by Stephen Thomas ErlewineReleased in early 1972, All I Ever Need Is You was one of Sonny & Cher's biggest hits, but it's not necessarily one of their best-remembered works by the general public, for a number of reasons. The album was released while the duo's variety show was at the peak of its popularity, which ensured that the record had maximum exposure. It benefited from the duo's popularity -- the album went gold, peaking at number 14, spawning two Top Ten singles in "All I Ever Need Is You" and "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done," plus two smaller hits in "When You Say Love" (partially adapted from a Budweiser single, according to Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles) and the tongue-in-cheek autobiography of "Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs." None of which are songs that are particularly well remembered these days, if their lack of airplay on oldies and adult contemporary radio is any indication. They're actually not half bad, and they make for a strong first side. Things start to unravel on the flip, when they run through live versions of the hits "The Beat Goes On," "I Got You Babe" and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," plus a version of the then-contemporary hit "United We Stand." It's not necessarily a bad collection of songs, but they're uninspired and make for a poor pairing that unfortunately knocks down the overall value of an album that would have ranked among the pair's best. As it stands, it's just one of their better latter-day efforts, but not as good as it could have been.