Cyndi takes ‘80s pop into the ‘90s (with sexy results!)
Ah, it’s that familiar hoarse and pouty voice I remember so well from my sexually frightened early-teens. Oh Cyndi, if only you were a fly on the wall at confession! Yes, I really, really fancied her; I truly love some of her early records; and I think ‘Time After Time’ is one of the best pop ballads ever.
So yet again the sexual psychodramas of my youth should probably disqualify me from reviewing this. But sue me.
This is generally a really good record (like I said, sue me). Of course, Cyndi’s lost touch with the zeitgeist a bit, and parts of this sound like she’s trying to keep up with the kids of clubland circa 1997. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not good, and Cyndi has a sense of humour about her age. “Rock me here, rock me there, rock me in my rocking chair,” she sings on ‘Rocking Chair’ (ironically one of the most contemporary sounding tracks).
Typically the modern Cyndi Lauper song is like this – verses sparsely electro a bit like Goldfrapp, then when the choruses kick in they’ve got 80s chord structures and 90s dance-pop arrangements. This is no bad thing and leads to some great power pop and lyrics about self-empowerment and partying. It works particularly well on ‘High And Mighty’, ‘Echo’ and ‘Lay Me Down’. And ‘Into The Nightlife’ sounds like the best ‘90s club hit that never was. Some songs (like ‘Same O’ Story’) are a bit laboured, but I forgive you Cyndi (call me).