| Musical tastemakers regularly praise Madonna as the ultimate age-defying, Zeitgeist-surfing female diva. But what about Cher? The 60s hippychick who was enjoying chart hits while Madonna was still in rompers has consistently reinvented herself with poise and panache; hence, her latest dance-inspired offering Living Proof. Unlike with Madge, there have been Golden Globes and Oscars along the way, and 1998s mega-smash "Believe", released 33 years after Cher's first No. 1, remains the biggest-selling single by a female artist ever released in the UK. Given this stellar success, it's hardly surprising that, this time around, the former Mrs Sonny Bono has decided that if the music's not broken, there's decidedly no need to fix it: from exuberant opener "The Music's No Good Without You", a shameless amalgam of "Believe" and Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You", to Living Proof, more of the same, but more so. "A Different Kind of Love Song", "Love So High" and "(This Is) A Song for the Lonely" are destined to pack provincial dance floors the length of Britain, and it would be a churlish soul indeed who denied that this is infectious HiNRG disco par excellence. At this rate, you wouldn't bet against her managing another 30 years. --Ian Gittins |
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