CYNDI LAUPER: Bring Ya To The Brink (Sony/BMG)
WHAT do Cyndi Lauper and Orson Welles have in common? They both started out on top and went steadily downhill from there.
Lauper’s seminal multi-million selling 1983 solo debut, She’s So Unusual hit the charts with all the aplomb of a falling grand piano.
It not only turned her into an overnight sensation, but also influenced a whole generation of artistes after her.
It also, in the form of the anthemic song Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, championed Girl Power when a certain British quintet was probably still in pinafores and pigtails.
However, her sophomore effort, True Colors aside, nothing she ever did after that came close to the effervescence of that smashing introduction.
Twenty-five years down the road, the now 55-year-old Cyndi Lauper’s 11th studio album seems to be an incongruous anomaly in the time-space continuum.
Not only does it sound as if the platinum blonde singer has not aged (or worse still, matured!) a minute, but it also feels as if music itself has not progressed from the cheesy synths and blaring keyboards of the ’80s.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you just wanna have fun, as Lauper herself quite evidently is, then this dance-floor ready release, hyperactive and energetic as it is, is just the tonic for you.
Madonna has stayed relevant and endeared herself to successive generations of fans because of her unerring ability for re-invention. Lauper would do well to realise that.
Rating: **
Selected Tracks: Same Ol’ Story, Rain on Me
DONNA SUMMER: Crayons (Sony/BMG)
The Queen of Disco is back with her first album in 17 years, and it seems like she’s never been away at all.
While the iconic musician’s low profile has rendered her all but unknown to most of today’s listeners, it’s clear from her latest album that time has not robbed her of her mojo.
The artiste, who will be turning 60 on the last day of this year, still has the enduring ability to belt out some stunningly powerful notes and indulge in enviable vocal gymnastics.
Though there are several tracks that I can most generously describe as write-offs – these include the disgustingly saccharine-sweet Sand on My Feet, the annoyingly electronic Science of Love (which could have been a half decent number without the unnecessary condiments) as well as I’m a Fire and It’s Only Love (the two longest, and sadly most forgettable tracks on the album), there are also many other songs that more than make up for these dunces.
These include the airy, bossa nova-tinged Drivin’ Down Brazil as well as the reflective and deeply introspective Be Myself Again, which has a somewhat Gothic but beautifully haunting piano melody.
And what would a Donna Summer album be without the requisite high-octane disco numbers?
Stamp Your Feet, Mr. Music and Crayons (where Ziggy Marley’s reggae inclinations provide a more melodious base to the somewhat brawny disco overtones) all do the job more than well enough.
However, my favourite tune in this particular baker’s dozen is Slide Over Backwards. I would call the harmonica infused track a throwback to the pure Gospel sounds of the deep South, if not for the shimmering funk vibe that laces it. Whatever you call it though, it is a great number and one which is the pick of the lot for me.
Rating: ***´
Selected tracks: Slide Over Backwards, Stamp Your Feet, Be Myself Again
FERGIE: The Dutchess Deluxe (Universal Music)
The Dutchess has been played and reviewed to death since its release in 2006. Most of the songs – be they good, bad or ugly – have been in the spotlight so much over the past two years that they’ve seared themselves into the public’s collective consciousness.
The nonsensical but highly catchy London Bridge, the sexed-up Fergalicious and the syrupy Big Girls Don’t Cry all enjoyed more than their fair share of the limelight on the airwaves and music video channels.
So, let’s just forget the original tracks and just focus on the four additional songs that have been packaged into this “deluxe” edition.
If the mischievous and somewhat catty Labels or Love – the last song on the album – sounds oddly familiar, it’s because it heavily samples the Sex and the City The Movie theme. Overall the song sounds more like the work she did with Wild Orchid than her Black Eyed Peas output.
Party People – a collaboration with rapper Nelly – is more like the Fergie we are used to. One of those down n’ dirty rap songs Nelly is so infamous for, the duo recently performed it for the 2008 BET Awards.
The Clumsy Collipark Remix is a total and complete waste of time, so let’s just skip to the final piece in the quartet.
I like Barracuda mainly because Fergie hasn’t tampered with the formula that made it a success for Heart back in 1977.
The chugging electric guitars and throbbing drum beats have been retained in Fergie’s cover, which was initially done for last year’s Shrek the Third and while her vocals don’t have the magic of the Wilson sisters’ signature original, it is a decent enough homage to the rock band.
Rating: **´
Selected tracks: Barracuda
New Straits Times