Cyndi Lauper Albums (11)
'Bring Ya to the Brink'
Release Date 5/20/2008
Tracks 12
Label Sony Japan
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's hard to see any real pattern in Cyndi Lauper's recording career, as she bounces from style to style, sometimes with her eye on the charts but more often following her own muse. Released in the summer of 2008, Bring Ya to the Brink is her first album of original material to be released in the U.S. since 1997's Sisters of Avalon, and she hasn't exactly been quiet since then, doing collections of cabaret covers; releasing Shine, a pop album that wound up surfacing only in Japan; and reworking her own songs on The Body Acoustic, a 2005 album far more adventurous than its description suggests. Although it doesn't sound much like The Body Acoustic, Bring Ya to the Brink continues with that sense of adventure, as Lauper indulges in her first full-on dance album ever here. Unlike her contemporary Madonna, who has also been pursuing hardcore dance albums with Confessions on a Dance Floor and Hard Candy, Cyndi Lauper couldn't be bothered with sounding hip or contemporary -- which isn't quite the same thing as saying that she sounds preserved in amber on Bring, as this isn't a self-conscious '80s revival album even if it is filled with retro synths and drum machines. Rather, it's a reflection of how Lauper is so removed from the whims of fashion that she can create her own world, borrowing from early-'80s new wave and sleek early-'90s club music, writing lyrics that may be better suited to a confessional but work well here, as this is such an idiosyncratic little record, existing in its own little time warp. Perhaps this could have used a greater quotient of pop hooks in order to pull in listeners who aren't hardcore Lauper fans, but that's not where Cyndi Lauper is at: she's doggedly following her own path, and if you look back on what she's done in the nearly 25 years since She's So Unusual, it's quite an interesting journey. Bring Ya to the Brink is one of the more intriguing detours along the way. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Cyndi Lauper looks back at her hits on The Body Acoustic, with a number of guests including Adam Lazzara, Shaggy, Sarah McLachlan, Vivian Green, Ani DiFranco, and Jeff Beck. Conceptually, this looks like a disaster. Alanis Morissette did it as well and the results were mixed at best. But Lauper has always possessed a talent that goes beyond the material she has sung -- and she can sing anything. The album is produced by Lauper with Rick Chertoff and William Wittman -- who recorded and mixed the disc. Lauper's band is a wide and varied assortment that includes contemporary jazz bassist Mark Egan. "Money Changes Everything," with Lazzara, is a down-home calypso and country ramble. "All Through the Night," with Shaggy, begins as an Appalachian folk tune until Shaggy begins toasting and Lauper shifts it into ballad gear. It's a conflicting set of styles that's held together in the genuine ache of her voice. "Time After Time" would be a beautiful song in anybody's hands. Here, with McLachlan, she goes down into the tune's lyrics and abandons the drama of the original for the intimacy of its words. The human heart becomes the interlocutor of memory and loss. Lauper and McLachlan trade verses as 12-strings, muted drums, and space define the place where lost love becomes the center of the question of devotion across time and space. "She Bop" is almost a blues song, and as a result it reveals deep eroticism as the pleasures and sweet release of masturbation fall from the singer's voice like raw honey. And so it goes with "Above the Clouds," as Beck's trademark biting tone is juxtaposed against piano and space. This is a ballad that actually hurts. Its drama is realized in Lauper's phrasing and Beck's playing bites harder accentuating it -- relaxed, slow, and deeply emotive. "Sisters of Avalon" features soul chanteuse Green and DiFranco. It's funky as hell. Deep roiling bass pops and drones with acoustic guitars, fiddles, and a dulcimer moving through and around it. The drums fall just behind the beat as the singer goes for the crack in the lyrical spine of the track. The chorus-like refrain punches up its drama. Green takes her verse before an instrumental slide guitar interlude, and her wailing voice makes it among the album's best. Lauper sings without friends on a number of cuts as well, such as the beautiful "Colors" and the stunning "Fearless." This may be a slanted look at a greatest-hits package, but it comes off as an entirely new album full of adventure, grit, polish, and soul. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As the girl who just wants to have fun, Cyndi Lauper became an '80s music icon with her flamboyant style, powerful baby-doll voice, and quirky songs, but as time and tastes moved on, her playful persona wore thin and attempts at becoming a more serious artist failed to regain her dwindling audience. With At Last, Lauper steps even further away from that playful image to become the girl who just wants to sing as she tackles a set of pop standards that showcase her underrated voice. Although occasionally shrill and reckless, Lauper's forceful tones can be quite moving and awe-inspiring when corralled into the proper setting, as with her bluesy take on Etta James' "At Last." With its lazy tempo and minimal arrangement, Lauper is able to relax and convey the lyrics in one of her most mature and affecting performances. Even more low-key is the whisper quiet of "Walk on By," in which she turns Dionne Warwick's midtempo gem into a dark tale of mourning by sadly singing the lyrics over a crawling tempo. Getting a Tori Amos-style ballad treatment is the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which lets Lauper's rock roots rise to the surface with her edgy performance. While some of her song choices work, others fall flat, like "La Vie en Rose," in which her slightly ragged reading is too rough for the delicate song. Also misfiring is her corny duet with Tony Bennett, "Makin' Whoopee," where the voices of these two New Yorkers clash like stripes and plaids. Lauper also has a little too much fun with Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' "Stay," as she reverts back to her boisterous voice of yesteryear and disrupts the mature tone of the disc. Although the results are mixed, At Last does focus on Cyndi Lauper's best asset -- her voice -- and may help to rejuvenate a career in which the personality unfortunately overshadowed the talent. ~ Aaron Latham, All Music Guide
'Feels Like Christmas'
Release Date 7/1/2001
Tracks 8
Label Sony Special Products
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life!'
Release Date 9/1/1998
Tracks 11
Label Sony
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Cyndi Lauper closed out her Epic Records contract with this holiday album, which consists mostly of original compositions. Lauper seeks the Christmas spirit in some snowless locales, giving a Cajun sound to "Early Christmas Morning" and an appropriately tropical feel to "Christmas Conga." She favors folkie arrangements and is heard playing dulcimer, recorder, and ukulele, among other instruments, which lend a homemade feel to the tracks. Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life! is an unusual but ultimately winning collection, rendered with Lauper' s typical cockeyed conviction. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Cyndi Lauper made a valiant effort to jump start her career with the varied and eclectic Sisters of Avalon. Working with producer Mark Saunders, Lauper attempts to work worldbeat, adult alternative, and even trip-hop influences into her trademark adult contemporary pop, and while the results aren't always successful, the record is the most intriguing and rewarding album she made since True Colors. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On True Colors, Cyndi Lauper began to edge her way into adult contemporary territory, but it was on her third album, A Night to Remember, that she concentrated all of her attention on becoming a self-consciously "mature" singer/songwriter. A Night to Remember doesn't always work, but not because she's incapable of performing polished, well-crafted middle-of-the-road material -- "Time After Time" and "True Colors" prove that she could convincingly deliver ballads. Instead, the album bogs down because it assumes that labored arrangements and precisely detailed production are tantamount to musical sophistication. That said, there are some moments -- such as the seductive "I Drove All Night" -- that make a lasting impression, illustrating what Lauper was attempting to achieve with the record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There were a few years in the mid-'80s when one couldn't go out for a cup of coffee without encountering Cyndi Lauper in one form or another. Her videos were playing constantly on MTV, her music was everywhere on the radio, and, best of all, children were even dressing up as Cyndi for Halloween. In retrospect, it was a Lauper-ish time but it was all over quite quickly; in fact, the period in the ultra-limelight didn't even span the period covered by two album releases, which means that this follow-up to her smash debut album was relegated to the also-ran pile, with sad results such as only one sort-of hit single (the title track) and nobody apparently interested in imitating the skirt she wore on the back cover photo, which seems like it is made of slashed-up concert posters. Kind of a shame since so much love and attention went into this album. Guest stars and high-dollar session musicians abound, including other '80s icons such as the Bangles and the manic Pee Wee Herman, who provides a great little answering-machine bit at the end of "911." Lauper is a fantastic vocalist, meaning that any record producer worth hiring would be happy to dream up endless settings for her. This album is nothing if not ambitious, and some of the stretches really pay off, such as the ultimately endearing cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Other aspects date badly. For example, highly reverberated and artificial sounding drums and keyboards were really popular at the time, but a vocalist with a clear voice such as Lauper sounds much better in the context of real instruments with their warmer sounds. When it comes to tunes such as the nice Cajun number "The Faraway Nearby," drums should have been turned way down and other instrumental colors brought up. Despite these sorts of problems, there really wasn't that much music recorded by this artist during her most popular period, so fans will no doubt want to own it all. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
