Dark Lady - Cher Tribute Album

[POPboi]

Hi ya peeps...

just heard that Klone Records www.klonerecords.com are releasing a Cher Tribute album full of Dance covers of Cher hits.

The vocalist is a male who is one of the background vocalist in Cher's "Living Proof Tour" The record label swear that the vocals are identical...

I am sooo eager to hear this album anyone else interested?

[कामसूत्र]

That couldn't be too bad.

[POPboi]

discodude... I love that avatar of Collin

[कामसूत्र]

popboi said:

discodude... I love that avatar of Collin

Thanks. This one has gotten so much attention.

[POPboi]

I C you changed the avatar... I love Collin he is soooo cute :) do you got any naked pix of him?

[कामसूत्र]

popboi said:

I C you changed the avatar... I love Collin he is soooo cute :) do you got any naked pix of him? 

I don't have any naked pix of him. :(

[POPboi]

Just to let everyone know that the tracklist, cover art and sound samples are available at www.klonerecords.com The album is called "Forever Cher" by "Dark Lady" and you wont believe your ears! Go have a listen! I already ordered my copy...

Let me know what you guys think of it?

[POPboi]

I just got my "Forever Cher" CD in the mail today and WOW!!! Every Cher fan has to have this album... It's a must have for any dance fanatic also!!!

The album is Amazing and it totally sounds like cher except for "Song For The Lonely" I dunno what happened there but sounds different from the rest!!!

Best Track for me on this album is One By One... If you wanted dance versions of Cher's older hits you must have this CD... IT is F@CKING AWSOME!!!! LOVE IT... It worth the money just for the older hits remade!

Check it out at www.klonerecords.com/ it GREAT :)

[POPboi]

Here Is a REVIEW OF THIS GREAT ALBUM!

“Forever Cher” DARK LADY (Klone / UK) Double Disc / CD Compilation

In all my years of being a fool to sit through dance tribute albums of pop artists none has blown me away quite like this one. For months now I was teased with tiny samples and snippets to tweak my interest. I wasn’t biting to be honest. Finally a couple of months ago larger sample emerged as promotion and I was stunned at the sheer perfection of the music and even more by the wickedly uncanny impersonation of diva-CHER by USA based female impersonator - JIMMY JAMES. Jimmy James is an American icon of female impersonation, and in my opinion the finest in his class today. I’ll give you a link to his personal web site at the end of this review. The “Forever Cher” project is the result of Jimmy’s amazing mirrored vocal impersonation as DARK LADY on stage, and producer KEITH HAARMEYER - a newcomer to the forum of HiNRG music. Production is very similar to ALMIGHTY’s in their heyday from the 1995-2000 era, especially on the ABBACADABRA tracks (so really it’s JON DIXON who should be credited with this style of glitzy NRG music production - and he’s not with ALMIGHTY anymore for years, so that explains a few things on that front too ). The mix of the two into this CD - vocals by Jimmy and production by Keith has lead to I’d say the most impressive tribute album of all time in any genre. The compilation features 12 full extended mixes, plus a truly mesmerizing “Back To The Five And Dime” seventy minute mega-mix by NRG legend ROSS ALEXANDER from the UK. From the beginning notes of the amazing HiNRG romp “Bang Bang” you will see where this compilation is going to go. Nice to see the non-dance tracks like this being covered as well as the more recent ones by METRO (from “Believe” and “Living Proof”) . I think with CHER’s “Greatest Hits” compilation racking up massive sales and her “Farewell Tour” wrapping up after almost three years; this was excellent timing. The diva is currently working on movies, and not on a new album as yet. Remember, the ‘farewell’ was from touring - but releasing music/movies/videos : and a Las Vegas act is planned soon (a’ la CELINE DION - albeit more exciting!). The early 70s smash “Half Breed” - the second song I ever owned on 7" single is the next delectable mix. I truly thought it could not be done, and certainly not as smashing as this ... it’s ‘unbelievable’. Flawless NRG production, sparkling arrangement with a glorious vibe to the whole affair. As I write this “Half Breed” is the biggest DJ report single for August 2005 : taste in dance music still exists, and even for cover tracks. The early 90s rock/pop hit “If I Could Turn Back Time” is again screaming play me loud in a club! I realise there was a promo only mix of this that floated around the internet by CHER herself, no commercial release ever happened for people to actually buy, and this is just as good - if not better due to the far better production on it; and has a slightly up tempo circuit house feel to the percussion. CHER fans will all agree, we were long overdue for a dance remix of “I Found Someone”, and they delivered a powerful rendition for the clubs here on this compilation. One of my personal favourites from her concerts, I was thrilled to see this on the track listing. Again, great to see the ballads getting a big, wet NRG kiss thanks to KLONE. “Walking In Memphis” was from CHER’s own mouth one of her biggest flops commercially, but one of her favourite to perform, and one of her fan bases’ biggest cult faves. The cover of the ELVIS classic has been done well before by SAIFAM, performed by KIKKA. The problem with that mix was the vocals did not match CHER as hard as they tried, and it did not work too well. This one sort of fixes that up nicely, and with a whack of the kick-drum and frothy keyboard riffs make it a stand out. On the subject of ‘kick-drums’, one of (if not the) the most disliked CHER club tracks by me - “One By One” - is finally rescued from that truly vile JUNIOR VASQUEZ mess from a few years back. In that mix, J.V. totally butchered the song and promotion all but halted for the album too - largely I suspect because everyone was ready to cry when the music didn’t match the soaring appeal of CHER’s vocals. Production on this mix sparkles brightly with the euro vibes created for it, and even though it still has some remnants of the percussion Vasquez used at times; no one will ever play that again - thank God! No CHER tribute would be complete with out a new, brightly updated version of the career turn around track “Believe” - the song that brought CHER back to the mainstream’s attention in 1998. The original mix was HiNRG, but time has passed nearly a decade since then and it was getting stale. Production on the new mix here gracefully brings “Believe” into a eurodance/HiNRG direction whilst retaining many elements of the original release. Vocals here are particularly breathtaking, and the full harmonies work it justifiably. The mix is actually a tad bit more bouncy and is clearly a hit already charting at the site. Can’t keep a great song down I guess, and Keith wisely chose NOT to include the vocoder effects on the chorus - something that annoyed many critics of the original track (although at the time 7 years ago made the public wild, and then came EIFFEL 65). DJ-s seem to be embracing this track all over again with this cover mix. Still working the “Believe” album hit collection, up comes the booming “Strong Enough”. As the remixes released commerically of this “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor) homage were extremely disappointing to many who ached for an extended version of the album version will be delighted by this explosive newly adjusted club anthem. Only the MARK ANDREWS version got any play by anyone I know when CHER’s single came out, so as this compilation gets around the world I expect this to chart rather highly - it’s euphoric and ultimately better than CHER’s originals (and I say that as a fan of CHER since childhood as a toddler). The complete opposite happened with “All Or Nothing”, my favourite from the same album. When I first heard the “Believe” album, this one stood out to me even more than the title song. Only one remix was released and it was the ALMIGHTY mix, a sad reminder of what that label once was or could have been. The template from that production was used here and brightened. The ALMIGHTY mix, as much as I liked it; had a dark euro feel and was a disappointment to many. Again, the Keith Haarmeyer vision of it adjusts the mix into a more uplifting cracker of a track. I’d say this is again JIMMY JAMES in flawless beauty on this single from the compilation. The mix of the 09/11 tribute track “Song For The Lonely” gets a remarkable update as well. The mix features soaring synthesizers and digital horns echoing in the main vocals. Taken from the incredible “Living Proof” album, I’d say this has one of the most lovely melodies and lyrics in CHER’s repertoire. On the chorus I find that the vocals are a tad strained, but having listened to it several times I see what the producer was doing. Recorded in a different key than the original, he used the background harmonies to cover Jimmy’s limited range on it. He is after all a boy - not a girl, and blending the lead vocals with the female back up harmonies was just how to do it perfectly. Of course, no one will dispute CHER has the range, and we hard it on the mix she released. A minor issue considering the potency of this album as a whole. Lyrically again, “A Different Kind Of Love Song” is a pop dance masterpiece; rarely if ever seen on an American based artist’s album - very PET SHOP BOYS (think “It’s A Sin”, yet more optimistic). Swarming with passion, and swirling with dark synth riffs and vocoder effects; we finally see this song truly shine. No one will top the album mix by CHER - but for a dance mix, this is ‘the one to play’. WARNER tried too hard on the single releasing a seemingly endless array of styles which backfired and confused pundits. If people like the album version, the remix fo the clubs should NOT EVER stray far from that consciousness. Sadly, the mixes did in my opinion on the original CD5 release. Thankfully, all is corrected here and fans of this (like me) finally have a truly sparkling full length club mix to be proud to own and DJ-s to play in the coming years. There is never anything dark, tribal or dreary with a CHER song, and that mix package was a true shame. The diva’s take on the AMBER club hit “Love One Another” is in that same category. The commercially released club mixes were dreadful, even with CHER’s original awesome vocal. Thankfully, most DJ-s got away with playing the rare mix by EIFFEL 65 of “Love One Another” when asked in clubs, because this was not a good choice for CHER when it came to the remixes for club land. That basically ends disc one, and it’s been quite a ride, and where I had doubt I found light. JIMMY JAMES truly is ‘dark lady’, and this is more than a commendable tribute album with such an outwardly glowing performance. I hope we hear more from USA based Keith, and to him I give great praise. You know your stuff my man, and have a bright future producing fine world class euroNRG music. Keep up the great work - I am impressed. Disc two shows the UK’s most enduring NRG club DJ ROSS ALEXANDER mixing with complete perfection - I will venture to say, this is the finest and most enjoyable mega-mix I have ever heard - including DJ ONLY remix services. My biggest disappointment with this album is that the song “Dark Lady” is only included on the mega-mix medley, which makes me hope loudly that a CD5 single with a club mix will follow this album release. I listened closely to the production and it’s as grand as any on this album, and as CHER’s first #1 hit as a solo artist (and the first vinyl I owned, bought after much begging by me by my ever supportive Father) should be released. A terrible bootleg of CHER’s version has been around for years, and this one rocks man!!! I hope KLONE gives thought to a release of “Dark Lady” (remixes) as a CD5 single. I expect that due to the reaction of this compilation we will see a part deux of it soon. Please include “After All” and CHER’s first club hit the disco classic “Take Me Away”. Kudos and blessings to all involved on this project for it’s dignity, class and fine quality. A true collectors piece for fans of CHER and fine HiNRG dance music worldwide. www.jimmyjames.com

Rating : 5 Stars
Available : from : www.klonerecords.com
Reviewer : Jason Davis



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