I always forget about Closer To The Truth but it does have some stone cold bops on it Plus this bonus track which I can never quite believe is a Timbaland production as it sounds like the demo mode of a Casio keyboard, yet is amazing
The first half of Closer To The Truth is flawless (if one ignores Woman's World and it's dated, half assed production as I do) whereas the second half is dreary ballads (save for I Hope You Find It which is sublime). Back in 2013, I routinely bopped to Dressed To Kill which trumps the Preston version in every way. It's "Over-the-top, "I'm giving the gays everything they want" Cher" at it's finest. Ultimately, Closer... is very much an album of two halves and reeks of a record label who don't know what to do with a bonafide icon like Cher. She's hinted at her record label nagging her to put out an album- but then not knowing what to do with it once it was out there. I think Cher herself said that they weren't willing to put money into the promotion of it after release week because of her age (ugh). The bonus tracks are great as well. Pride and I Don't Have To Sleep To Dream routinely obliterate the tattered remnants of my wigline.
Yeah, it was like they couldn't decide if they wanted to make another dance Cher album or a soft rock one, so ended up doing both. I never liked the lead single either. Still a handful of great songs on there, including I Hope You Find It which I'm glad gave Cher a hit single in the 2010s.
I mean how hard is it to go “Go into the recording studio with whoever you want and give us 12x Alive Again and A Different Kind of Love Songs”. ?!
Closer to the Truth has some great songs, and is one of my favorite Cher albums. I wish The Greatest made the cut but the absolute bangers Lovers Forever, I Don't Have to Sleep to Dream and Take It Like a Man make up for its absence.
Woman's World as lead single was a head-scratcher when you had the likes of Take It Like a Man and Dressed to Kill on the album, but it kind of makes for a cute/inoffensive album track. Her belting "Tell the truth" remains an iconic moment in her discography. Just wish the rest of the song lived up to the high of those bits.
My favourite from Dancing Queen, still has to be her excellent take on The Name Of Game. Suited her like a glove.
On her Dublin show in 2019, SOS got a massive reaction, more than most other songs. It's made me appreciate it even more.
I didn’t fall in love with the song until The Cher Show included it in the finale medley and it felt like such a moment from the Babe Cher.
