Cyndi Lauper - Essential Cyndi Lauper
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Free Music Notes for Essential Cyndi Lauper
Free Music Review: Too Much of Cyndi a Good Thing. Not Enough Here.
Hit: 3 Stars
First, I think you should buy this CD if you like Cyndi Lauper at all---she's a completely unique and powerful singer, a sometimes gifted songwriter and a smart, outspoken survivor.That said, I'm not totally on board with this collection.
She's no longer on Epic, so probably they didn't worry much about pleasing her. What could have been a long overdue COMPLETE kind of collection is more a sturdy and unimaginatively arranged grouping of some of her absolute must-have tracks with very few surprises.
Cyndi's early work sounds a little dated, yet its appeal is undeniable--there are 6 tracks from SHE'S SO UNUSUAL here. I'm glad "All Through the Night" was included as you might expect it would be overlooked. From later CDs, it's more like one-track-per, and the set ends with a shocker--the inclusion of "(The Goonies 'R') Good Enough."
My reluctance to rave is not that[garbage]was included (the only song I truly dislike that made it on is "Who Let In the Rain," (which I really think is a bad song badly sung, maybe the only song she's ever NOT sung brilliantly). But I would gladly swap "When U Were Mine" for any number of more un-u-su-al (insert Cyndi laughter) songs that are missing:
"Hole in My Heart (That Goes All the Way to China)" from VIBES is so needed. It's a fantastically fun song from a terrible movie in which Cyndi's acting was nonetheless quite good. It's a song many fans probably don't own. I'm sure Epic could have gotten it on there.
Where are such obvious M.I.A.s as "Come On Home" and "That's What I Thinik?" Her non-Epic "Shine" could have been licensed (I'm reaching there). And with so, so many from SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, where on earth is "What's Goin' On?" or "My First Night Without You?"
Less glaring and more my own personal picks, and for your humble consideration, howzabout..."Right Track, Wrong Train" the exquisite B-side to "GJWHF"; "Maybe He'll Know" (or any other Blue Angel stuff, but I included that since it was legitimately included on an Epic CD); "Boy Blue?" "Heading West?" "Sally's Pigeons?" ""Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)?"
Even without these, the collection shows off Cyndi's vocal artistry...but she deserves a really juicy "Essential" collection that has more flair and that has the brains to INCLUDE "Goonies"...but not use it as the finale.
Free Music Review: Mistitled.
Hit: 3 Stars
While this collection does contain a good sampling of Cyndi's popular recordings, it's certainly is missing some of her 'Essential' material. This easily could have been a 2 disc collection, as many of Sony's Essential compilations are. Missing are single versions of "A Night To Remember", "Maybe He'll Know" and "What's Going On"; and where are any of the superb club versions (where this song was indeed a hit) of "You Don't Know"? Kudos to Sony for finally including "The Goonies..." on a domestic pressing, but the inclusion of the live video version of "Money Changes Everything" on a domestic disc would have fared even better. For casual fans it does feature some of Cyndi's essential recordings. But for ardent followers, The Essential stops short of being THE essential Cyndi collection. In comparison, 36 All-Time Favorites, a French collection, comes closest to claiming the title (albeit it does not contain many of the tracks which are missing here). Including the bulk of Cyndi's Sony LP tracks and otherwise unavailable on CD B-sides, this 3-disc collection is the most comprehensive Cyndi package available today. While The Essential is not perfect, 36 All-Time Favorites is not, either--missing liner notes of any sort, ignoring single versions, and passing on peak sound quality. The choice is yours: Prettier packaging, better sound quality, and a lesser song selection or no frills with a few rarities? That is until the ultimate, very essential Cyndi Lauper collection comes along...which I'm hoping will.Free Music Review: She bopped and flopped
Hit: 3 Stars
Cyndi Lauper was an icon of 1980's MTV generation hooray of fake importance. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", written by Robert Hazard as a wry comment on sexual mores was uptossed upturned and confetti celebrated as an anthem for pre-adolecent girls wanting to wear colorful clothes and kinda rebel at the same time.
Cyndi had much more in mind. She was in a recored band "Blue Angel" that sold nothing. She found herself in finding song writers that fit her fairy tale. A classic 1980's LP/Cass/CD "She's So Unusual" had 4 (Four !) hits "Girl's", the cover of Brains' punkish "Money Changes Everything", the Hooter's cover of the ballad, "Time After Time", and the winking smirk of female masturbation, "She Bop". All included in this compliation. + the subllime ballad, "True Colors".
One star docked for the inclusion of one of the worse songs ever, "Goonies "R" Good Enough".
Free Music Review: Excellent music, but a disappointing collection.
Hit: 3 Stars
Cyndi Lauper is wonderful. That's a given. And when I heard this CD was coming out, I was very excited. I was finally going to have all of Cyndi Lauper's hits together on one CD! Well, I gave Epic too much credit, and was therefore disappointed when I received this collection. Where is "What's Going On," which was a #12 pop hit in 1986? And where are the excellent minor hits "Hole In My Heart," "My First Night Without You" and "Boy Blue?" Of course, Lauper's Top-10 hits are here, but Epic passed up an excellent opportunity to produce a CD containing all the hits. Also, why were "Sisters of Avalon" and "Unhook The Stars" (nonhit tracks) included and "You Don't Know" and "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" (both hits on the dance charts in the mid '90s) not on this disc?Free Music Review: So much left out...
Hit: 3 Stars
This could have been a great cd-but, once again, major songs were left out. Where are "Hole In My Heart", "My First Night Without You", "What's Going On?", "Boy Blue", "I DOn't Wanna Be Your Friend", "Hey Now (Girls just Wanna Have Fun)", "You Don't Know", "Ballad of Cleo and Joe". Too bad she isn't a huge star still, she should be. But thank God for BIGGER stars like Cher & Tina Turner who let Cyndi open their recent concert tours and helps keep her out there! (She's also opening for Meatloaf now too!)