album by Cher
Released November 6, 1995 (Europe)
June 25, 1996 (North America)
Recorded 1995
Genre Pop, rock, blues (Europe)
Pop, R&B (North America)
Length 63:31 (Europe)
49:23 (North America)
Label WEA (Europe)
Reprise (North America)
Producer Craig Kostich
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 5, 1996 (Europe)
    June 4, 1996 (North America)
  3. "Not Enough Love in the World"
    Released: April 12, 1996
  4. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
    Released: August 1996
  5. "Paradise Is Here"
    Released: December 3, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly C[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [3]

It's a Man's World is the 21st album by American singer-actress Cher released on November 6, 1995 by WEA, a label of Warner Music U.K.. This is also the start of her second stint with Warner Music Group. This album adjusted the tracklist and finally released in the United States on June 25, 1996 by Reprise Records. It peaked at #64 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, and only sold 9,000 copies in that week. As of June 2003, the album has sold 194,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[4] In the February 22, 1997 issue of the Billboard magazine, it was reported that the album sold 700,000 copies worldwide. [5] In the UK the album peaked at #10 and was certified Gold by BPI for selling more than 100,000 copies.

Album information

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 U.K. in 1994 and recorded It's a Man's World in London in 1995. That same year the album was released all over Europe with "Walking in Memphis" as its lead off single. In the same year, it was certified gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.[6]

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 Tonite" and "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 these three rock songs and also due to five songs remixed to evoke a contemporary R&B feel. The new versions of those songs: "Not Enough Love in the World", "Paradise Is Here", "Angels Running", "What About the Moonlight" and "One by One" were labeled as album versions in the United States. Their new sound carried R&B influences, while their original versions were influenced by Southern rock and blues.

Because of the alterations, the American release was also compared to the style of Boyz II Men. One critic Jose F. Promis from Allmusic 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 by her dizzying worldwide success with Believe, in recent years it has been rediscovered and credited.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Walking in Memphis"  Marc Cohn 4:00
2. "Not Enough Love in the World"  Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Benmont Tench 4:25
3. "One by One"  Cher*, Anthony Griffiths 5:06
4. "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)"  Daniel Walsh, Steve Barri, Michael Price, Michael Omartian 3:38
5. "Angels Running"  Patty Larkin 4:42
6. "Paradise Is Here"  Paul Brady 5:06
7. "I'm Blowin' Away"  Eric Kaz 4:05
8. "Don't Come Around Tonite"  Maia Sharp, Mark Addison 4:38
9. "What About the Moonlight"  Kathleen York, Michael Dorian 4:20
10. "The Same Mistake"  Marc Jordan, John Capek 4:30
11. "The Gunman"  Paddy McAloon 5:14
12. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"  Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe 5:16
13. "Shape of Things to Come"  Trevor Horn, Lol Creme 4:08
14. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"  James Brown, Betty Jean Newsome 4:40

Covers

These are the covered songs on the album and their original singers.

Credits

Production

Original versions

American remixes

Personnel

Design

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[7] 8
Canadian Albums Chart 46
Dutch Albums Chart[8] 91
German Albums Chart[9] 74
Italian Albums Chart 16
Scottish Albums Chart[10] 18
Swedish Albums Chart[11] 18
UK Albums Chart[12] 10
Chart (1996) Peak
position
United States Billboard 200[13] 64

Year-end charts

Year Chart Position
1996 Italian Albums Chart[14] 72

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA) 194,000[16]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ It's a Man's World (Cher album) at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Farber, Jim (1996-07-19). "It's a Man's World Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Ask Billboard: 'Very Best' Sells Very Well". Billboard. 2003-06-25. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  5. ↑ "Billboard Magazine issue February 22, 1997". Billboard. 2003-06-25. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. ↑ "British album certifications – Cher – It's a Man's World". British Phonographic Industry. Enter It's a Man's World in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Search
  7. ↑ Cher - It's A Man's World - austriancharts.at
  8. ↑ dutchcharts.nl - Cher - It's A Man's World
  9. ↑ charts.de
  10. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/19960204/40
  11. ↑ swedishcharts.com - Cher - It's A Man's World
  12. ↑ UK Albums Chart . Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  13. ↑ Cher - Chart history | Billboard
  14. ↑ Italian Albums Chart of 1996 . Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  15. ↑ "British album certifications – Cher – It's a Man's World". British Phonographic Industry. November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013. Enter It's a Man's World in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  16. ↑ "Ask Billboard". Billboard. June 25, 2003. Retrieved February 15, 2014.

External links