Heart of Stone (Cher album)

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Heart of Stone
Cherhofs.jpg
Studio album by
Cher
ReleasedJune 19, 1989
Recorded1988–1989
StudioCriterion Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length47:57
LabelGeffen
Producer
Cher chronology
Cher
(1987) 		Heart of Stone
(1989) 		Love Hurts
(1991)
Alternative cover
Original album artwork
Original album artwork
Singles from Heart of Stone
  1. "After All"
    Released: February 21, 1989
  2. "If I Could Turn Back Time"
    Released: July 1, 1989
  3. "Just Like Jesse James"
    Released: October 1989
  4. "Heart of Stone"
    Released: January 1990
  5. "You Wouldn't Know Love"
    Released: July 1990 [1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[2]

Heart of Stone is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 19, 1989 by Geffen Records.[3] As of January 1991, the album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.[4] The album was supported by her 1989-1990 Heart of Stone Tour.

Background[]

Heart of Stone was released in 1989 and was her second studio album for Geffen Records. As with her previous album Cher, Peter Asher, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Warren, Guy Roche and Desmond Child performed songwriting and/or producing duties. Bonnie Tyler and Michael Bolton performed background vocals on the song "Emotional Fire", which was an outtake from Bolton's 1987 album The Hunger, as was "Starting Over" (Demo versions of both songs exist in bootleg form, and have surfaced on YouTube). The album was recorded in late 1988/early 1989, during the third year of Cher's relationship with Rob Camilletti, to whom she dedicated the album.

Heart of Stone reached number ten in the United States, number seven in the United Kingdom, and by topping the charts in Australia, Heart of Stone became Geffen's first international number one album.[5] It was her first solo album in the United States (Sonny and Cher's debut album Look at Us reached number two and stayed there for eight weeks) to reach the top 10. Further on in her career, Cher would go on to have five more top ten albums - Believe, Living Proof, The Very Best of Cher, Closer to the Truth and Dancing Queen. The album has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States, with 964,000 of those units sold since early 1991, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which began counting actual sales that same year.[6]

The album was first released with artwork and later re-released with more conventional studio photos. The original front cover album art is a painting by Octavio Ocampo that features Cher sitting beside a stone heart. However, when examined in its entirety and from a distance, it's clear this is also a painting of a human skull in profile (note the midriff folds in her dress forming the teeth; see infobox picture).[5] The artwork was changed shortly after its release, making copies with the original artwork collector's items.

She recorded two other songs for the album, "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" and "Some Guys", but neither made the final cut. A remixed version of "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" was included on the Geffen compilation album If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits. The reissue of that album, per Cher's request, does not include the song. A demo version of "Some Guys" was included on the "If I Could Turn Back Time" 7- and 12-inch singles.

"Heart of Stone" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" were both slightly remixed for the single. The "Heart of Stone" remix is available on CD on the compilation If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits issued by Geffen Records.

"After All" was used as the love theme for the film Chances Are.

The album produced three top 10 hits as well as a top 20 hit with the title track.

Track listing[]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."If I Could Turn Back Time"Diane Warren
4:16
2."Just Like Jesse James"
Child4:06
3."You Wouldn't Know Love"
Bolton3:30
4."Heart of Stone"
Peter Asher4:21
5."Still in Love with You"
Bolton3:08
6."Love on a Rooftop"
  • Warren
  • Child
Asher4:22
7."Emotional Fire"
  • Warren
  • Child
  • Bolton
Child3:53
8."All Because of You"
Lind3:30
9."Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore?"
Child4:12
10."Starting Over"
Bolton4:09
11."Kiss to Kiss"
  • Lind
  • Mary D'astugues
  • Phil Galdston
Lind4:23
12."After All" (with Peter Cetera) (love theme from Chances Are)
Asher4:07

Personnel and production[]

Adapted taken from CD Booklet, 1989 Geffen Records

  • Track 1 Produced by Diane Warren & Guy Roche.
    • Recorded & Mixed by Frank Wolf; assisted by Guy Roche
    • Drums, Percussion: Mark T. Williams; Bass guitar: John Pierce; Keyboards: Guy Roche, Alan Pasqua; Guitar: Steve Lukather, Glenn Sciurba, Gene Black; Backing vocals: Desmond Child, Michael Anthony, Robin Beck, Jean McClain, Jimmy Demers
  • Tracks 2, 7 & 9 Produced By Desmond Child
    • Recorded & mixed by Sir Arthur Payson, with track 2 mixed by Mick Guzauski
    • Drums: Bobby Chouinard; Bass guitar: Hugh McDonald; Keyboards: Alan St. Jon (tracks 2 & 9), Eric Rehl (track 7); **Guitar: John McCurry, (tracks 2 & 9), John Putnam (track 2), Steve Lukather, Blues Saraceno (both track 7), Ron Mancuso (track 9)
  • Tracks 3, 5 & 10 Arranged & produced by Michael Bolton
  • Tracks 4, 6 & 12 Produced by Peter Asher; associate producer on track 12: Frank Wolf
  • Tracks 8 & 11 Produced by Jon Lind
    • Recorded & mixed by Mick Guzauski, with engineering assistance by Frank Wolf & Paul Klingberg
    • Drums: John Keane; Percussion on track 11: Debra Dobkin; Bass guitar: John Pierce; Piano, synthesizer on track 8, Keyboards on track 11: John Schreiner; Additional synthesizer on track 8: Jim Lang; Guitar: Michael Thompson
  • Mastered by Dan Hersch; assisted by David Donnelly

Recording studios and assistant engineers[]

  • The Complex: Duane Seykora, Craig Porteils
  • Village Recorders: Jeff DeMorris, Charlie Brocco, Rob Hart, Charley Pollard
  • The Hit Factory: Rich Travali, Joe Pirrera, Dary Sulich, Barbera Milne, Tim Leitner, Paul Logus
  • Conway Recording: Richard McKernan, Debbie Johnson
  • Cherokee Studios: Jay Lean
  • Ocean Way: Stacy Baird, Clark Germaine
  • Summa Music Group: Ryan Dorn, Robin Laine, Paula "Max" Garcia
  • Bearsville: George Cowan
  • Electric Lady: Bridget Daly
  • Right Track: John Herman
  • Paradise Studios: Keith Goldstein
  • RPM Studios: "Iron" Mike Krowiak
  • Power Station: Ben Fowler
  • Criterion Studios: Mario Luccy
  • Bill Schnee Studios: Ken Allardyce
  • Studio Ultima: Tom Biener
  • Lion Share: Ray Pyle
  • Ignited Productions: Jeff Welch
  • Devonshire: Larry Goodwin

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[31] 4× Platinum 400,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 15,000^
Sweden (GLF)[33] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ "Cher singles".
  2. ^ Heart of Stone at AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  3. ^ Allmusic Release Information Retrieved October 15, 2013
  4. ^ Jerome, Jim (21 January 1991). "Cher Today". People. Time Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Heart of Stone". justplaincher.net. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  6. ^ "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?". Billboard. Nielsen Company. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Cher – Heart of Stone" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  9. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  10. ^ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cher – Heart of Stone" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  13. ^ "Cher - Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  14. ^ "Íslenski Listinn NR. 246 Vikuna 27.10.1989". Dagblaðið Vísir. October 27, 1989. p. 34.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Palmarès des ventes d'albums au Québec" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  18. ^ "Cher | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Cher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". ARIA. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '89". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. ^ "Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  23. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1990". ARIA. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1990". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  25. ^ "European Top 100 Albums, page 38" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  26. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1990". RIANZ. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  27. ^ "Najlepiej sprzedające się albumy w W.Brytanii w 1990r" (in Polish). Z archiwum...rocka. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  28. ^ "Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  29. ^ "Best of All Time - Albums". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  30. ^ ARIA Cher data
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". Music Canada.
  32. ^ Cher in The Complete New Zealand Music Charts
  33. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  34. ^ "British album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Heart of Stone in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  35. ^ "American album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links[]

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