I PARALYZE

I Paralyze had been released on CD in the early 1990's without fanfare, and just as quietly disappeared from record stores. However, Cher's return to the charts in 1999 led to a whole new generation being introduced to her music, and looking for opportunties to explore her musical history. Consequently this overlooked gem was once again re-released, including the following comprehensive liner notes by Mike Khouri (who incidentally also wrote the notes for Cher's Greatest Hits: 1965 - 1992)

In June of 1982, a new imprint of the Columbia label, The Entertainment Company, released this now rare Cher album, which has since gone on to become one of the most sought after collectibles of Cher's recording career. In a Rolling Stone artice in April 1999, Cher was asked what was her favourite Cher single. Her response was, "There are two, and neither of them were hits. One was I Paralyze". She has even been quoted as saying she would like to re-record the song.

The album was released at a time when Cher hadn't had a hit in three years, the last being "Take Me Home" in 1979. Charles Koppelman, the found of The Entertainment Company, was also the executive producer of her Take Me Home album on Casablanca Records. Koppelman was executive producer for many other artists inlcuding Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra Duets. (He later went on to start SBK records, which was the ohme to such successes as Vanilla Ice and Wilson Phillips.)

The release of the album also came at a time when Cher had decided to further her acting skills, and take a serious chance by leaving the guaranteed money of Las Vegas and move to New York for a part on Broadway. Where most trade ads for an artist's new record would list tour dates, the Billboard Magazine ad for I Paralyze listed her Broadway dates in Robert Altman's Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. This was the beginning of an incredible career for Cher as a movie actress but, unfortunatley, the album did not fare as well.

The album was produced by David Wolfert, except for the title track, which was produced and co-written by John Farrar. Farrar is best known as the mastermind behind Olivia Newton-John's extraordinary succcess, writing many and producing all of her number one hits. "I Paralyze", the second single from the album, was co-written with Steve Kipner, who also co-wrote "Physical" for Olivia.

The first single, "Rudy" was written (along with four others) by Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, who were the creative team and producers of the Village People. This song took Cher back to the "girl group" sound she knew so well as a back up singer for the Phil Spector sessions in the early 60s.

I Paralyze also included three songs written by the man who would later become an influential part of Cher's Geffen Records resurgence in the late 80s: Desmond Child. Two of her later hits "Just Like Jesse James" and "We All Sleep Alone" were written and produced by Child and were from her debut Geffen release.

Cher's career as a recording artist, and performer, has been nothing short of amazing. Her "comebacks" have broken the "9 lives" theory many times over, though, to many of her dedicated following, she was never really "gone" to begin with. 1999 has seen Cher, once again, set the entertainment world in a spin by experiencing the biggest recording success of her 34-year career: "Believe".

As Cher sings, "Here I am. I'm back on my feet again", (from the Song "Back on The Street Again"), the words were never more appropriate.

Unfortunately the album failed to chart and received generally poor reviews. People Magazine had this to say:

This album seems largely a regression, with Cher yelling her way through ssuch adolescent rock 'n' roll as Rudy, Games, Back On The Street Again and The Book Of Love (a new song by Desmond Child, unfortunately, not the old Monotones hit). It's hard to tell how seriously she's taking all this since her delivery often sounds as if her tongue were literally as well as figuratively in her cheek. There are two interesting tracks. One is I Paralyze, co-written and produced by John Farrar with the intriguing tone and synthesizer feel he used on Olivia Newton-John's Physical Lp. The other is a Michael Smotherman-Billy Burnette tune Do I Ever Cross Your Mind, a slow moody piece in which Cher seems to be drawing on her talent and experience instead of the same kind of awkward, unflattering decorations she uses on her body.

Cher vowed to dedicate herself to her acting career. Having already starred on Broadway in Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, she said:

"I was 19 the first time I sang. I loved to sing. It was just fun. But then it becomes a business and you get burnt out. You get to the point where you like it but you don't love it."

However, this recording remains a personal favourite of Cher's, calling I Paralyze (along with Stars and Two the Hard Way), "The only thing I've ever done that I've really been proud of."

Favourite Songs
Games, I Paralyze, Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Featured Clip
Games


TRACK LISTING
Rudy
Games
I Paralyze
When The Love Is Gone
Say What's On Your Mind
Back On The Street Again
Walk With Me
The Book of Love
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

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Added: February 5th 2003
Reviewer: Webmaster
Score:
Hits: 1971
Language: english