Cher - Not.com.mercial (2000)

not.com.mercial is the 23rd album by American singer-actress Cher, released November 8, 2000. The album was released exclusively through Cher.com and Artist Direct, although there it eventually received a limited CD release. The album follows Cher's largest commercial hit Believe. On December 21, 2012 the album was once again released via the Universal Music Group site Bravado as part of a reissue. The majority of not.com.mercial was written by Cher in 1994 when she retreated to France. The song "Born With the Hunger" was written by Eikhardt, and "Classified 1A" is a newly remixed version of her 1970 Sonny Bono-penned song. The folk/rock-themed album with some slow ballads was proposed to Warner UK when Cher signed with the company in early 1995. Rob Dickins, head of Warner, reportedly turned down the project as being "not commercial".

In 1999, Cher decided it was time to release the record as an exclusive for fans through her website and Artist Direct. Though no singles were released, the song "Born With the Hunger" has been featured on the international version of her 2003 compilation album The Very Best of Cher. None of the songs have ever been sung live and little information is known about the album itself, although Cher's liner notes give a brief description of who/what inspired each song. Two songs were inspired by a married man she loved, one by her daughter's girlfriend, and another by soldiers and army men treated poorly. The song "(The Fall) Kurt's Blues", co-written with Pat MacDonald of Timbuk3 and Bruce Roberts, is her tribute to rock singer Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994.

In late 2000, Cher issued the album Not.Com.mercial, which was sold exclusively via the website cherdirect.com. The album, as the title implies, was not sold in stores. So, from the onset, the album was marked as a rarity. It's also a rarity because it's the first album comprised almost entirely of original material written by the lady herself. The album has a 1970s singer/songwriter feel. At times it sounds somewhat country and twangy, other times somewhat bluesy, but always completely different from her previous effort Believe (these songs were written during a songwriting retreat in 1994, so well before her transformation into a dancefloor staple). The songs range from slow to mid-tempo and have quite engaging lyrics, proving Cher adept in the role of storyteller. Album highlights include the bluesy "(The Fall) Kurt's Blues," which was written for tragic grunge god Kurt Cobain. The catchy, twangy "Disaster Cake" was written about one of her daughter's former girlfriends, and "Fit to Fly" recalls late-'80s, Heart of Stone-era Cher. Also included is an old Sonny & Cher tune, "Classified 1A," which was shelved because it was deemed un-American. The album is a tad muddled (some melodramatic lyrics, as in "Sisters of Mercy" when she yells the chorus "sisters of mercy, daughters of hell!"), but overall the songs prove effective, and the album is a must for the singer's legions of fans. Good liner notes, too.

~ Jose F. Promis, All Music

Track List:

01. Still [06:16]
02. Sisters Of Mercy [05:03]
03. Runnin [03:57]
04. Born With The Hunger [04:04]
05. (The Fall) Kurt's Blues [05:18]
06. With Or Without You [03:45]
07. Fit To Fly [03:54]
08. Disaster Cake [03:26]
09. Our Lady Of San Francisco [02:22]
10. Classified 1A [02:56]