Cher - Take Me Home - 1979

What a cover, right? In the spirit of Halloween I thought this cover was a sort of tribute to dressing up in outrageous costumes. In looking at it now, it sort of makes me think that this inspired Princess Leia's outfit in Jedi. Who knows if that is true, but it certainly is a great outfit.

I have a few Cher records from early in her career and I have some Sonny and Cher records I enjoy. This record from 1979 may be the most recent record I have of hers on vinyl. I was a bit skeptical about what to expect of the music at this point in her career. I dreaded hearing some bad disco and was only buying the record for the amazing costume she's wearing.

I was pleased to find that I knew the song "Take Me Home" and I already loved it. My previous experience with the song was with the cover Sophie Ellis Baxter did back in 2001. I thought that was a great dance track. Cher's version is also pretty great.



There are a few other tracks on the record that I also like. Another highlight is another song that I had heard before, but didn't recognize the title. The closing track "My Song (Too Far Gone)" is a beautiful little song. Not at all what I was expecting when I thought I was picking up a formula disco record from Casablanca records.

And the third song I knew, but didn't know I knew was "Let This Be A Lesson To You!", which has a great gospel and soul flavor to it. The chorus is certain to get you singing along and clapping your hands like you were in a revival meeting. A great song.

Track 2 "Wasn't It Good" on the other hand was a new song for me. I hadn't heard it before getting this record, but I love it. In relistening to it while writing this blog I couldn't help but think this would probably be a good candidate for some DJ to mash up or remix with some modern beats. The other thing the song made me think about is that the electronic manipulation on the back up singers were kind of like the precursers to her 1998 hit "Believe" which had the hook "Do you believe in life after love" where her voice was electronically tweaked.

The electronic voice manipulation also reminds me of some of the robotic voice effects in the Bee Gee's movie "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which would have come out just a year before she recorded this record. Listen to "Mean Mr. Mustard" for a comparison.

Also check out "Git Down (Guitar Groupie)" and "Love & Pain". I dig on them as well.

Overall this is a great record and one to pick up when you see it. Get it on CD or just keep your eyes open in the thrift stores for the vinyl. It litters the dollar bins everywhere.

Enjoy!

01 Take Me Home.m4a
02 Wasn't It Good.m4a
03 Say The Word.m4a
04 Happy Was The Day We Met.m4a
05 Git Down (Guitar Groupie).m4a
06 Love & Pain (AKA Pain In My Heart).m4a
07 Let This Be A Lesson To You!.m4a
08 It's Too Late To Love Me Now.m4a
09 My Song (Too Far Gone).m4a

Take Me Home Side 1.zip
Take Me Home Side 2.zip

As an extra bonus here is one of Cher's other tasteful outfits from the 80's. Remember this gem?