Cher - The Best Of The Imperial Recordings 1965-1968 (2007)

In 1965, flush from the success of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," Cher earned her first major solo contract with Liberty/Imperial (she had previously recorded only a few singles under aliases). With Sonny Bono enlisted as producer, Cher lit up the pop charts with the smash "All I Really Want to Do," and its follow-up, "I Go to Sleep." Although the next three years saw only inconsistent chart entries, her recordings were interesting and frequently as good as the leading lights of folk-pop, the Mamas & the Papas. And she covered most of the best folk songwriters of the time Dylan, Tim Hardin, John Sebastian, Paul Simon, and Jackie DeShannon. Add points for a few interesting crossovers of pop songs like "Sunny" or "Alfie" (the latter a Top 40 hit), but subtract some for a few misguided covers ("It's Not Unusual" prime among them), and The Best of the Imperial Recordings 1965-1968 is revealed as a near-necessity for '60s folk-rock fans. It includes all of her album debut, All I Really Want to Do, as well as the vast majority of her four subsequent LPs for the label (The Sonny Side of Cher, Cher, With Love, Cher, Backstage).

Tracklist:

CD 1

01. All I Really Want To Do (2:59)
02. I Go To Sleep (2:47)
03. Needles And Pins (2:49)
04. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (2:52)
05. He Thinks I Still Care (2:23)
06. Dream Baby (2:52)
07. The Bells Of Rhymney (3:22)
08. Girl Don't Come (2:17)
09. C.C. Rider Blues (3:00)
10. Come And Stay With Me (2:47)
11. ry Myself To Sleep (2:29)
12. Blowin' In The Wind (3:18)
13. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (2:47)
14. Where Do You Go (3:18)
15. Our Day Will Come (2:13)
16. Elusive Butterfly (2:29)
17. Like A Rolling Stone (3:55)
18. Come To Your Window (3:02)
19. The Girl From Ipanema (2:14)
20. It's Not Unusual (2:09)
21. Milord (2:41)
22. Sunny (3:08)

CD 2

01. Twelfth of Never (2:17)
02. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (2:48)
03. Magic in the Air (I Feel Something in the Air) (3:51)
04. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (3:00)
05. Until It's Time For You to Go (2:46)
06. Homeward Bound (2:27)
07. I Want You (2:50)
08. Alfie (2:51)
09. You Better Sit Down Kids (3:43)
10. Mama (When My Dollies Have Babies) (3:27)
11. Behind The Door (3:45)
12. Sing for Your Supper (2:37)
13. I Will Wait For You (3:16)
14. The Times, They Are A Changin' (3:10)
15. Carnival (3:31)
16. It All Adds Up Now (3:02)
17. Reason To Believe (2:29)
18. I Wasn't Ready (3:03)
19. Take Me For A Little While (2:45)
20. The Impossible Dream (2:29)
21. The Click Song (2:58)
22. Song Called Children (3:41)