Cher

'It's a Man's World' is one of the least characteristically Cher albums in the singer's discography in that it's surprisingly restrained and subtle.

After the muted response to It’s a Man’s World (it did well in the UK but was a remixed-USA edition was a disappointment in her homeland), Cher came back in 1998 with Believe and its monster hit single, which reinvented Cher – yet again – this time as a robotic dance diva. Cher also become a professional Legend, her wit and charm making her a popular presence on talk shows (her presence on social media has also become legendary). The relative neutrality of Cher’s voice, as well as her adaptability as an artist, means that if the material is solid, she’s a sure fit. A similar treatment is given to the album’s titular song, a cover of the It’s that adaptability that has lent Cher that legendary longevity (but it’s also kept Cher from establishing a genuine musical sound or persona – it feels as if Cher ‘sounds’ like whatever current iteration she’s inhabiting at the moment). In the late 1960s, perhaps inspired by the blue-eyed soul classic [Dusty in Memphis](https://www.popmatters.com/164369-dusty-springfield-2495806381.html), Cher put out a soul album of her own, 3614 Jackson Highway, named after the address of the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The triumph of an Oscar-winning film career and a multi-platinum-selling music career seemed to make way for a confusing time for the singer-actress. [quoted](https://ew.com/article/1993/05/21/cher-her-movie-career-dead/) as saying, “She can get European financing, but not [in the United States].” She hadn’t had a top-ten hit in the USA pop charts in six years. The original, UK version, is a rhythmic-pop tune with that struts with an insanely catchy chorus. As with her music career in the 1960s and 1970s, the 1980s seemed to greet the grand diva with another commercial peak. Her struggle with an Epstein-Barr virus infection meant she had to ease up on the pace of her work. As a young, fresh-faced ingenue (it’s so hard to picture Cher being an ingenue), Cher sang folk-pop songs with Sonny Bono, the duo finding immortality with the classic 1960s love song, “I Got You Babe”.