''Bittersweet White Light'' is the ninth studio album by American singer

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

. It is composed mostly of covers of American pop standards and was released in April 1973 by MCA both in the UK and the US. It was the last solo Cher album to be produced by

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono ( ; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Pa ...

, then her husband and performing partner. While the album is a favorite among Cher fans, critical reviews were mixed, and ''Bittersweet White Light'' was Cher's first commercial failure of the 1970s.

Production and release

Due to the success of Cher's solo torch spots on ''

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' is an American variety show starring American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ca ...

'', such as " My Funny Valentine" and " What a Difference a Day Makes," Bono decided she should record an album featuring modern arrangements of standards from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. ''Bittersweet White Light'' was a collection of fully orchestrated, lushly-arranged classics. Bono had started in the music business working with "

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

" producer

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

and the album clearly demonstrates Spector's influence. Songs in the record range from Gershwin tunes " How Long Has This Been Going On?" and " The Man I Love" to Al Jolson's " Sonny Boy" to

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

's " The Man That Got Away" to Duke Ellington's "

I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" is a popular music, pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941. It was introduced in the musical revue Jump for Joy (1941 revue), ''Jump for Joy'' by ...

". The album was promoted on her successful ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' show. The title of the album was reported to be taken from the staging of such songs on her television show—which she performed in front of a torch spotlight. ''Bittersweet White Light'' was also the first of Cher's albums to feature medleys, "Jolson Medley", and with track mixed, "How Long Has This Been Going On" with "The Man I Love" and "Why Was I Born" with "The Man That Got Away". The other albums that got tracks mixed together were '' Take Me Home'' and ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

.'' ''Bittersweet White Light'' was re-released on CD in 1999 under the name ''Bittersweet: The Love Songs Collection'' along with selected ballads tracks from other Cher albums, including ''

'', '' Half-Breed'' and '' Dark Lady''. The disc was compiled and co-produced by Mike Khouri.

Critical reception

''Bittersweet White Light'' received mixed reviews from music critics. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' said the album "consists entirely of ballad-rocked standards by Kern, Gershwin, etc., and should please the artist's TV fans."

Commercial performance

''Bittersweet White Light'' was her first commercial failure of the 1970s. It charted only on the US ''Billboard'' 200 at 140. Unlike the previous release, the album did not enter the Canadian album chart, or any European charts. Due to the album's lack of success, only one single was released, " Am I Blue". It missed the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Track listing

Personnel

* Cher -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Sonny Bono -

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

, Don Peake -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

David Hungate David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American retired bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his ...

- bass guitar *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

- keyboards *

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

- keyboards *

Michel Rubini Michel Rubini (born December 3, 1942) is an American musician, conductor, arranger, producer, songwriter and composer. A professional classical pianist since early childhood, he was a prolific session musician of the 1960s and '70s, part of a grou ...

- keyboards *Jimmy Dale - arrangements *Ted Dale - conductor *Albert Harris (tracks: A3, A5, B2, B3, B4), Gene Page (track: A2), John D'Andrea (track: A4), Michel Rubini (track: A1), Mundell Lowe - orchestra * Lenny Roberts -

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

* Bittersweet: The Love Songs Collection (re-issue 1999) * Re-issue producers: Mike Khouri, Andy McKay * Compiled by Mike Khouri

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bittersweet White Light Cher albums 1973 albums Albums produced by Sonny Bono MCA Records albums