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Bittersweet White Light
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| Bittersweet White Light | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1972–73 | |||
| Studio | Larrabee (West Hollywood) | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 34:32 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Sonny Bono | |||
| Cher chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bittersweet White Light | ||||
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Bittersweet White Light is the ninth studio album by American singer Cher. It is composed mostly of covers of American pop standards and was released in April 1973 by MCA both in the UK and the US. It was the last solo Cher album to be produced by Sonny Bono, then her husband and performing partner. While the album is a favorite among Cher fans,[1] critical reviews were mixed, and Bittersweet White Light was Cher's first commercial failure of the 1970s.
Production and release
Due to the success of Cher's solo torch spots on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, such as "My Funny Valentine" and "What a Difference a Day Makes," Bono decided she should record an album featuring modern arrangements of standards from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.[1][2]
Bittersweet White Light was a collection of fully orchestrated, lushly-arranged classics. Bono had started in the music business working with "Wall of Sound" producer Phil Spector and the album clearly demonstrates Spector's influence.[1] Songs in the record range from Gershwin tunes "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and "The Man I Love" to Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy" to Judy Garland's "The Man That Got Away" to Duke Ellington's "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good". The album was promoted on her successful The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour show. The title of the album was reported to be taken from the staging of such songs on her television show—which she performed in front of a torch spotlight. Bittersweet White Light was also the first of Cher's albums to feature medleys, "Jolson Medley", and with track mixed, "How Long Has This Been Going On" with "The Man I Love" and "Why Was I Born" with "The Man That Got Away". The other albums that got tracks mixed together were Take Me Home and Prisoner.
Bittersweet White Light was re-released on CD in 1999 under the name Bittersweet: The Love Songs Collection along with selected ballads tracks from other Cher albums, including Cher, Half-Breed and Dark Lady. The disc was compiled and co-produced by Mike Khouri.
Singles
"Am I Blue", a 1929 standard composed by Harry Akst (music) and Grant Clarke (lyrics),[3] was released as the album's only single (#MCA-40039) and featured "How Long Has This Been Going On" as its B-side. Commercially, it reached #111 on the Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100, #79 on the Cash Box chart, and #96 on the Record World chart.[4][5][6]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
Billboard noted that the album consists "entirely of ballad-rocked standards" and that it "should please Cher's TV fans".[9] Meanwhile, Cash Box praised the production, saying it "is far above and quite inventive".[10] The Observer–Reporter described the album as "mostly an album of old standards", highlighting "Am I Blue" and "The Man I Love" as "standouts", while noting that Sonny Bono added "a mod touch to the production", although "about half of it doesn't work".[11] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette argued that Cher is "drowned in over lush arrangements", adding that "the material doesn't even seem suited for her".[12] High Fidelity described it as "a most respectable album", praising the orchestrations by Albert Harris, whose arrangements were said to give Cher "exactly what [she] needed", with "strings soaring" and "everything in place harmonically and dynamically".[13]
Commercial performance
Bittersweet White Light was her first commercial failure of the 1970s. It charted only on the US Billboard 200 at 140. Unlike the previous release, the album did not enter the Canadian album chart, or any European charts. Due to the album's lack of success, only one single was released, "Am I Blue". It missed the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "By Myself" | 3:24 | |
| 2. | "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" | 3:47 | |
| 3. | "Am I Blue?" | 3:43 | |
| 4. | "How Long Has This Been Going On" | 4:20 | |
| 5. | "The Man I Love" |
| 4:27 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sonny Boy"/"My Mammy"/"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (Jolson medley) | 4:12 | |
| 2. | "More Than You Know" | 3:41 | |
| 3. | "Why Was I Born" | 2:45 | |
| 4. | "The Man That Got Away" |
| 4:13 |
Personnel
- Cher – lead vocals
- Sonny Bono – record producer
- Jeff Porcaro – drums
- Dean Parks, Don Peake – guitar
- David Hungate – bass guitar
- David Paich – keyboards
- Joe Sample – keyboards
- Michel Rubini – keyboards
- Jimmy Dale – arrangements
- Ted Dale – conductor
- Albert Harris (tracks A3, A5, B2, B3, B4), Gene Page (track A2), John D'Andrea (track A4), Michel Rubini (track A1), Mundell Lowe – orchestra
- Lenny Roberts – sound engineer
- Bittersweet: The Love Songs Collection (re-issue 1999)
- Re-issue producers: Mike Khouri, Andy McKay
- Compiled by Mike Khouri
Charts
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[7] | 140 |
| US Cash Box Top Pop Albums[15] | 102 |
| US Record World Top 100 LP's[16] | 118 |
References
- 1 2 3 "Cher LPs of the 1970s". TvParty.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Bittersweet White Light Review". CherScholar.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ↑ Bloom, Ken (1996). American Song: the complete musical theatre companion. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 1087. ISBN 0028704843.
- ↑ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 19. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 12, 1973. p. 56. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. XXXIV, no. 36. May 5, 1973. p. 4. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 23, no. 1350. May 5, 1973. p. 30. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- 1 2 "Bittersweet White Light - Cher | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
Only the archived website shows the rating.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Radio Action & Pick LP's". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 15. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 14, 1973. p. 51. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XXXIV, no. 42. April 7, 1973. p. 42. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Disk talk". Observer-Reporter (7384): D-10. April 9, 1973. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ Kalina, Mike (April 11, 1973). "Recalling (Yawn) Alice Cooper party". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 46 (218): 27. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ Ames, Morgan (August 1973). "The lighter side" (PDF). High Fidelity. Vol. 23, no. 8. p. 112. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Top Albums" (PDF). Cashbox. p. 32. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Top LP's" (PDF). Record World. New York: Record World Pub. Co. May 5, 1973. p. 50. ISSN 0034-1622.
