The Singles +

Sonny & Cher exploded on the music scene with "I Got You Babe" in the mid sixties and had quite a few hits, another well known song being "The Beat Goes On". If you like either one of those songs - or if you just enjoy music from that era - this CD is great to have. There are quite a few songs that I had never heard before, so it is great fun to listen to the two full CDs.Even though it was written in 1989, just last year I got an old copy of Sonny's autobiography, "The Beat Goes On". When reading it I got the impression that Sonny was a very honest as well as self deprecating man, so I took what he said about his relationship with Cher from beginning to end to be the truth. I was so impressed at how hard Sonny worked to make their music and their act a success - and I ended up disliking Cher's actions quite a bit. Sonny wrote most of their songs and did it in the beginning with an old piano with a broken key, using just one finger on his left hand along with a few fingers on his right hand, having had no training whatsoever. He meant to make Cher a solo star but she was too scared and said she could only sing if he sang with her. Hence "Sonny & Cher". Sonny took a 16 year old girl who wanted to be star so badly that she used to practice how she would act while signing autographs - and made her what she became. As hard as he worked it is unbelievable to me that her reason for divorce was "spousal servitude". He said he was hurt. Yeah, you would think so.Anyway, in my opinion, Sonny Bono took a very mediocre talent and made her a star. Then it wasn't good enough to be part of Sonny & Cher; she wanted to be the big "CHER". Well, she got her wish, but really stomped all over Sonny in the process. This CD takes me back to the good old days of "I Got You Babe" and the whole mid 60s world before so much in life became ugly. There was an innocence in young people who listened to this kind of music that would be stripped away later, but it was sure fun while it lasted. This CD is a fun way to go back for a little while - before we found out that these two were living a lie for the fans for quite a while - and before music started to be all about drugs and sex and violence. The singers of that era who didn't do the whole "psychedelic" thing were just knocked out of the picture. Sonny never gave up and worked their ways back into the spotlight when they did the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour - then Cher killed it forever when she filed for divorce in such a public and ugly way. We all know the story after that - Cher became the big star she wanted to be and Sonny went off in his own direction with his restaurants and then into politics. He was such a talented and hard working man, funny and smart and highly underrated. Sonny always made fun of his own singing voice, but for the songs that made them famous it was just right. When they went on David Letterman and sang "I Got You Babe" in 1989 he still sounded exactly the same, 25 years later. Cher sounded very different, and for me not in a good way. If you go to YouTube and watch that video it is so touching anyway - then to see Sonny wiping away tears at the end - well, most of the people who leave comments there admit to shedding a few of their own. The way Sonny was lost in such a tragic way in 1998 is just too sad. He was only 62, and I'm sure he would have had much more to offer the world. I think that he was one of the few genuinely good people in politics.I recommend this CD. Get a copy and go back to some fun times for a little while - and most definitely sing along.

This collection contains all Cher's hits (with and without Sonny) from 1964 to 1974, not just from America but from six European countries. We therefore get Sing c'est la vie, which was number one in Belgium but didn't chart at all in any of the other listed countries (and maybe wasn't released anywhere else). However, in most cases, the European hits were also hits in America.Apart from the excellent booklet, this collection combines the music of two different record labels, so you would otherwise have to buy two separate CD's, one for the sixties (I got you babe) era and one for the seventies (Gypsies tramps and thieves) era, and they many not be full-length. The two CD's that make up this set are both full-length, so there is plenty of room for the less obvious but still interesting tracks, ensuring that there is always something to keep coming back to.This is a very comprehensive collection of the music which made Sonny and Cher stars in the first place, and contains everything that most people will ever want from the period covered. Diehard Cher fans will not be totally satisfied, but even they recognise the quality of this compilation (see their reviews).This is THE Cher compilation to buy.

I love Sonny and Cher; I really can't comment on the sound quality for the player I have isn't as good as the old turn table with good speakers. The player I have has poor quality speakers but they are better than nothing. I still enjoy this CD.

its for my wife she likes most of it

i bought this tape for a friend's birthday...we were fans of sonny and cher when we were teenagers.She loved it , just loved it (took her back in time), and i would recommend this cd to anyone who grew up in the late 60's.

It was nice to hear a lot of their old hit songs. But almost half the singles I had never heard of and were really pretty hard to listen to. I would have been happier with just one CD of just their biggest hits.

Very satisfied. Brings me back to the 60s and 70s when I listened to many of these songs on vinyl. Wonderful collection. Okay...some throwaways ;) Nobody's perfect.

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