Cher - Heart of Stone

The lady can rock. There is no question about that, and this album is one of several from her catalog that serve as a testament to that fact. Even the opening single, "If I Could Turn Back Time," has a crunchy texture to it, albeit in a poppy, '80s Starship sort of arrangement. Cher recruited some heavy-hitters for this release, including Steve Lukather (Toto), Desmond Child, and Andrew Gold. Not all of the album is hard-edged rockers -- witness the effective ballad "Just Like Jesse James" -- but all of it has an honesty and gritty edge that separates it from some of the more modern Cher material. When you hear the strength of the vocal performance here, it makes you wonder why the producers choose to tinker with her voice in the late '90s and early 2000s. She certainly doesn't need any help holding a tune. This one seems a bit dated in retrospect, with the sound certainly tied to pop/rock of the late '80s, but the performance and musical integrity, not to mention strong songwriting, really set the album apart as one of Cher's strongest. ~ Gary Hill, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan Pasqua Keyboards Alan St. Jon Keyboards Allan St. John Keyboards Andrew Gold Guitar (12 String), Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background), Vocals Bashiri Johnson Percussion Blues Saraceno Guitar Bobby Chouinard Drums Bonnie Tyler Vocals, Vocals (Background) Brenda Russell Vocals (Background), Vocals Carlos Vega Drums Cher Vocals Dan Higgins Saxophone Debra Dobkin Percussion Desmond Child Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Diane Warren Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Eric Rehl Synthesizer Frank Wolf Engineer Gene Black Guitar Gene Miller Vocals, Vocals (Background) Glenn Sciurba Guitar Guy Roche Producer, Keyboards Hugh McDonald Bass Jason Scheff Vocals, Vocals (Background) Jean McClain Vocals (Background) Jim Lang Synthesizer Jimmy Demers Vocals, Vocals (Background) John Andrew Shreiner Synthesizer, Piano John Fiore Vocals (Background), Vocals John Gilutin Keyboards John Kalodner Producer John Keane Drums John McCurry Guitar John Pierce Bass John Putman Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) John Putnam Guitar John Schreiner Synthesizer, Piano Jon Lind Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Kyle Gordon Vocals (Background) Leland Sklar Bass Louis Merlino Vocals Maria Vidal Vocals (Background), Vocals Mark Williams Percussion, Tambourine, Drums Michael Anthony Vocals (Background), Vocals Michael Bolton Producer, Vocals Michael Fisher Percussion Michael Landau Guitar Michael Thompson Guitar Mick Guzauski Engineer Myriam Naomi Valle Vocals (Background), Vocals Neil Stubenhaus Bass Patricia Darcy Vocals, Vocals (Background) Pauline Frechette Vocals (Background) Peter Asher Percussion, Producer Peter Blakeley Vocals, Vocals (Background) Peter Cetera Performer Phillip Ashley Keyboards Richard Wachtel Guitar Robbie Buchanan Keyboards Robin Beck Vocals, Vocals (Background) Ronnie Mancuso Guitar Sir Arthur Payson Engineer Stephanie Spruill Vocals (Background) Steve Lukather Guitar Suzie Benson Vocals (Background) Tom Perme Drums Vicki Sue Robinson Vocals (Background) Waddy Wachtel Guitar Wendy Fraser Vocals (Background) Wendy Matthews Vocals (Background), Vocals