It's a Man's World (Cher album): Difference between revisions

| cover = CheriamwCher - It's a Man's World.jpgpng

| genre = {{hlist|[[Contemporarysoul R&Bmusic|R&BSoul]]|[[Pop music|pop]]<ref name="ReferenceA">{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r233369}}</ref>}}

Cher signed with Warner Music UK in 1994 and recorded ''It's a Man's World'' in [[London]] in 1995. That same year the album was released all overin Europe with "[[Walking in Memphis]]" as its lead off single. In the same year, itIt was certified gold in the UK by the [[British Phonographic Industry]].<ref name=BPI/>

The original album release included fourteen songs,. except for theThe United States editionrelease infrom 1996, the track list includedincludes eleven songs, removing "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)", "Don't Come Around Tonite" and "Shape of Things to Come". Although,Five "Isongs Wouldn'twere Treatalso aremixed Dog (The Way You Treated Me)" would be released infor the United States as the official [[b-side]] to "One By One". The American release was also reviewed by critics as a "mid-'90s R&B/pop phenomenon" due to five songs being remixed to evoke a contemporary R&B feel. The new versions of those songs: "Not Enough Love in the World", "Paradise Is Here", "Angels Running", "What About the Moonlight" and "One by One" were labeled as album versions in the United States. Their new sound carried R&B influences, while their original versions were influenced by [[Southern rock]] and [[blues]]. Both the original album and the United States edition were released in Australia.

InOn July 14, 2023, Cher is re-releasingreleased a deluxe version of the album ason both vinyl and CD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cher.store/products/itos-a-manos-world-deluxe-edition-4lp|title=IT'S A MAN'S WORLD (DELUXE EDITION) 4LP|first=|last=|website=Cher Official Store}}</ref> It is the first time the album is released on vinyl.

Five singles were released to promote the album. A cover of [[Marc Cohn (album)|Marc Cohn]]'s "[[Walking in Memphis]]" served as the lead single off the album in Europe, Australia and Canada. In Europe, the single was a notable hit and charted higher than the original version. It peaked at #11 in the UK and reached the top 20 in several European countries; however it failed to gain notable attention elsewhere. A music video for the song portrayed Cher walking around [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] dressed as [[Elvis Presley]] and singing in a bus.

"[[One by One (Cher song)|One by One]]", co-written by Cher, was withsaw more success. It was released as the second single in the UK and as the first single in the United States. The song peaked inside the top 10 in the UK and across Europe, as well as charting at #52 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and #22 in Canada. Three music videos were released to promote the song worldwide, all following a story of an unhappy couple trying to get over their struggles and showing scenes of Cher singing.

Two [[cover version|covers]], [[Don Henley]]'s "[[Not Enough Love in the World]]" and [[Frankie Valli]]'s "[[The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)|The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore]]", were released as next singles off the album, both meetingcharted notable chart positionsmoderately in the UK and Scotland. The final single in the US was a cover of [[Tina Turner]]'s "[[Paradise Is Here]]" which was remixed and in that form reached #11 on the US [[Dance Club Songs]] chart. No music videos were released to promote the three latter singles.

| rev2score = (favorable)<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Paul|last=Verna|title=Reviews & Previews: Albums|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-07-13.pdf|workmagazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=1996-07-13|page=95|accessdate=2022-12-01}}</ref>

Upon release, the album received generally favorable responses from international music critics. [[AllMusic]]'s Jose F. Promis praised the album for its "torchy ballads, Western-themed epics, and R&B influences" and described it as "one of the singer's finest, as well as one of her most overlooked and underappreciated [works to date]". He also stated that the album's European mix is better. Jim Farber from ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the album a C and while he appreciated "Walking In Memphis", stating that the song "must be heard to be believed" he wrote that the songs of the album "lack some of Cher's old camp". ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' rated ''It's a Man's World'' two and a half out of five stars.

''It's a Man's World'' was successful in Europe. It debuted #28 on the UK Albums Chart on the week of 12 November 1995. The album rose to its peak position of #10 during its thirteenth week on the chart following the commercial success of "[[One by One (Cher song)|One by One]]". The album spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart, sold over 100,000 copies in the UK and was certified gold by the [[British Phonographic Industry]]. It proved to be successful in other European countries peaking inside the top 20 in several of them and #8 in Austria. The album failed to gain notable attention elsewhere peaking #64 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with only 9,000 copies sold in its first week <ref>{{cite magazine|title=Ask Billboard: 'Very Best' Sells Very Well|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/70437/ask-billboard|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=2003-06-25|access-date=2012-03-11}}</ref> and #46 in Canada. As of 1997, the album sold 700,000 copies according to ''Billboard''.<ref name="sales">{{cite bookmagazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=Who's Selling Where |publisher=[[Nielsen N.V.]]|workmagazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=109|number=8|page= 46|issn=0006-2510|date=22 February 1997 |access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref>

| headline = North American versionedition

|align="left"|Canadian Albums (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3012&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3012.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3012|title=RPM 100 Albums|work=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|date=17 July 2013 |access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>

|align="left"|European Albums ([[European Top 100 Albums|Top 100]])<ref>{{cite webmagazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-02-17.pdf|title=Hits of the World|workmagazine=Billboard|access-date=November 6, 2015}}</ref>