not.com.mercial

The circumstances of the appearance of this album were described by Cher herself in the booklet of the album: “In the spring of 1994, several musicians invited me to work in the vicinity of France. Even before I left the house, some kind of “magic” appeared. A week before my trip, I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote ... and wrote ... and wrote. I looked like a girl in red shoes, I could not stop writing! I flew to Paris, caught a suburban taxi, drove for two hours on a country road at night, into the mountains, on a long road, and there we found it, “Castle”. It was scary and exciting at the same time (my favorite combination). In the morning I got up and ran to breakfast (I was late of course ... I was working on something called "Taurus Time") in the banquet hall. Around were knights in armor, beautiful queens on the walls and a huge long table, at which everyone laughed, talked and ate. I walked in, and they all stood up to hug me. I was shocked. We ate and then it was time for work. I was so afraid that, during work, all these new friendly musicians would mistake me for the stupid “Cher” (oh god I wanted to go to the toilet, drink a glass of water, I wanted to see my mother). But never mind, all that I say. I always do this: I imagine that I can do something, and let God take care of the rest! And then all this has already happened. Enjoy it. I hope this remains in your hearts. With love, I! ”

Unlike her previous albums, where Cher, with very rare exceptions, sang songs by other authors (both cover versions and specially written for her), on Not.com.mercial she became a co-author in seven out of ten songs, “With or Without You ”was written entirely to her and she was not involved in the writing of the two only: the song“ Born With the Hunger ”was written by Shirley Eikhard, and“ Classified 1A ”was a newly recorded remix of her 1970 song written by Sonny Bono . A folk / rock-oriented multi-ballad album was proposed by WEA Records when Cher signed with the label in 1995. Rob Dickins, head of Warner, rejected the project, considering it "non-profit."

In 1999, Cher decided that it was time to release a record exclusively for fans through her website and Artist Direct . Although no singles were released from the album, the song “Born With the Hunger” was included on the international version of The Very Best of Cher .

Songs from the album were never performed live and there is little information about the album itself, although Cher's notes in the disc booklet explain some facts. The song "(The Fall) Kurt's Blues", written with Pat MacDonald of Timbuk3 and Bruce Roberts, is a dedication to rock singer Kurt Cobain , who committed suicide in 1994.

In a 2000 interview, Cher said: “We just recorded it for two days with the guys from the Letterman band, we just did a demo.”

• Felicia Collins - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Sid McGinnis Guitar
• Paul Shaffer - keyboards
• Bernie Worrell - synthesizer
• Will Lee - drums, backing vocals
• Anton Fig - drums, percussion
• Tom Malone - Trombone
• Al Cheznovitz - trumpet, Flugelhorn
• Bruce Kapler - Saxophone

• Cher about creating "not.com.mercial"
• Members of David Letterman Band, or The CBS Orchestra
• CHER TRIES A NOT-SO-SUNNY CD