Sunday Music: The Essential Cyndi Lauper
Jul. 7th, 2013 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowAlbum Title: The Essential Cyndi Lauper
Why I Bought It: I was vaguely aware of a couple of her songs, but it was her series of guest appearances on "Mad About You" that actually sold me. This was an impulse buy.
What I Like (Thoughtful): "Time After Time". This belongs to the same emotional family as Heart's "Alone", although it concerns a different point in a relationship. I like the gentle and rhythmic opening section of each verse more than the chorus, which seems a bit strident to me.
What I Like (Encouraging): "True Colors". Another gentle verse / vigorous chorus piece, but - to my ear - better integrated. A song of encouragement, distant kin to Carole King's "Beautiful".
What I Like (Driving): "All Through the Night". This one hits the rhythm hard right from the start. Again, I'm not as fond of the chorus as I am of the verse, but the disparity is less than in the two songs above.
What I Don't Like (Message): "Money Changes Everything". Well, yeah, it does tend to, but that doesn't make me like having it as the topic of a song.
Overall: I like the album, all things considered. The playful "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is on the immature side, but it works; "She Bop" is good boogie music; the passionate "I Drove All Night", the pensive "Hat Full of Stars", the melancholy "Who Let In the Rain" - there's a lot of good stuff here. I wouldn't class Lauper among my absolute favorite singers; her voice isn't quite in the sweet spot for me, but it's a good voice, and she puts it to good and interesting use.
Why I Bought It: I was vaguely aware of a couple of her songs, but it was her series of guest appearances on "Mad About You" that actually sold me. This was an impulse buy.
What I Like (Thoughtful): "Time After Time". This belongs to the same emotional family as Heart's "Alone", although it concerns a different point in a relationship. I like the gentle and rhythmic opening section of each verse more than the chorus, which seems a bit strident to me.
What I Like (Encouraging): "True Colors". Another gentle verse / vigorous chorus piece, but - to my ear - better integrated. A song of encouragement, distant kin to Carole King's "Beautiful".
What I Like (Driving): "All Through the Night". This one hits the rhythm hard right from the start. Again, I'm not as fond of the chorus as I am of the verse, but the disparity is less than in the two songs above.
What I Don't Like (Message): "Money Changes Everything". Well, yeah, it does tend to, but that doesn't make me like having it as the topic of a song.
Overall: I like the album, all things considered. The playful "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is on the immature side, but it works; "She Bop" is good boogie music; the passionate "I Drove All Night", the pensive "Hat Full of Stars", the melancholy "Who Let In the Rain" - there's a lot of good stuff here. I wouldn't class Lauper among my absolute favorite singers; her voice isn't quite in the sweet spot for me, but it's a good voice, and she puts it to good and interesting use.
