Believe

Cher’s return to dance music, a decision she expressed indifference towards in the run-up to the album’s release, is something of a generic affair on Believe. She sings any ol’ piece of crap thrown before her like her life depends on it, which means she’s a good diva but it also leads to a sense of boredom. She only puts in some personality into her vocals on a handful of songs, “Strong Enough,” “All or Nothing,” and the title song, and the rest get the bare minimum effort. It doesn’t help that a lot of this material is nondescript, like “Taxi Taxi,” a song that sounds like every cliché late-80s club hit grinding together, or “Dov’e L’amore,” a snoozy near-ballad. Hell, “All or Nothing” borrows an unmistakable Donna Summer groove for a bit, and much of Believe is borrowed instead of inspired. Her Royal Cher-ness ends this album with a remix of a near-decade old pop/rock tune, but she at least gave us gays one hell of anthem nearly in spite of herself.  

DOWNLOAD: “Believe”