Love hurts follows the same formula as the Cher and Heart of stone albums that had rejuvenated Cher's pop career in the late 1980s. The result, however, is particularly formulaic, with Cher's vocals sounding largely uninspired and the production and backing musicians content to be obvious. The moderate hit singles Love and understanding and Save up all your tears are pleasantly melodic; apart from those tracks, though, only a surprising cover of the obscure Kiss song, A world without heroes, is really worth seeking out. Love hurts didn't sell nearly as well as its predecessors, and has all the markings of a woman going through the motions. Not surprisingly, Cher retired the "metal babe" persona after this album and would wait five years before releasing another disc. (Joseph McCombs)
In 1975 Nazareth had an unexpected hit with their power ballad reinterpretation of the Everly Brothers classic Love hurts (Bryant).

Musicians:
Cher: vocals
Steve Lukather: guitars, producer (2) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)
Lisa Dal Bello: vocals (bckgr)
Andrew Gold: guitars, vocals (bckgr)
Michael Thompson: guitars
Connie Scott: vocals
Josh Sklair: guitar
Robbie Buchanan: piano
Joanie Bye: vocals (bckgr)
Luis Conte: percussion
Laura Creamer: vocals (bckgr)
Mickey Curry: drums
Kenny Edwards: vocals (bckgr)
Mike Fisher: percussion, tambourine
David Garfield: keyboards
Steve George: vocals (bckgr)
John Kalodner: producer
Larry Klein: bass
Marc LaFrance: vocals (bckgr)
Michael Landau: guitar
Richard Marx: vocals (bckgr)
Jean McClain: vocals (bckgr)
Hugh McDonald: bass
Jim McGillveray: percussion
Paul Mirkovich: vocals (bckgr)
Gunnar Nelson: vocals (bckgr)
Richard Page: vocals (bckgr)
David Paich: keyboards
Jeff Porcaro: drums
Mike Porcaro: bass
Guy Roche: synthesizer, producer
Bob Rock: producer
Glenn Sciurba: guitar
Keith Scott: guitar
David Steele: vocals (bckgr)
Joe Turano: vocals (bckgr)
Myriam Naomi Valle: vocals (bckgr)
Carlos Vega: drums
Diane Warren: vocals (bckgr), producer
John Webster: keyboards
Richie Zito: guitar, keyboards, producer
Randy "The Emperor" Jackson: bass
Mark Williams: drums