| Cher's 1998 comeback as a dalek-voiced disco diva with the multi-million-selling Believe took most people by surprise, but the process actually began two years earlier. Stylistically, It's A Man's World is a mixed bag, dominated by a trio of cover versions: The Walker Brothers' "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More", Marc Cohn's "Walking In Memphis" and, of course, a heavily irony-laden take on James Brown's "It's A Man's World". But among the original compositions, there's only one typically Cher-style bombastic rock power ballad ("Not Enough Love And Understanding"), the remainder alternating between hi-tech disco-pop courtesy of Trevor Horn--the 1980s genius behind Frankie Goes To Hollywood, ABC and The Art Of Noise--and state-of-the-art R&B from Michael Jackson collaborator Sam Ward. --Simon Price |
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