Wondrous World Of Sonny & Cher CD

CD debut of the couple's second album, first released in 1966 on Atco. Features the original artwork, new liner notes & three bonus tracks: Sonny's solo hit 'The Revolution Kind', plus the top 50 'Have I Stayed Too Long' & the previously unreleased 'Crying Time'. 15 tracks total, also featuring the top 10 'Laugh At Me' & the top 20 'But You're Mine'. 1998 Sundazed release. The full title is 'The Wondrous World Of Sonny And Cher'.

Personnel: Sonny Bono, Cher (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Bob Irwin.
Liner Note Authors: Jud Cost; Sonny & Cher.
Arranger: Sonny Bono.
Listening to Sonny & Cher's second album, it's difficult to conceive of how they could have been called rebellious, or even categorized as folk-rock. It's pleasant Spectorian mid-'60s pop-rock (heavy on the bells and glockenspiel especially), overburdened by the surfeit of cover versions that are the telltale sign of a rush job. At any rate, their taste in cover material was eclectic and for the most part good: the Exciters' "Tell Him," and the Zombies obscurity "Leave Me Be," the minor Kinks hit "Set Me Free," and "Bring It On Home to Me," along with more MOR items like "What Now My Love" and "Summertime." Sonny Bono's sole solo hit, the Dylanesque "Laugh At Me," is here, as are a couple of other throwaway originals. The CD reissue on Sundazed has three bonus cuts, including another ersatz solo Bono folk-rock number ("The Revolution Kind"), the single "Have I Stayed Too Long," and the previously unreleased cover of Buck Owens' "Crying Time." ~ Richie Unterberger
For their second album, Sonny and Cher largely dropped both the overt Spectorisms and derivative folk-rock of their debut, 1965's LOOK AT US, instead refining the two into an utterly unique blend. There were few protest songs as dazzlingly-arranged as "Laugh At Me," originally released as a Sonny solo single. The follow-up "The Revolution Kind," included as a bonus track, shows the political leanings which would eventually get Sonny elected as a Republican congressman.
Much of the album consists of covers--"Summertime" a la the Zombies' breathy version, "Tell Him," "I'm Leaving It Up To You," etc.--all given the inimitable Sonny and Cher treatment. Even this early in her career, Cher seems certain that attitude counts for more than innate talent. And for a guy who publicly played the fool, Sonny's orchestral jangle sounds surprisingly influential at several decades' remove.