A Cyndi Gem
With Cyndi's new album just released, and the 2008 tour coming about, these are the songs I would hope she will perform in concert. Of any CD from the late 80's, this is one I long to pull out of my collection quite often. The obvious hit, being, I Drove all Night, I would love to hear Cyndi perform "My First Night Without You. " I have recorded a VHS copy from VH1 and have been so looking forward to a collection on DVD of such classics. The new CD "Bring Ya to the Brink" is an excellent collection of new Cyndi material. .
IT'S SURELY "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!"
This album did not do as well as her two previous albums before, selling only five-thousand copies in the United States. "A Night to Remember" is Cyndi's third studio album, it was released in May of 1989. Cyndi and music critics have noted the various battles she was having with Sony. The company was not keen on accepting Cyndi as a songwriter and musician, as well as a singer. "A Night to Remember" was originally named "Kindred Spirit" and was going to be released with the track "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)", but when Cyndi's film "Vibes" was unsuccessful they decided to repackage the song. Proof sheets of the original album artwork exist with the alternate title and track listing. The song "Unabbreviated Love" does not appear on here either, but does appear on the B-side of the single "My First Night Without You. "
Highlighted songs: "I Drove All Night", "My First Night Without You", "Heading West", "A Night To Remember", "Unconditional Love", "Insecurious", and "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend".
Cyndi Lauper's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER Is Memorable, But Not Remarkable
Fans of her big voice and over-the-top arrangements will not be disappointed with this work, while others may wish that there were a bit more diversity within the song choices. Cyndi Lauper is a true original, and her inimitable style is in full force on her 1989 CD, titled "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER". . . . many of the tunes tend to blend into each other with a few major exceptions. The stellar cut from this album is "I Drove All Night", which was touted at the time as the song that would jettison Ms. Lauper back to the top of the charts. While it failed in that mission, the recording is still a knock out, and has so much more gutsy soul than the covers of his song that are now surfacing to great acclaim. "My First Night Without You" is an engaging song, meant to be a heartbreaker, but lyrically it goes nowhere. . . a problem that seems to run rampant with some of the other songs selected for this album. "Like a Cat" and "Heading West" both have wonderful, catchy melodies, and Lauper works every last bit of juice out of them, but I kept waiting for the pay-off with the lyrics, which never seemed to come. These are "nice" songs that don't appear to have been finished by the writers. Even the title cut "A Night To Remember" has lots of fanfare, but very little meat. In addition to "I Drove All Night", the other first rate song from this album is "I Don't Want To be Your Friend" which takes a very novel approach to a romantic break up. Written by genius songwriter Diane Warren, "I Don't Want To Be Your Friend" is a refreshing, bittersweet, "melancholy with an attitude" work that is beautifully translated by Lauper, in a style that is half vulnerable, half menacing, and 100% Cyndi. This album is an earnest offering from Cyndi Lauper, but definitely not her best work, and while she sings her heart out and sells the heck out of each song she presents, she's not given a whole lot to work with. A great singer like Ms. Lauper deserves great material, and she is not well served on this CD.
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A lost Classic
It was her breakthrough as a true artist, and a few of the tracks match the quality of her previous #1 hits "Time After Time" and "True Colors. Out of all her albums, Cyndi Lauper's "A Night to Remember" is the one that stands the test of time. " The only thing missing here is some up-tempo dance stuff (because the track "Primitive" just dosen't do it. ) I believe the reasons this album didn't sell better were lack of promotion and all the other dance music by female artists being released that year (Janet's "Rhythm Nation," Paula Abdul, Taylor Dayne, Madonna, etc. ) But Cyndi Lauper sets herself apart from all those other artists on this CD, and by 1990 it was clear that she wanted to be a well-regarded artist rather than a shallow pop star like Madonna. Another problem was that it takes her so long to release an album. From 1984 to 1988 she only released ONE album, "True Colors. " And this was in her most marketable time period. When artists take long breaks, for whatever reason, the public has a short memory. And here we are somehow already in 2007 and eighteen years later I'm still hoping for a huge commercial comeback that really should have occured with "A Night to Remember. " Her 2003 covers album "At Last" was just stunning, and her best three albums are "She's So Unusual," "At Last" and this one. Even though it has been 21 years since she topped the billboard hot 100 chart, if she is willing to return to the dance floor she could do it again. I think millions of people would love to see that happen.
Quirky, yet haunting. Gotta love the Cyn.
A talisman to ward off rainy-day blues, mediocrity, and drab colours. Cyndi Lauper's music has long been a talisman for me. Her work is an effective counterpart to all three.
For me, A Night to Remember can be summed up by a couple of it's lyrics:
"there you'll find my kindred spirit,
there you'll meet me as a friend,
. . . it is just a kindred feeling,
and a song to let you in. . . "
I love it.
You can see a complete list of all Cyndi Lauper discography, or go back to the Cyndi Lauper tabs
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