Heart of Stone was released in 1989 and was her second studio album for Geffen Records. As with her previous album Cher, Peter Asher, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Warren, Guy Roche and Desmond Child performed songwriting and/or producing duties. Bonnie Tyler and Michael Bolton performed background vocals on the song "Emotional Fire", which was an outtake from Bolton's 1987 album The Hunger, as was "Starting Over". The album was recorded in late 1988/early 1989, during the third year of Cher's relationship with Rob Camilletti, to whom she dedicated the album. Heart of Stone reached number ten in the United States, number seven in the United Kingdom, and by topping the charts in Australia, Heart of Stone became Geffen's first international number one album. It was her first solo album in the United States to reach the top 10. Further on in her career, Cher would go on to have five more top ten albums - Believe, Living Proof, The Very Best of Cher, Closer to the Truth and Dancing Queen. The album has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States, with 964,000 of those units sold since early 1991, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which began counting actual sales that same year. The album was first released with artwork and later re-released with more conventional studio photos. The original front cover album art is a painting by Octavio Ocampo that features Cher sitting beside a stone heart. However, when examined in its entirety and from a distance, it's clear this is also a painting of a human skull in profile. The artwork was changed shortly after its release, making copies with the original artwork collector's items. She recorded two other songs for the album, "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" and "Some Guys", but neither made the final cut. A remixed version of "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" was included on the Geffen compilation album'. The reissue of that album, per Cher's request, does not include the song. A demo version of "Some Guys" was included on the "If I Could Turn Back Time" 7- and 12-inch singles. "Heart of Stone" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" were both slightly remixed for the single. The "Heart of Stone" remix is available on CD on the compilation ' issued by Geffen Records. "After All" was used as the love theme for the film Chances Are. The album produced three top 10 hits as well as a top 20 hit with the title track.
Track listing
Personnel and production
Adapted taken from CD Booklet, 1989 Geffen Records
Track 1 Produced by Diane Warren & Guy Roche.
*Recorded & Mixed by Frank Wolf; assisted by Guy Roche
*Drums, Percussion: Mark T. Williams; Bass guitar: John Pierce; Keyboards: Guy Roche, Alan Pasqua; Guitar: Steve Lukather, Glenn Sciurba, Gene Black; Backing vocals: Desmond Child, Michael Anthony, Robin Beck, Jean McClain, Jimmy Demers
Tracks 2, 7 & 9 Produced By Desmond Child
*Recorded & mixed by Sir Arthur Payson, with track 2 mixed by Mick Guzauski
*Drums: Bobby Chouinard; Bass guitar: Hugh McDonald; Keyboards: Alan St. Jon, Eric Rehl ; **Guitar: John McCurry,, John Putnam, Steve Lukather, Blues Saraceno, Ron Mancuso
Tracks 3, 5 & 10 Arranged & produced by Michael Bolton
*Recorded by Frank Wolf; additional engineering by Roger Talkov, Terry Christian & Jay Healy. Mixed by Mick Guzauski
*Recorded & mixed by Mick Guzauski, with engineering assistance by Frank Wolf & Paul Klingberg
*Drums: John Keane; Percussion on track 11: Debra Dobkin; Bass guitar: John Pierce; Piano, synthesizer on track 8, Keyboards on track 11: John Schreiner; Additional synthesizer on track 8: Jim Lang; Guitar: Michael Thompson
Mastered by Dan Hersch; assisted by David Donnelly
