Cyndi Lauper - True Colours

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straightorbroken

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35 years old now.

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Recorded with Lennie Petz after the notoriously easy to work with Cyndi Lauper had a falling out with her She's So Unusual collaborators when they suggested they call the next one She's Such A Cow. By the end of the album's campaign, the momentum may have slowed down, but sales were still over 7 million. This record took a decidedly middle of the road direction, with the glimpses of her former zeal under-exploited and any truly bold strokes forward were few and far between. But True Colours wasn't all downers, there were some sad songs too: the meditative torch ballad title track, the palpably powerless and futile agony of Boy Blue and the sublime b-side Heading for the Moon are all outstanding performances. The nearest street conga moment (that's a Girls Just Want to Have Fun video reference) would obviously be Maybe He'll Know, arguably the best ever Blue Angel track by her former band (a songwriting team I'm surprised she never revived given just how good songs like Anna Blue, Lorraine, I Had A Love and Magazine Cover all are, ie, very!) The palpatating power pop of Change of Heart is her biggest hit parade contender, but was another surprise UK miss despite being one of her many early big US hits. We all know she turned down Madonna's Open Your Heart, which saw Ciccone adopt rather a few vocal hic-ups that bore a striking similarity to Lauper. However, the version turned down was said to have leaned more towards rock and perhaps the sensual Ofra Haza reading offers a clue in this regard (I don't think it does, but just wanted to promote it). Given Cyndi's strength on her debut was obliterating the originals she chose to cover, god knows if the person who offered her it looked at her funny as the song is exactly the sort of energetic burst of angst she thrived on. Elsewhere she covers Marvin Gaye and Bananarama who threatened to sue Lauper if she didn't send them a signed copy of the Netherlands only release of Mayne He'll Know. Some light trivia about Maybe He'll Know is that it was a single, but only in the Netherlands. In a rare instance of the singer not falling out with someone, she works again with Tom Gray on The Faraway Nearby. However, as her pen wasn't as strong as her vocal (I think this was a line from Q Magazine's review of the terrible A Night To Remember), the song doesn't reach the same speed as Money Changes Everything. In fact, despite being lovely, I'd say it stays in the garage in comparison. Calm Inside The Storm and 911 are both nice but bland or tame bashes at packing new Lauper and old Lauper, and are both filler. That leaves the far more alluring One Track Mind, a song that likely never got played in the clubs and yet makes me wish I had been old enough to go clubbing at the time just to experience such a rush - the loud thuds throughout the album suddenly reaching a transfixing climax I can almost imagine Ladytron coming up with. Oh bugger is that the time?

00 Change of Heart
00 Maybe He'll Know
00 Boy Blue
00 True Colours
00 Calm Inside the Storm
00 What's Going On?
00 Iko Iko
00 The Faraway Nearby
00 911
00 One Track Mind
 
Such a shame that the reissue isn’t particularly all encompassing. They could have fleshed out a second disc with remixes and 7” edits, not to mention a 3rd disc of the dvd from the Live in Paris show.
 
Forgot to do this:

10 Change of Heart (what a racket, a rainstorm of pigeon poo and the remedy of its closing is quite the ride)
10 Maybe He'll Know (the one that captured my heart and never let go - when it featured in 200 Cigarettes my heart just swelled, it's no wonder it's what connected me to one of my best friends)
08 Boy Blue (it can be more as the emotion does generate, but it's not a landmark and perhaps is all the better for it)
10 True Colours (this could be the ultimate snapshot of Cyndi in time - when she beats her chest in the video I'm just done)
06 Calm Inside the Storm (no Open Your Heart for this?)
08 What's Going On? (the single edit is on the 10, but there is more warmth and intimacy here I guess)
05 Iko Iko (I mean it's not dreadful, but come on, it's not worthy of discussion at all)
07 The Faraway Nearby (it just doesn't quite get there, but really should have - some kinetic energy would have went a long way and these 2 should have done a few more to explore what made Money such a jackpot)
05 911 (a stepping stone to the contrived nonsense on the next one, if done with more aplomb and less need from me to be good)
10 One Track Mind (exquisite - the danceteria fantasia of it all)

10 Heading for the Moon (it almost adds to its prestige being a relatively obscured b-side, and now on streaming platforms!)
 
I think her very first b-side Right Track Wrong Train was also re-used another time over eras. Honestly, hadn't she heard of Shep Pettibone?

Edit: nope, I'm thinking of Witness.
 
Such a shame that the reissue isn’t particularly all encompassing. They could have fleshed out a second disc with remixes and 7” edits, not to mention a 3rd disc of the dvd from the Live in Paris show.
Is there a reissue? :o
 
10 Change of Heart
09 Maybe He'll Know
08 Boy Blue
09 True Colours
10 Calm Inside the Storm
09 What's Going On?
05 Iko Iko
06 The Faraway Nearby
08 911
09 One Track Mind

08 Heading for the Moon
 

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