Cher's 1991 album signalled a lot of changes in her life. After this album, she wouldn't have a new one until 1995 with ITS A MANS WORLD (which is a fine album). In between she committed career suicide with infomercials, but luckily made a comeback in 1998 with BELIEVE. LOVE HURTS follows the 80s rock chick sound she had on her CHER and HEART OF STONE albums. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well here. Cher sounds uninspired on a lot of the cuts, and at the end it's just a throwaway Cher album. However, there's some fine songs here. The two Diane Warren songs are nice, "Save Up All Your Tears", and "Love and Understanding". Her cover of Kiss' "A World Without Heroes" is inspired and worth checking out. I don't like her rendition of the title track though, it doesn't suit her and I don't like the arrangement given under her rendition. Luckily Cher retired the whole metal babe image after this album.

Well now that I have admitted that I am a die-hard fan of this "pop diva" I also have to admit that this album was released, had 2 moderate hits, and I hadn't even known about it!!!! Imagine that! A few years after it was released a dear friend mentioned it to me and was VERY surprised taht I had not even known it existed! I ran right out and bought it and I have to say that it really is one of my favorites. Another example of Cher being dismissed for an amazing effort...much like her next release, It's a Man's World...which I also love. If you're a fan...or even if you're not a huge fan...check this album out...It's awesome!

There's nothing more embarrassing than seeing a talented artist cling onto a dying trend, and by 1991 it seemed everyone but Cher knew the schlock rock sound she had paraded for four years was well and truly over. That's not to say her third Geffen couldn't have been a successful venture, but when the songs and production sound as bored as Cher looks on the album cover it's hard to find any silver lining.

The album starts well enough with two great Diane Warren tracks. 'Save Up All Your Tears' is a faster, more aggressive 'If I Could Turn Back Time' with some great vocals from Cher, and 'Love And Understanding' is one of her most underrated singles. Great lyric, awesome melody, and a cool accompaniment with some killer violins. Nestled between these gems is a song which epitomises the biggest problem with the album. 'Love Hurts' was a centrepiece on Cher's 1975 'Stars' LP, fusing plaintive lyrics with a twinkling acoustic accompaniment. The nineties rendering destroys any genuine emotion with its suffocating, and by this stage generic production.

It's all downhill from there. Mindnumbing rock ballads and bizarre covers (KISS' 'A World Without Heroes'?!) suck all the fun out of this album, and any semblance of a good song is usually ruined by a predictably dull chorus. 'Fires of Eden', 'One Small Step' and 'Could've Been You' are the best of the album tracks, but even that isn't saying much.

Cher and Geffen had clearly run out of creativity when they unleashed this monstrosity on undeserving record buyers in 1991. One star goes to the fantastic 'Save Up All Your Tears' and 'Love And Understanding', but the missing four should advise you to search them out on a compilation instead of this album.