Cyndi Lauper She's Sounusual

Sony Music Japan are issuing a double-disc compilation of Cyndi Lauper’s Greatest Hits. The collection features 19 tracks and 26 accompanying videos, nine of which have been unavailable on DVD anywhere in the world, and the CD chronologically collects all her Sony output from 1983 – 1995.

Two CD set from the Pop diva, celebrating 25 years since she released her debut solo album. When 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' became an MTV and radio smash in 1984, Lauper went from strength to strength, releasing best-selling albums (She's So Unusual, True Colours, A Hat Full Of Stars and more) and genre-defining hits like 'She Bop', 'Money Changes Everything', 'Time After Time' and 'True Colours'. Though her output since the '80s has been sporadic, she has achieved critical acclaim and adoration from her fans for two and a half decades. This double disc collection contains all her hits, album tracks, fan favorites and so much more. Experience Cyndi in all her True Colours on this, her most comprehensive collection to date! 36 tracks.

Sony Music Japan are issuing a double-disc compilation of Cyndi Lauper’s Greatest Hits. The collection features 19 tracks and 26 accompanying videos, nine of which have been unavailable on DVD anywhere in the world, and the CD chronologically collects all her Sony output from 1983 – 1995.

Cyndi Lauper closed out her Epic Records contract with this holiday album, which consists mostly of original compositions. Lauper seeks the Christmas spirit in some snowless locales, giving a Cajun sound to "Early Christmas Morning" and an appropriately tropical feel to "Christmas Conga." She favors folkie arrangements and is heard playing dulcimer, recorder, and ukulele, among other instruments, which lend a homemade feel to the tracks. Merry Christmas…Have a Nice Life! is an unusual but ultimately winning collection, rendered with Lauper' s typical cockeyed conviction.

Cyndi Lauper looks back at her hits on The Body Acoustic, with a number of guests including Adam Lazzara, Shaggy, Sarah McLachlan, Vivian Green, Ani DiFranco, and Jeff Beck. Conceptually, this looks like a disaster. Alanis Morissette did it as well and the results were mixed at best. But Lauper has always possessed a talent that goes beyond the material she has sung – and she can sing anything. The album is produced by Lauper with Rick Chertoff and William Wittman – who recorded and mixed the disc. Lauper's band is a wide and varied assortment that includes contemporary jazz bassist Mark Egan. "Money Changes Everything," with Lazzara, is a down-home calypso and country ramble.

On True Colors, Cyndi Lauper began to edge her way into adult contemporary territory, but it was on her third album, A Night to Remember, that she concentrated all of her attention on becoming a self-consciously "mature" singer/songwriter. A Night to Remember doesn't always work, but not because she's incapable of performing polished, well-crafted middle-of-the-road material – "Time After Time" and "True Colors" prove that she could convincingly deliver ballads. Instead, the album bogs down because it assumes that labored arrangements and precisely detailed production are tantamount to musical sophistication. That said, there are some moments – such as the seductive "I Drove All Night" – that make a lasting impression, illustrating what Lauper was attempting to achieve with the record.

Competing nicely with the earlier Time After Time: The Best of Cyndi Lauper, Columbia/Legacy's The Essential Cyndi Lauper features most of the '80s icon's big hits as well as lesser-known album tracks. Considering the inconsistent nature of Lauper's albums, it is nice to find tracks like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "True Colors" packaged alongside "Sisters of Avalon" and "Who Let in the Rain." Most Lauper fans will already own these songs, but for casual fans, The Essential Cyndi Lauper will do the trick.

Regrettably bypassing the Top Ten hit "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough," Twelve Deadly Cyns features almost all of Cyndi Lauper's Top 40 hits, tacking on a handful of new tracks at the end, including "Hey Now (Girls Still Wanna Have Fun)," an updated version of her breakthrough hit single, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." As hits collections go, the album is fine, but with the exception of the ballad "True Colors" and the pop confection "Change of Heart," all of her finest songs and biggest hits were on She's So Unusual, which is a more consistent and entertaining album.