Trivia Corner: Mr. Mister Cher

In the mid to late 80s, Cher was cranking out a healthy dose of pop rock and AOR with the help of some big league players in game at the time. Her 1991 effort "Love Hurts", for example, features songs by Diane Warren and Desmond Child and production by Richie Zito and Bob Rock, staples of many a hairband.

Other familiar guests to melodic rockers will recognize the work and backing vocals of Richard Page (Mr. Mister) on the hit track "Save Up All Your Tears" and her duet, "One Small Step". "World Without Heroes" has songwriters as diverse as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons (Kiss) and Lou Reed, with Steve Lukather on guitar (Toto) and Richard Marx on backing vocals - can you imagine all those folks in the same studio at the same time? Steve actually lends his guitar talents to many tracks on this CD. AOR master Kevin Chalfant is also credited for the track "Who You Gonna Believe".

Finally, we have a cover of the Nazareth classic, "Love Hurts" featuring Gunnar Nelson on backing vocals and Jeff Porcaro on drums. If you were a fan of Heart or any other artist/songwriter here, this CD might be worth a second listen.

Review: Richard Page "Shelter Me"

Mr. Mister released one of the finest AOR records in the 80s with their 1985 smash, "Welcome to the Real World". Can you really be a true fan of AOR without this classic in your collection? Their subsequent release, "Go On", took a turn down a less commercial road and suffered the monetary consequences, but was a solid record in its own right.

Richard Page, the powerful voice and primary writer for Mr. Mister has released only one solo record (although he writes lots of tunes for other folks). "Shelter Me" surfaced in 1996 and sounds nothing like the glory days of Mr. Mister. With "Shelter Me", Page dives head first into the calmest of adult contemporary waters. In other words, many will find this record intensely boring. This is the kind of sleepy, unmelodious generic AC junk that one-time AOR luminaries Richard Marx and Kenny Loggins developed a penchant for in the late 90s. The disappointment with these guys is beyond words. At least Kenny redeemed himself with a great comeback with "How About Now" last year.

Everything on "Shelter Me" is cookie-cutter, and the studio musicians are just devoid of any sort of passion. There is a world-music flair in some of these tracks, which would be fine if there was a catchy hook to grab on to. There are only two tracks that stick out as being less than yawn inducing: "The Best Thing" and "A Simple Life".

iPOD-worthy: 1, 6

Richard Page - Mr. Mister site.