Heart of Stone (Cher album)

Heart of Stone is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 19, 1989 by Geffen Records.[3] As of January 1991, the album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.[4] The album was supported by her 1989-1990 Heart of Stone Tour.

Heart of Stone
Most widely-distributed cover, particularly for CD releases and re-issues
Studio album by
Cher
ReleasedJune 19, 1989
Recorded1988–1989
Studio
Genre
Length47:57
LabelGeffen
Producer
Cher chronology
Cher
(1987)		 Heart of Stone
(1989)		 Love Hurts
(1991)
Alternative cover
Cover for most Vinyl and cassette releases
Singles from Heart of Stone
  1. "After All"
    Released: February 1989
  2. "If I Could Turn Back Time"
    Released: July 1989
  3. "Just Like Jesse James"
    Released: October 1989
  4. "Heart of Stone"
    Released: January 1990
  5. "You Wouldn't Know Love"
    Released: July 1990 [1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Background

Heart of Stone was released in 1989 and was her second studio album for Geffen Records. As with her previous album Cher, Peter Asher, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Warren, Guy Roche and Desmond Child performed songwriting and/or producing duties. Bonnie Tyler and Michael Bolton performed background vocals on the song "Emotional Fire", which was an outtake from Bolton's 1987 album The Hunger, as was "Starting Over" (Demo versions of both songs exist in bootleg form, and have surfaced on YouTube). The album was recorded in late 1988/early 1989, during the third year of Cher's relationship with Rob Camilletti, to whom she dedicated the album.

Heart of Stone reached number ten in the United States, number seven in the United Kingdom, and by topping the charts in Australia, Heart of Stone became Geffen's first international number one album.[5] It was her first solo album in the United States (Sonny and Cher's debut album Look at Us reached number two and stayed there for eight weeks) to reach the top 10. Further on in her career, Cher would go on to have five more top ten albums - Believe, Living Proof, The Very Best of Cher, Closer to the Truth and Dancing Queen. The album has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States, with 964,000 of those units sold since early 1991, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which began counting actual sales that same year.[6]

The album was first released with artwork and later re-released with more conventional studio photos. The original front cover album art is a painting by Octavio Ocampo that features Cher sitting beside a stone heart. However, when examined in its entirety and from a distance, it's clear this is also a painting of a human skull in profile (note the midriff folds in her dress forming the teeth; see infobox picture).[5] The artwork was changed shortly after its release, making copies with the original artwork collector's items.

She recorded two other songs for the album, "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" and "Some Guys", but neither made the final cut. A remixed version of "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" was included on the Geffen compilation album If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits. The reissue of that album, per Cher's request, does not include the song. A demo version of "Some Guys" was included on the "If I Could Turn Back Time" 7- and 12-inch singles.

"Heart of Stone" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" were both slightly remixed for the single. The "Heart of Stone" remix is available on CD on the compilation If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits issued by Geffen Records.

"After All" was used as the love theme for the film Chances Are.

The album produced three top 10 hits as well as a top 20 hit with the title track.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."If I Could Turn Back Time"Diane Warren
  • Warren
  • Guy Roche
4:16
2."Just Like Jesse James"
Child4:06
3."You Wouldn't Know Love"
Bolton3:30
4."Heart of Stone"
Peter Asher4:21
5."Still in Love with You"
Bolton3:08
6."Love on a Rooftop"
  • Warren
  • Child
Asher4:22
7."Emotional Fire"
  • Warren
  • Child
  • Bolton
Child3:53
8."All Because of You"
Lind3:30
9."Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore?"
Child4:12
10."Starting Over"
Bolton4:09
11."Kiss to Kiss"
  • Lind
  • Mary D'astugues
  • Phil Galdston
Lind4:23
12."After All" (with Peter Cetera) (love theme from Chances Are)
Asher4:07

Personnel

Adapted taken from CD Booklet, 1989 Geffen Records

  • Cher – vocals
  • Alan Pasqua – keyboards (1)
  • Guy Roche – keyboards (1), additional keyboards (3)
  • Alan St. Jon – keyboards (2, 9)
  • Phillip Ashley – keyboards (3, 5, 10), bass (10)
  • Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (4, 6, 12), additional keyboards (10)
  • Jon Gilutin – keyboards (4, 6, 12)
  • Eric Rehl – synthesizers (7)
  • John Andrew Schreiner – acoustic piano (8), synthesizers (8), keyboards (11)
  • Jim Lang – additional synthesizers (8)
  • Steve Lukather – guitars (1), additional guitars (7)
  • Gene Black – additional guitars (1)
  • Glenn Sciurba – additional guitars (1)
  • John McCurry – guitars (2, 5, 7, 9)
  • John Putnam – acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (2)
  • Michael Landau – guitars (3-5, 10, 12)
  • Waddy Wachtel – guitars (4, 6, 12)
  • Andrew Gold – acoustic guitar (4, 6), 12-string guitar (4), backing vocals (4)
  • Blues Saraceno – additional guitars (7)
  • Michael Thompson – guitars (8, 11)
  • Ron Mancuso – guitars (9)
  • John Pierce – bass (1, 8, 11)
  • Hugh McDonald – bass (2, 7, 9)
  • Neil Stubenhaus – bass (3, 5)
  • Leland Sklar – bass (4, 6, 12)
  • Mark T. Williams – drums (1), tambourine (1)
  • Bobby Chouinard – drums (2, 7, 9)
  • John Keane – drums (3, 5, 8, 10, 11)
  • Carlos Vega – drums (4, 6, 12)
  • Michael Fisher – percussion (4, 6)
  • Peter Asher – percussion (6)
  • Bashiri Johnson – percussion (10)
  • Debra Dobkin – percussion (11)
  • Dan Higgins – saxophone (6)
  • David Campbell – string arrangements and conductor (6, 12)
  • Michael Anthony – backing vocals (1)
  • Robin Beck – backing vocals (1)
  • Desmond Child – backing vocals (1, 2, 9)
  • Jimmy Demers – backing vocals (1, 7)
  • Jean McClain – backing vocals (1)
  • Maria Vidal – backing vocals (1)
  • Brenda Russell – backing vocals (2)
  • Diane Warren – backing vocals (2)
  • Pattie Darcy – backing vocals (3, 5, 10)
  • John Fiore – backing vocals (3, 7, 9)
  • Myriam Valle – backing vocals (3, 7, 9, 10)
  • Peter Blakeley – backing vocals (4)
  • Wendy Matthews – backing vocals (4)
  • Suzie Benson – backing vocals (5)
  • Kyle Gordon – backing vocals (5)
  • Wendy Fraser – backing vocals (6)
  • Pauline Frenchette – backing vocals (6)
  • Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals (6)
  • Michael Bolton – backing vocals (7)
  • Louis Merlino – backing vocals (7, 9)
  • Bonnie Tyler – backing vocals (7)
  • Gene Miller – backing vocals (8, 11)
  • Jason Scheff – backing vocals (8)
  • Jon Lind – backing vocals (8, 11)
  • Vicki Sue Robinson – backing vocals (10)
  • Peter Cetera – vocals (12)

Production
  • John Kalodner – A&R
  • Frank Wolf – associate producer (12)
  • Debra Shallman – album coordinator
  • Melanie F. Williams – album coordinator
  • Cathy Woller – production coordination assistant
  • Norman Moore – art direction, design
  • Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction (alternate cover)
  • Kevin Takishita – art direction, logo design (alternate cover)
  • Herb Ritts – photography
  • Octavio Occampo –cover painting (alternate cover)
  • Billy Sammeth – management

Technical

  • John Golden – mastering at K Disc Mastering (Hollywood, California)
  • David Donnelly – mastering supervisor
  • Frank Wolf – recording (1, 3-6, 10, 12), mixing (1, 4, 6, 12), additional engineer (8, 11)
  • Sir Arthur Payson – recording (2, 7, 9), mixing (7, 9)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11), recording (8, 11)
  • Guy Roche – additional engineer (1)
  • Bruce Robb – additional engineer (2, 9)
  • Terry Christian – additional engineer (3, 5, 10)
  • Jay Healy – additional engineer (3, 5, 10)
  • Roger Talkov – additional engineer (3, 5, 10)
  • Tom Perme – drum technician (6)
  • Paul Klingberg – additional engineer (8, 11)
  • Ken Allardyce, Stacy Baird, Tom Biener, Charlie Brocco, George Cowan, Bridget Daly, Jeff DeMorris, Ryan Dorn, Ben Fowler, Paula "Max" Garcia, Clark Germaine, Keith Goldstein, Larry Goodwin, Rob Hart, John Herman, Debbie Johnson, Mike Krowiak, Robin Laine, Jay Lean, Tim Leitner, Paul Logus, Mario Luccy, Richard McKernan, Barbara Milne, Joe Pirrera, Charley Pollard, Craig Porteils, Ray Pyle, Duane Seykora, Dary Sulich, Rich Travali and Jeff Welch – assistant engineers
    • Special thanks to the Recording Virtuoso and creative master - Gary S Edwards "You are an amazing artist, incredible engineer and friend. Your patience is always the strength and spirit of anyone who gets to work with you" - Cher

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[29] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[30] 4× Platinum 400,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Platinum 15,000^
Sweden (GLF)[32] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Cher singles".
  2. Heart of Stone at AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  3. Allmusic Release Information Retrieved October 15, 2013
  4. Jerome, Jim (21 January 1991). "Cher Today". People. Time Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  5. "Heart of Stone". justplaincher.net. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  6. "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?". Billboard. Nielsen Company. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  7. "Australiancharts.com – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  8. "Austriancharts.at – Cher – Heart of Stone" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  9. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  10. "RPM 100 Albums". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Cher – Heart of Stone" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  12. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  13. "Cher - Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  14. "Charts.nz – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  15. "Palmarès des ventes d'albums au Québec" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  16. "Swedishcharts.com – Cher – Heart of Stone". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  17. "Cher | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  18. "Cher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". ARIA. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  20. "Top 100 Albums of '89". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  21. "Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1990". ARIA. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  23. "Top 100 Albums of 1990". RPM. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  24. "European Top 100 Albums, page 38" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  25. "Top Selling Albums of 1990". RIANZ. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  26. "Najlepiej sprzedające się albumy w W.Brytanii w 1990r" (in Polish). Z archiwum...rocka. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  27. "Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  28. "Best of All Time - Albums". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  29. ARIA Cher data
  30. "Canadian album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". Music Canada.
  31. Cher in The Complete New Zealand Music Charts
  32. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  33. "British album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". British Phonographic Industry.
  34. "American album certifications – Cher – Heart of Stone". Recording Industry Association of America.
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