The Beat Goes On: The Best of Sonny & Cher

Amazon.com essential recording
Sonny Bono was a record-biz vet by the time he hooked up with a teenaged female singer named Cher. After a 1963 flop under the name Caesar and Cleo, the pair clicked with "I Got You Babe," a leap onto the folk-rock bandwagon that made them America's favorite pseudohippies for a brief moment. Cher's less-than-dulcet tones never sounded better than when placed next to Sonny's nasal croak. As for Sonny himself, his solo protest work--including "Laugh at Me," later covered by Mott the Hoople--is excerpted here. There are no words. --Rickey Wright

The Beat Goes On: The Best of Sonny & Cher,Sonny & Cher,Elektra / Wea,Folk-Rock,Pop,Pop Vocals,Pop/Rock,Popular Music,Rock/Pop

The Beat Goes On: The Best of Sonny & Cher

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive overview of the ATCO years (first phase of their career)
Help
About the recording company
THE SAGA CONTINUES
The important sixties hits

The Beat Goes On: The Best of Sonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Cher and Sonny & Cher - Greatest Hits (1974)
The Mamas & the Papas - Greatest Hits
Sonny & Cher - The Ultimate Collection
The Very Best of the Rascals
I Got You Babe & Other Hits

ASIN: B000002JOV
Release Date: 1991-11-05

Tracks:

Baby Don't Go
Just You
Sing C'est La Vie
I Got You Babe
Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love
Laugh At Me
But You're Mine
The Revolution Kind
What Now My Love
Have I Stayed Too Long
Leave Me Be
Little Man
Living For You
Love Don't Come
The Beat Goes On
Beautiful Story
It's The Little Things
My Best Friend's Girl Is Out Of Sight
Good Combination
I Got You Babe ('Good Times' Soundtrack Version)
Hello

Amazon.com essential recording

Sonny Bono was a record-biz vet by the time he hooked up with a teenaged female singer named Cher. After a 1963 flop under the name Caesar and Cleo, the pair clicked with "I Got You Babe," a leap onto the folk-rock bandwagon that made them America's favorite pseudohippies for a brief moment. Cher's less-than-dulcet tones never sounded better than when placed next to Sonny's nasal croak. As for Sonny himself, his solo protest work--including "Laugh at Me," later covered by Mott the Hoople--is excerpted here. There are no words. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive overview of the ATCO years (first phase of their career).......2007-07-01

I listened to this CD (again) in its entirety last night. This is an excellent compilation of Sonny & Cher's best songs from their ATCO years (1965-1967). The packaging is top-notch, and the essay by Ken Barnes is informative and entertaining.

For a die-hard fan like me, this is a five-star set. But for the sake of objectivity, I'm willing to look beyond my die-hardedness and to put myself in the shoes of the casual listener. There are 21 songs in this collection, 14 of which were chart hits. (Think about it: 14 charted songs in 3 years!!!) The collection would work far-more successfully for the casual listener if only the chart hits were included. (So, if you're not a die-hard fan, consider this a four-star set.)

For the die-hards, though, this is an excellent historical overview of their career. There are three Sonny solo songs: the top 10 hit "Laugh At Me," and the follow-up "The Revolution Kind" and his ultimate camp classic "My Best Friend's Girl Is Out of Sight." There's a rare B-side, "Hello," from 1965, which is throw-away filler to be sure, but a Sonny & Cher throw-away!! And also a brief public service announcement with Sonny & Cher encouraging kids to "stay cool, go back to school."

My hair stands on end whenever I read that Sonny's talent was "limited." Whose isn't? Think of what this man accomplished, however. He had a knack for writing commercial hits that had addictive hooks and lyrics. Some of his lesser-known songs aren't as "good" as his hits, but so what? Out of the 14 chart hits Sonny & Cher amassed that are on this collection, he wrote (or co-wrote) 12 of them. That ain't bad, is it? (And that is not counting the hits that came about in the second phase of their career in the early '70s, either.)

I've written in another review that their voices blended together beautifully, especially in this inital phase of their career. I'm always taken aback by their duets. "The Beat Goes On: The Best of Sonny & Cher" is expertly-compiled collection of their best work together.

Help .......2007-03-11

Help! I'm trapped inside a Sonny & Cher review and I don't know how I got here and I think I like it. A lot of time has gone by, kids, and there's not much left of the world that spawned this unholy coupling, but it is a suitable window into a certain side of Sixties culture that was so magnificently decayed and bankrupt, with music that is a precursor for, yes, the amazingly bad songs of the film "Ishtar" that . . . well, ok, I've said enough. You either know at this point to go forth or run, but I can say no more.

About the recording company.......2006-02-04

If you had Sonny & Cher records during their heyday like I did, you might remember that they recorded for the Atco label, a division of Atlantic Records.

Whenever I want to buy a CD of music from many years ago, I try to make sure that I don't get remakes (recordings that aren't the exact ones that we heard on the radio way back when). Most artists re-record their songs for cheesy remake labels and, trust me, you'll be disappointed with them.

I read all the owner reviews at Amazon and, many times, a CD buyer will let you know that the CD you're considering buying has newer recordings or, just as bad, live concert recordings of songs. For instance, Joan Baez's big hit song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was on the Vanguard label when it was a hit song. But she defected to A&M Records soon after and A&M has a greatest hits package that includes songs from her Vanguard days--but they're live concert recordings. You have to look for the Vanguard label so you get the recording that you remember from the radio--they still retain the rights to the songs she recorded for them.

Also, you would think you could trust Capitol Records every bit as much as A&M. But I was looking at Andrews Sisters' CDs recently and noticed that 2 different labels offer their greatest hits--MCA and Capitol. Fortunately, an Amazon reviewer said that Capitol's compilation contains newer recordings that the Andrews Sisters recorded in the 50's. I bought MCA's CD and was not disappointed.

So, you can see that this Sonny & Cher CD is on the label "Elektra/WEA". Other Web sites list this same CD as "Rhino/WEA". One Web site just says "Rhino".

I just received this CD and the label is REALLY "Atco", the label Sonny & Cher recorded all their hits for in the 60's. Therefore, these songs are the actual recordings you remember from the 60's.

By the way, anytime you see the Rhino label for a CD, you can buy it without any worry of remakes. I own many CDs from Rhino and I have never been stuck with a remade song. They license the legitimate recordings from the company that owns the rights to the songs.

Why 4 stars instead of 5? Not anyone's fault, really, but some songs on Sonny & Cher's CD don't sound too good. This is surely due to the aging of the master tapes. After all, they've been around 40 or more years!

THE SAGA CONTINUES.......2005-07-15

Having lived through the turbulent '60's, I occasionally turn to that era during times of drunkeness. This CD, however, holds a dear place in my heart unlike any other -- and a special story. In 1968, my old town of Hermann's Hermitage changed its name, after the unlikely arrival of Sonny and Cher. As the story goes, Sonny lost his bearings trying to get to a Chicago concert, was hoplessly lost on Interstate 65, and ended up on our Main Street. Needless to say, the entire town turned out and welcomed them. After indulging themselves on baked ham and scalloped potato dinners, the celebrities won everybody's heart with their gracious manners and creepy good looks. I was just a lad at the time, but I still remember the tearful farewells, and standing in the rain on the corner of Spring and Apple to wave at their magenta minibus as it puttered away to the Big Time. It was a magical night. Shortly afterwards, the city council changed the name of our town to "Sonny and Cherville", and voted to slap a one percent sales tax on beer and soft drinks -- which paid for a concrete statue of the singing duo in Monkee Park. Years later, hard times befell us during the Arab oil embargo of 1974. In order to save money on ink and letterhead space, the town had to relinquish the words "Sonny and" from its charter. We are now, simply, "Cherville". And sadly, the years have not been kind to the statue: Cher exploded one summer during a freak lightning storm, and vandals using Bondo elevated Sonny's feet six inches off the pedestal. He now looks like a punch-drunk Tom Selleck. Oh well.

This is a great CD.

The important sixties hits.......2005-06-02

This collection contains all of Sonny's important British and American hits (with and without Cher) from 1964 to 1967, although some minor hits are missing. The classic hits here are I got you babe (number one in Britain and America), Laugh at me (a Sonny solo), Just you, Baby don't go, What now my love, Little man (number one in several European countries) and The beat goes on. There are many other wonderful songs including Sing c'est la vie, which was number one in Belgium but didn't chart at all (maybe wasn't released) in Britain or America.

Cher's solo hits from the sixties are omitted from this collection - you must buy either a separate Cher collection, or a more comprehensive Sonny and Cher collection to obtain those. For a comprehensive collection of the music of Sonny and Cher, buy the European double CD Singles plus, which contains all of Sonny and Cher's hits, separately and together, up to 1974. It comes at a price but if you're only interested in the early part of Cher's career, you won't need a separate Cher compilation.

If you are looking primarily for Sonny and Cher's duets and aren't bothered about the absence of Cher's solo hits, this is a great single CD.