Album Live: The Farewell Tour by Cher Review

Recorded live in Miami in November 8, 2002 during her 2002 "Living Proof - The Farewell Tour", this is an audio document of Cher in all her extravagant diva-ness. No doubt it was exciting for those in the audience, who sound not just like they can't get enough, but that they've been waiting for this event as eagerly as some zealots await the Messiah. As a record, though, it's not such hot stuff as the several costumes she's pictured in within the inner sleeve. She churns out many of her most popular numbers with adequate stadium-strength accompaniment, concentrating more on her late 1980s-early 2000s hits than her early smashes. Indeed, she sounds more comfortable with the more recent club-dance percolators than the oldies from the 1960s and 1970s, most of which she dispenses with a standard, rushed-through, show biz medley. Her voice doesn't always sit comfortably in the mix, the backing band bombast and audience noise at times threatening to submerge her a little. Periodically the songs are broken up by her wise-ass comic patter, and to complete the variety-show-like ambience, she unnecessarily declares in the middle of "All I Really Want to Do", "In the summer of 1965, this was my first hit record!" So musically it's not among Cher's finest moments, but it should keep the faithful happy until her next farewell gig. (That's not an entirely facetious remark; when this CD came out in August 2003, the farewell tour had been extended, with new dates, until at least September 2003.) This music, incidentally, is taken from her Living Proof Farewell Tour Television Special, which is available on DVD as The Farewell Tour on Image Entertainment. Considering that much of the appeal of Cher live rests with the visuals, and that it contains identical music to the Warner Brothers CD, the DVD's a preferable investment for those who want a souvenir of the Cher experience.

Review by allmusic.com

Tracks on this album

#	Track title	Track length	Preview	Download
1	I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For	4:35	preview song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For	Download track I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
2	Song For The Lonely	6:47	preview song Song For The Lonely	Download track Song For The Lonely
3	All Or Nothing	3:58	preview song All Or Nothing	Download track All Or Nothing
4	I Found Someone	3:36	preview song I Found Someone	Download track I Found Someone
5	Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)	3:41	preview song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)	Download track Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
6	All I Really Want To Do	2:01	preview song All I Really Want To Do	Download track All I Really Want To Do
7	Half-Breed	1:34	preview song Half-Breed	Download track Half-Breed
8	Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves	1:31	preview song Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves	Download track Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
9	Dark LAdy	1:14	preview song Dark LAdy	Download track Dark LAdy
10	Take Me Home	3:48	preview song Take Me Home	Download track Take Me Home
11	The Way Of Love	2:35	preview song The Way Of Love	Download track The Way Of Love
12	After All (love Theme From Chances Are)	3:55	preview song After All (love Theme From Chances Are)	Download track After All (love Theme From Chances Are)
13	Just Like Jesse James	5:39	preview song Just Like Jesse James	Download track Just Like Jesse James
14	Heart Of Stone	4:09	preview song Heart Of Stone	Download track Heart Of Stone
15	The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)	2:30	preview song The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)	Download track The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)
16	Strong Enough	3:01	preview song Strong Enough	Download track Strong Enough
17	If I Could Turn Back Time	6:17	preview song If I Could Turn Back Time	Download track If I Could Turn Back Time
18	Believe	6:50	preview song Believe	Download track Believe