Cher's Dancing Queen

[Jason73]

I think Madonna would be more successful now if she did things a little more tamer. I know that's not her, and she wont do that and she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to.
I would love to see her stop doing the Nicki Minaj features, the hard dance EDM, the gangsta with a grill stuff. Maybe do a stripped back, acoustic folky album or something like that.

I completely agree. I'd love for her to go in that direction, but I doubt she will in the near future. She seems obsessed with staying hip and relevant to the younger generation, even though that's mostly not working for her. Maybe she'll surprise us with the next album . . .

Saying that Rebel Heart had a lot more songs I liked. Even at that I think I cut the album basically in half for my iTunes. I kept mostly the shower tracks and mid-tempos.

Again, agreed. The songs that have been most enduring for me from her last two albums are Masterpiece from MDNA and Heartbreak City, Ghost Town, and Joan of Arc from Rebel Heart.

That's all very nice and lovely, but I only rate music based on the music itself, not the artist or any kind of sentiment.

I'm sure a big part of the reason I'm enjoying the DQ album is nostalgia--an iconic singer I have loved since I was in middle school singing iconic songs I have loved since I was in elementary school. I'm always interested in varying opinions of songs and what's considered "good" and "not good" but at the end of the day the only thing that matters to me is whether I enjoy a song/album or not and sometimes (maybe even often times), admittedly, my enjoyment can be influenced by sentiment; and I'm ok with that.

I certainly don't think the album is a masterpiece or anywhere near that, but for me, it's ticking the right boxes and I'm enjoying it. I've listened to it on the treadmill at the gym the last two days and it's been perfect for that.

 

[Jason73]

I'd say right now my least favorite tracks are Fernando and Chiquitita. One of Us is also one of my lesser played tracks so far. I like it, but I'm enjoying the up tempo ones more right now.

 

[Alexis]

I love One of Us and Name Of The Game and SOS. The only one I don't really love as much is Chiquitita. That's probably because kind of recently I rediscovered what an amazingly beautiful song it was. I don't think the arrangement and production on Cher's version compliments the song.

 

[Rove]

Well she just opened her Australian tour right here in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on 26 September. I didn't go but here is a treat for those Cher fans. At around the 6 minute mark she breaks into some Abba songs.

 

[Willie Oleson]

You were shocked that ABBA's version is better?

Well, sometimes we take things for granted. I've heard that song a billion times and then it takes a situation like this to re-appreciate it.

Also Chiquitita is the song on the album that I think has the worst production. That "current" Latin guitar thing going on and that beat is dreadful.

It reminds me of her Latin pop songs from the early 2000s. It could have been the B-side to Dov'e l'amore.

I don't think anyone buying this album really thought that Cher's versions would be better than ABBA's originals

If you expected high art from a Cher ABBA covers album then I'm afraid you missed the point entirely

It is essentially a glorified karaoke album

A very good coverversion that doesn't beat the original can still be very good.
No, I don't think I had expected something more iconic than the ABBA albums but that doesn't mean I have to lower my expectations altogether. It's Cher, not the Mike Flowers Pop.
It's that karoake feel that puts me off, which is exactly why I can't watch the Mamma Mia movies. If it's supposed to be fluffy fun then at least they could have done a fabulous, glitter-y disco album, but it's not even that.

This is my idea of a playful and creative ABBA cover:

 

[Jason73]

This is my idea of a playful and creative ABBA cover:

I hated it for the first 30 seconds or so and then I fell in love with it.

Have we done ABBA covers already in the music top ten threads?

 

[Willie Oleson]

Have we done ABBA covers already in the music top ten threads?

Only Beatles covers, I think.

And with this Cher album being so hot & current, maybe it's time to do a battle of the ABBA covers

 

[Alexis]

Well Cher looks set to have a number 2 album in both the UK and the US this week. It was expected she'd be number 3 in the US but Kanye didn't release his album this week. That's pretty awesome.

 

[Seaviewer]

Cher, singing ABBA songs... I mean, that's some magic. Gay Magic!

I've just ordered this myself. I saw her sing SOS on Ellen and decided I had to have it.

Honestly, sometimes I wonder how I'm not gay. I love soaps, musicals, divas, everything that the stereotype tells us that gay guys like - except, you know, guys.

 

[Richard Channing]

I think making her look young and sweet, only 17, on the cover was a nice touch.

 

[Grant Jennings]

I've never understood those who would argue "you can't cover someone else's songs"; to me, music is a living thing, meant to be rediscovered and performed by many people.

Though I like some of the tracks on "Dancing Queen", as an entire album, it's kind of meh. An entire album of covers (by "covers" I mean arrangements that stick very closely to the originals other than a "fresh coat of paint" here and there) is a bit much. I understand not wanting to re-invent "Dancing Queen" but how about taking a few risks with some of the other tracks; how about recording some less well-known ABBA songs? After listening to the CD my fist thought was I would have rather listened to an ABBA greatest hits compilation.

 

[Alexis]

I've never understood those who would argue "you can't cover someone else's songs"; to me, music is a living thing, meant to be rediscovered and performed by many people.

Though I like some of the tracks on "Dancing Queen", as an entire album, it's kind of meh. An entire album of covers (by "covers" I mean arrangements that stick very closely to the originals other than a "fresh coat of paint" here and there) is a bit much. I understand not wanting to re-invent "Dancing Queen" but how about taking a few risks with some of the other tracks; how about recording some less well-known ABBA songs? After listening to the CD my fist thought was I would have rather listened to an ABBA greatest hits compilation.

This has always been my view on covers. Songs are meant to have life beyond their first recording or performance. I find it so annoying when people complain about songs being covered. They are meant to be reinterpreted, revived. To give joy to people who would never have heard them on their initial release. They are written pieces, they are creative writing, poems, verse.
How sad would the world be if people took that view about plays. Can never be performed again, the first was the best. Pointless to even try and redo it.
It's just so silly. And a cover version in no way detracts from the original. It cant tarnish it. The cover is just there, you don't have to access it unless you want to.

The album is not the most original. It's not even Cher's best album. I doubt that was ever the intention. It's a folly, a lark. It's enjoyment for her and her fans.
Folks just need to DEAL WITH IT.

 

[Alexis]

I think making her look young and sweet, only 17, on the cover was a nice touch.

I believe the cover art is actually a photo of Cher from the same week that ABBA originally released Dancing Queen in the 1970s. True story.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I've never understood those who would argue "you can't cover someone else's songs";

I don't think anyone in this thread claims that songs are un-coverable.
And I can think of quite a few coverversions that I prefer to the original.

It's not even Cher's best album. I doubt that was ever the intention. It's a folly, a lark. It's enjoyment for her and her fans

It doesn't really matter to me what it's meant to be. The only thing that counts is the result.
I don't apply different standards to fluffy pop and critically acclaimed music. There's only one standard: do I like it or not?

Folks just need to DEAL WITH IT.

Well, we were invited to discuss the album

 

[Jason73]

I don't apply different standards to fluffy pop and critically acclaimed music. There's only one standard: do I like it or not?

I think most people have that same standard when it comes to music and to me, that's what makes music discussions so fascinating. It's just so personal, what we like and what we don't like to listen to. I have a hard time understanding what attracts people to music I don't love. I don't hear it the way they do, as hard as I try sometimes. Who knows what exactly goes into making someone love a song?

 

[Alexis]

It doesn't really matter to me what it's meant to be. The only thing that counts is the result.
I don't apply different standards to fluffy pop and critically acclaimed music. There's only one standard: do I like it or not

Yes, you don't like it. You did mention it a few times.

Well, we were invited to discuss the album

If you don't like it, there's not much to discuss, is there?

 

[Seaviewer]

I think making her look young and sweet, only 17, on the cover was a nice touch.

It took me long enough to realise that the "two Chers" were mimicking the pose of Anna and Frida. Don't give me any more allusions.

I've never understood those who would argue "you can't cover someone else's songs"; to me, music is a living thing, meant to be rediscovered and performed by many people.

I agree. Time was that artists like Frank Sinatra and Doris Day would routinely record the same songs - which became today's standards.

 

[James from London]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/18/chers-30-greatest-songs-ranked

This article is an absolute treasure trove of Cher (and other) songs I knew nothing about. I had no idea she covered Preston from the Ordinary Boys, or that Sia covered 'I Go to Sleep' by the Kinks come to that. And I thought the line at the end about Cher doing Dylan's 'Masters of War' might a joke, but hallelujah, it isn't!

 

[Willie Oleson]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/18/chers-30-greatest-songs-ranked

I guess "Believe" is more cutting edge pop than "Little Man".

 

[Ome]

Cher is prepping a sequel to her 2018 hit release Dancing Queen, and announced her plans for the follow-up on Twitter.

When a fan tweeted Cher asking for her to say something that would make her smile, she replied: "nxt yr abba II". What's more, another fan asked if a Christmas album was in the works, and she simply replied: "Next year". Looks like 2019 is going to be a big year for Cher fans.

The confirmation comes a few days after the 72-year-old posted what ABBA classics she would like to cover should a second homage to the Swedish group be released. Now it looks like that fantasy tracklist will become a reality.

The songs she said she would like to cover next are

Rock Me
Money Money Money
Take a Chance on Me
I Do I Do I Do
Voulez Vous
Honey Honey
Does Your Mother Know