Not.com.mercial
| not.com.mercial | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Cher | ||||
| Released | November 8, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1994; France | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 40:58 | |||
| Label | Artist Direct | |||
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| Cher chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| The Daily Vault | positive |
not.com.mercial is the twenty-third studio album by American singer-actress Cher. It was released on November 8, 2000, exclusively through Cher.com and Artist Direct. Cher wrote the album in 1994 while attending a semiannual songwriters' workshop hosted by entertainment executive Miles Copeland III in his castle in France. Upon returning to the United States, Cher enlisted members of David Letterman's CBS Orchestra to record the album. After completing it, she presented the album to her recording company, which declined the material for being "not commercial". Cher kept the album for six years before deciding to release it through the Internet only.
The album's content was deemed as "ver un-Cher like" and dark, with the singer elaborating she did not have any expectations for the album, explaining she was releasing it for those who might be interested. Not.com.mercial was well received by music critics, who praised Cher's hability as a songwriter and that her writing skills were underrated. Controversy arose when the lyrics of the song "Sisters of Mercy", which refers to nuns as "daughters of Hell" and "masters of pain", angered religious groups. A contest was set for those who bought the album, and received the chance to win a trip to meet Cher in London or win her doll.
In 1994, Cher attended a semiannual songwriters' workshop hosted by entertainment executive Miles Copeland III in his castle in France. "I'd been writing poetry for years and years, but never thought of it to be used as music. But I'd just written a poem about Kurt Cobain and took it with me and a couple of other things", she said about being inspired to write songs. There, she met singer and songwriter Bruce Roberts, and together they wrote 10 songs in five days. After the workshop, Cher enlisted members of David Letterman's CBS Orchestra and recorded an album within a week in New York, doing her 10 songs plus two others. However, after presenting them to the head of her company, Rob Dickens of Warner Music UK, he refused to release the material, as he felt it was "nice, but not commercial" enough. She then went on to release her twenty-first studio album It's a Man's World a year after under the label.
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