by Pierre Cher

Created on: February 07, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Music CD Review
Title: Hat Full of Stars
Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Producer(s): Cyndi Lauper and Junior Vasquez
Date of Release: 1993
Label: Epic (Sony Music Entertainment)

A More Serious Lauper

Leaving her kookiness behind, Cyndi Lauper gets serious with her new album released on Epic records.

While the world is busy with Cathy Dennis, D-ream, Collective Soul and Marky Mark, Lauper quietly releases her fourth studio effort, Hat Full of Stars. This album is a vast departure from her last album, A Night to Remember, which was panned by the media. With this new effort, Lauper hopes create her very own "Graceland" and to find her own voice, and it seems that she is tracing back to her own roots through the musical offerings. Don't expect saccharin-heavy love songs or made-for-karaoke tunes in this album. Stretching her creativity, Lauper samples with hip-hop, house and tribal sounds. She collaborates with renowned mixer/producer, Junior Vasquez, and is also back to the studio with long-time collaborators William Wittman and Rob Hyman who brought us the hit single, "Time After Time". The 12 songs/tracks are little testimonies that are almost biographical and sometimes introspective. With songs like "That's What I Think", "Product of Misery" and "Tear Apart Hate," Lauper is out to prove that she is a serious song writer. As with her previous albums, Lauper never lacks substance and materials as she touches on sombre issues such as teenage abortion in this album. With the exception of the third track "Who Let in the Rain", one may wonder if she is lamenting over her failed relationship with her ex-beau, David Wolff. "Feels Like Christmas" is a happy little tune that chirps the spirit of giving and contentment. Not just a singer, Lauper showcases her talent not only with her multi-octaves vocal but also getting her hands on the dulcimer and recorder.

Hat Full of Stars is definitely an album that deserves positive reviews and attention in the music industry. With lines like, "I had a fool's confidence that the world had no boundaries, but instinct and common sense come in different quantities," Lauper is ready to make heads turn and to be taken seriously.

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