tjhassecrets's Full Review: Twelve Deadly Cyns... And Then Some by Cyndi Laupe...
= It will be Whatever it is you're looking for It will be Whatever it is you need It will be better Even though I know you're not sure Remember the rain even comes down In Shangri-La Look up as it soaks into your skin And remember who you are and... Come on home When the road that you've Been walking gets too long Don't be scared In case the grass you thought was Greener isn't there You can come on home =
I'm a huge Cyndi Lauper fan, and I find her to have one of the greatest voices of contemporary music of all time. Her octave smashing vocal can suit just about any genre you could possible throw at her, but she tends to stick with pop music and dance, which is kind of like a college Valedictorian dressing like a hooker. I love that. Cyndi's changes pop music to suit her impressive vocal range and doesn't stay within the confining box of balladry-- like Mariah Carey or Celine Dion. The sugary sweet beats of Cyndi Lauper's career set the standard in the early 80s, and Cyndi herself learned to grow as a singer and as an artist. Her style influenced an entire youth culture, and she gave this world one girl-power anthem and two pop standards; it was only a matter a time before she put out a collection of her greatest hits to satisfy her casual fans who may have jammed out to her on the radio but not actually purchased one of her records. Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some was an instant smash in the UK, going double platinum and eventually selling six million copies worldwide. But that doesn't mean anything. Ask most Madonna fans, and they will tell you that the Diamond-certified Immaculate Collection isn't exactly the greatest representation of Madonna's music from 1983 to 1990. I use that record as a basis when I listen to other hits collections, and I'd have to say that while this release is certainly packed to the brim with hits, regional releases turned it into almost a waste. If you live in Japan and have access to its respective edition, you'll be treated to an extra three tracks. If the UK, you get two. But unfortunately, for Americans, we are stripped of some real classics, and that is a shame. Their exclusion is flat out ridiculous and makes absolutely no sense.
Twelve, which features fourteen songs in America, is comprised of music from her first four records She's So Unusual, True Colors, A Night to Remember, and Hat Full of Stars as well as new bonus material to spark the interest of die-hard fans. Unfortunately, Epic Records kind of shot themselves in the foot with the disproportionate tracklist that features five songs from her 1983 debut. As much as I love the new-wave punkish Money Changes Everything, part of me just wants to erase it from the tracklist in favor or more or her overlooked latter material. To truly indulge in Cyndi's music, you have to go beyond just the hits that made her a cartoon in the early 80s. Music from the early-90s Hat Full of Stars shows off Cyndi's flair for songwriting and melodies. The two tracks featured on this collection are the new-jack swing/popdancemixture That's What I Think and the autobiographical account of her childhood in Sally's Pigeons, a hauntingly sad ballad with effective lyrics and a killer vocal performance. Cyndi chose some amazing representatives in these two songs, but Who Let in the Rain, another ballad, could have really helped made Twelve a much more accurate representation of Cyndi Lauper-- she ended up including it on another of her studio albums, re-recorded.
Die-hard fans will take one look at the tracklist on this record and realize that when Cyndi said she hated her A Night to Remember album due to management problems and a very painful breakup at the time: there is only one lone song placed on this record, the hot and urgent I Drove All Night, an catchy pop song originally written for Roy Orbison. This song features one of Cyndi's best vocal performances that is fun, sensual, and powerful all in one. This song features a more mature Cyndi Lauper who had chopped off her red mop-top for a 40s-inspired blonde cut and cocktail dresses. It was a Top 10 hit for Cyndi, but it would also prove to be her last commercially successful single in America. It's a personal favorite of mine and of many fans, so right there, that's going to turn quite a few people off. But to focus on the positives, you get a lot of Cyndi's best singles: her rendition of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is sweet and endearing, while the ground-breaking beats and performance of All Through the Night show us a few different sides to the singer.
I won't go into detailed specifics with how the songs sound-- you can read my reviews of her respective albums. But there is some new material that makes Twelve more beneficial than any dime-store collection you can pick up at Walgreens. I'm Gonna Be Strong is a reworked version of a song from her rockabilly band's debut album, and it's another classic performance from Cyndi and her sugary sweet voice. A remix of her signature Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a reggae-inspired exploit featuring all new recorded vocals and a mellow dance beat that makes it just as fun as the original. The final new track is another reggae-ish track Come On Home, which reminds me a lot of No Doubt's work. It's got a really pleasant melody coupled with Lauper's fun attitude. While the two all-new tracks don't particularly add up to Cyndi's album cuts, they are still very much worth the listen and makes Twelve a CD for any Cyndi fan to pick up.
VERDICT I don't think I could get through life with this collection, but I know many people who can. It's greatest compilation of some Cyndi's best work, but the edition differences make the American release sub-par in comparison with the UK or Japan. I don't think this version does Cyndi justice or make too many people want to seek out any more of her music. And that is where Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some fails.
01. I'm Gonna Be Strong [3.5 Stars] 02. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun [5 Stars] 03. Money Changes Everything [4.5 Stars] 04. Time After Time [5 Stars] 05. She Bop [5 Stars] 06. All Through the Night [4.5 Stars] 07. Change of Heart [5 Stars] 08. True Colors [4.5 Stars] 09. What's Going On [4.5 Stars] 10. I Drove All Night [5 Stars] 11. That's What I Think [5 Stars] 12. Sally's Pigeons [4.5 Stars] 13. Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) [5 Stars] 14. Come on Home [4 Stars]
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