The Haven Opinion #1: Cher - Believe

[Shireblogger]

Welcome to a new thread at Haven, which will repeat every 2 weeks if enough people show interest.

I will select a big hit, which I know splits opinion. Everyone is then invited to comment on it, and give it a score between 0 (very bad) and 10 (very good). You must write a minimum of 5 words and a maximum of 5 paragraphs for your score to count, and scores outside the range of 0-10 will not be included.

Over time, we'll build up a chart of opinion splitting hits.

[Shireblogger]

My first choice is Cher’s million selling hit from 1998. "Believe" spent 7 weeks at #1, and topped the charts in at least 20 other countries. Its six writers received an Ivor Novello award. It has now clocked up over 1.8 million sales in the UK. But, many consider its deliberately extreme use of Auto Tune to be a defining moment in music history, and not for good reasons.

Where do you stand ? Give us your view, and a score from 0 to 10.



Scores:-
5 : steveh31
8 : cally
9 : whitneyfan
3 : Andy
3 : Phil20
7 : raliverpool
8 : Kingpin
5 : smokeyb
1 : vastariner
8 : MadMurray
7 : EarlPurple
8 : Rubcale
6 : Shireblogger
7 : Sherifffatman
7 : wonderwall
7 : vya
8 : Smurfie
6 : Thorney
6 : daz
3 : meister
6 : borneoman

6.1 AVERAGE from 21 judges

[Deleted]

I was working in a shop when this came out and women of a certain aged raved about this song just like they did about Shania Twain's album a year later.

For me it is a middling song I can take it or leave it when it comes on the tv, I think it has lost it's sparkle and not dated well and do not think it would sell as well in today's environment.

Also for me this woman and song started the autotune nonsense of 2005+ which I can never forgive her for and me losing my interest in the charts, therefore I score this song 5 out of 10.

[cally]

I was a student and it was my first break up with a guy I thought I loved. Believe was played everywhere and it made me feel good, singing and dancing.

Not my kind of music but it was good. Autotune was fun at the time. Now I'm just sorry it exists.
I still feel good everytime I hear it so I guess it's a 8/10 for me.

[cally]

Btw, I love the idea of the topic.

[Whitneyfan]

9/10 - I love this woman and this song. And you can't knock her for scoring a million + seller over 30 years into her career - which would be the equivilent of Madonna or Cyndi Lauper doing that now (and I'm not knocking either of those ladies because I love them both dearly, but I'm more knocking the poor quality of the charts these days compared to back then).

The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I think she has done better songs during her career (If I could turn back time, Just like Jesse James, Gypsies, tramps & thieves, One by one and Dark lady to name a few).

[o]

Not heard it for a while, and it just sounds a bit "meh" really, which is what I remember thinking at the time, as for the autotuning, probably sounded cool then, sounds dated now. I prefer If I could turn back time.
3/10

[Deleted]

I've never really rated Cher as a singer.  "I Got You Babe" also topped the charts and is a very average song, a bit like this one.

Outside of "Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves", there has never been much to get excited about.

3/10

[raliverpool]

7/10 A very catchy song. It would be higher, but knowing ....

The song was not written for Cher, it was written in mind for a certain Australian female pop icon with a significant gay following (Kylie Minogue) who turned it down, due to it's lyrics being too close to the bone so shortly after the suicide of her former lover (I don't care what the official report said about a sex game gone wrong, most outside experts disagree with it (as did Paula Yates) based on the evidence, not least the angry phone call to Sir Bob Geldof) of the INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence.

Then I think the former Charlene from Neighbours would have done a better job with it.

[cally]

I never knew the song was written for kylie. I remember cher singing it after sonny's death, it was really emotional.
As much as I love kylie, I don't think she would have done better with that one.

[Kingpin]

I like a lot of Cher's songs, loved most of her 80s stuff. I Found Someone and Turn Back Time were fantastic. Jesse James and Love and Understanding still sound good now.

I loved the direction that Cher took with Believe, I couldn't stop playing this back then. I bought the album but wasn't that impressed overall. I can't recall any Cher songs making it big in the charts after this album. It's a fitting peak to a fantastic career.

I'd have given Believe a 10 at the time. I've not heard it in quite a while though and it's lost a bit of magic, think I've just overplayed it. I'll rate this as 8/10.

Interesting that this was originally offered to Kylie too!

[smokeyb]

When I first heard it I liked it, but over the years I like it less and less,so my score reflects this.

I'm mot a fan of autotuning so that irritates me.

But the actual song is ok, so on balance I will give it 5.

[vastar iner]

Nothing song at the time, the only thing that stood it out from the pack was the even-then intensely annoying use of the autotune. And because of saturation airplay since it has become like waterboarding. 1/10.

[madmurray]

8/10

Remember when this first came out, as a Dj it was constantly played and requested at every disco I did.

Its a song that probably everyone knows majority of the words to and one that get belted out loudly when dancing with a drink in you.

I recently played this and it filled the dancefloor. Very few songs of that era has that staying power.

[Earl Purple]

7/10

I actually think it's a good pop song. I prefer it to her cover of the Shoop Shoop Song, and her cover of Walking In Memphis, for example.

When people refer to the auto-tune I think they mean the "effect" where her voice gets all muzzled. That's somewhat different to what happens with some singers who sing out of tune and then it gets "fixed" by studio techniques so that their singing sounds in-tune. Cher definitely can sing in tune...

It was interesting to see a song stay at #1 for 7 weeks after so many 1 or 2 week number ones that had become the norm. And I particularly remember the week it entered when it was an all-veterans top 4 (with more-veteran-than-some Alanis entering at #5).

[Whitneyfan]

Feb 7, 2016 16:43:54 GMT 1 Earl Purple said:

And I particularly remember the week it entered when it was an all-veterans top 4 (with more-veteran-than-some Alanis entering at #5).

That was an exciting week for the charts - trying to guess which order the 5 big releases would enter. And they were all fantastic records.

[rubcale]

8/10

Not really a big Cher fan, much preferred her early stuff a lot of it in retrospect. Gypsies Tramps and Thieves is a great record.

But this is a very good record and certainly radio friendly - the auto tune didn't worry me and unlike many similar songs it didn't go stale afetr a week or so given the saturation airplay it recieved.

Those were the days when the record comoanies "sewed up" the #1 slot so it's long tenure at #1 threw a spanner in the works.

It's popularity took everyone by surprise - I thin George Micgael was meant to be #1 the week Believe charted.

Was treated to a Cher concert in the mid 00s. If I'd paid for the tickets I would have felt cheated - a good half of the concert was video monitors on the stage while she did whatever off stage - a real rip off, yet everyone else seemed to accept this.

[Shireblogger]

6/10 for me. Its a decent enough pop song, but it doesn't go anywhere and gets boring very quickly. I've no problem with the vocoder, and remember enjoying the novelty of the sound when the single was first released. The clattering synthetic percussion has aged dreadfully.

[Shireblogger]

13 judges so far, with an average score of 6.0

Feel free to keep adding your opinion to the thread - it has no deadline for closing.

[SheriffFatman]

7/10 from me. I was at university when this came out, and a less cool single would be hard to imagine. In retrospect though it is pretty good. To go from where she was career wise to having a hit this size is hugely impressive, and pretty much unprecedented I reckon.

As it happens I believe Cher is the only female soloist to be credited on three number one singles in the 1990s. That's a great pub quiz question.