Cyndi Lauper – At Last (CD)
Sound:
B+ Music: B
The image
Cyndi Lauper has been forever associated with was one of eccentricity in the
1980s, but the famed vocalist has gone onto a surprising acting career, which
included an Emmy win and the little-seen Opportunists
feature film. She starred opposite
Christopher Walken. Many say it was her
competition against Madonna that got the better of her commercially, but it was
really that her commercial choices were odder than even Madonna’s were,
including ill-advised film projects exploiting her persona. The commercial massacre of her hit title song
to her album True Colors as a film
ad did not help.
Lauper
went on to record many more competent albums, showing her growth as an
artist. After several years, she returns
with the appropriately titled At Last
(2003), part of a cycle of albums established names have been doing lately of
old standards. Most have faltered,
forgetting why Linda Rondstat’s What’s
New (1983, now in a fine DVD-Audio edition) worked. It just did not retread the music, it brought
it back to life.
Like
Madonna, Lauper’s voice has actually become better and she uses that growth to
take the classics into new directions.
We have already seen Barbra Streisand do this with The Broadway Album (1985), though she took unprecedented liberties
in this, even tampering with a few lyrics.
It was a big deal then, but that was before the plethora of sampling,
remixes, and techno-alterations that have become their own genre. The songs are as follows:
1)
At Last – It takes much nerve to cover
Etta James’ signature song, but Lauper decides to pair it down in a worthy
alternate take that is not as lush as the original, but more naturalistic.
2)
Walk On By – The Burt Bacharach/Hal David
classic was first made a classic by Dionne Warwick, then its status was
cemented by the incredible cover by Issac Hayes. Though not quite as good as those cuts,
Lauper’s grasp of the lyrics is exceptional, emoted with exceptional empathy. The Christinas and Brittneys of the world
could learn a few things form this one.
3)
Stay – The Maurice Williams hit was
known for its falsetto, but Lauper goes for lower octaves while singing over a
calypso arrangement. Not bad, but not
great either.
4)
La Vie En Rose – Grace Jones was the most recent
(and also unusual) performer to be able to revive this song. The softer approach succeeds again for one of
the most enduring compositions of the 20th Century.
5)
Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers classic
was abused to death by two versions during the theatrical reign of Ghost (1990), but is suddenly sadder to
hear after the disturbing death of one of the legendary duo. Cut before that occurred, the song that was
first a chart-topper for Les Baxter in 1955, this is consistent with the album’s
parameters, but the approach does not have the empathy of the Dionne Warwick
cover back in the 1960s.
6)
If You Go Away – This set could not be complete
without a Jacques Brel-penned work and Lauper brings dignity to the work of an
artist often criticized for being too sappy.
This is one of the best tracks on the album as a result.
7)
Until You Come Back To Me (That’s
What I’m Gonna Do)
– Lauper does fine justice to an Aretha Franklin hit that came in between some
commercial dry spells for the Queen of Soul, and it is Soul that Lauper offers
in her cover here. I like the
re-approach to the song very much.
8)
My Baby Just Cares For Me – This Jazz piece has been
covered by everyone from Nat King Cole and Mel Tormé, to Mary Wells, Frank
Sinatra and George Michael. This is a
rendering worthy of those.
9)
Makin Whoopee – This duet with Tony Bennett is
better than expected and a nice match-up between the singers. They do the song in a way that makes us
forget all the tired versions we have been subjected to recently. It is as classy as it is charming.
10) Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Lauper’s choice of an Animals
Rock classic would seem like an odd choice here, but she transforms it into her
own song, which is not easy. The Animals
were always underrated.
11) You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me – Lauper remakes another Motown
classic, but unlike the mixed results she got by covering Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, this cover the Smokie
Robinson and The Miracles classic tends to work better, if not with some
different reservations. The
transformation is akin to the two versions of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, i.e. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
vs. Diana Ross.
12) Hymn To Love – Cyndi does great justice to the
Edith Piaf classic, so much so that it could cause new interest in the original.
13) On The Sunny Side Of The Street – This might be the most recorded
song on the album, so it makes sense to make it the final track on this
set. It is a nice wrap-up to a pleasant
listening experience.
Veteran
Russ Titelman co-produced this album with Lauper, who has been doing much of
her own music producing (and even Music Video directing) for many years. With him, she is able to restylize what we
think would be familiar and thus predictable.
Instead, Lauper takes the music into new directions.
The PCM
CD Stereo is pretty good and this is a well recorded and engineered album,
something we are encountering less and less.
Not wanting to make music that is shallow and disposable is part of the
reason. It is not always as successful
as Annie Lennox’s Medusa (1995) is in
reviving personal favorite songs from the past, but it is a fine album that
will be remembered as the best of the current revival cycle.
Fans of
Lauper who might want to buy a hits set while they are picking this up should
consider the terrific DVD-Video of her great Music Video hits called Twelve Deadly Cyns…and then some. It is a DVD with nice footage and insight as
Lauper and future Sopranos star Aida
Turturro visit Coney Island on a warm summer day.
It has some competent Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and lesser PCM CD stereo,
but holds up well four years later.
Super Audio CD fans can get a 2.0 DSD version of the She’s So Unusual album, but At Last should encourage So9ny Music to
issue her entire catalog in hybrid multi-channel SACDs. Cyndi Lauper is back at Epic Records and
suddenly, the music scene looks much brighter.
- Nicholas Sheffo
