Customer Reviews

She's So Unusual

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4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
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Cyndi Lauper--how could I ever forget? That quiff of candy-coloured orange-red hair, that garish dime store prom dress she wore on the She's So Unusual album cover, and Van Gogh's Starry Night painted on the soles of her shoes (inner sleeve art)? That goony, wacky Olive Oyl meets Betty Boop meets Jean Hagen's character from Singin' In The Rain voice? That comical face that looked like it got squashed against a window and stayed that way? I wore out the tape of this and had to buy another, the only artist that's had that honour in my collection and for that reason.

Despite Madonna being the "Material Girl" in 1984, Cyndi proved she could put out a similarly themed song, "Money Changes Everything" with the in-vogue synthesizers mixed with Hooters guitarist Eric Bazilian's crunchy lead guitars. I love this song from the catchy rock rhythm. The following mirrors 80's yuppie-type business world ethics: "They say we'll be your friends/We'll stick with you till the end/Ah but everybody's only looking out for themselves/And you say well, who can you trust." The live version from the promotional 12-inch disc, has Cyndi intro-ing its recording in a typical New Yawk accent.

One of Cyndi's two signature tunes, and definitely the more fun. From the opening synth glissando that ripples from left to right speaker--the effect is best felt on headphones--to the catchy synths and drums that reflects a spirited girl responding to her parents after asking her what she's going to do with her life. As the line goes, "When the working day is done/girls, they wanna have fun. "The backing girl chorus and pizzicato-like upper range piano synths in the middle are also really neat.

She then covers Prince's Dirty Mind song, "When You Were Mine", heavy on bass, a slower tempo than the original, bathed in the 80's synth glow. Although I prefer the original, Cyndi's version is the one I first heard.

Then a timeless song that makes my sad chip to go into overdrive, the heartfelt "Time After Time," the #1 song she co-wrote with Hooters keyboardist Rob Hyman: "If you're lost you can look and you will find me/time after time/if you fall I will catch you-I'll be waiting/time after time." This featured in Strictly Ballroom, and even Miles Davis did this on his You're Under Arrest album.

The grinding safe-sex/autoerotic anthem "She Bop" with its impish lyrics still makes me smile after all this time. It shows Cyndi has got quite some mischief in her: "They say I'd better stop-or I'll go blind", "Do I wanna go out with a lion's roar" She even has a playful giggle after mentioning she needs a chaperone. Included is a lyrical nod to Gene Vincent's "Be Bop A Lula". The live version included has different stylings and false starts, but is still good.

"All Through The Night," penned by Aimee Mann's beau Jules Shear with its glittering piano-like synth is yet another winning ballad sung with sheer sensitivity. The metaphor of the time of the couple has with a ticking meter is interesting, as she says, "Until it ends, there is no end." There's some vintage 80's synth played during the bridge. The live version here has differing but worthwhile instrumentation.

With the same kind of guitar heard in "She-Bop", the catchy "Witness" also has Cyndi doing a Ronnie Spector-like "oh oh oh". "I'll Kiss You" which details the results of drinking Love Potion #9, has a funky synth and beat and was co-written with Jules Shear. Her Betty Boop-ish vocals come in handy on the 1929 song "He's So Unusual" with duplicated LP hiss, which then segues into the high adrenaline "Yeah Yeah" which really showcases her vocal power and comical baby-ish vocal intrusions like "sushi, I want sushi!"

A vintage 80's classic which makes she bop, he bop, we-bop, and I-bop and be bop a lu she bop whenever I hear it nearly 20 years later.

It's hard to believe it's been 17 years since this album was first released. I can remember seeing the video for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" on TBS Night Tracks(no MTV my area then)constantly and getting taken in by it's infectious hook. That song and it's three other top five singles("Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through The Night") make this album one of the staples of 80's pop music, and is still lots of fun to listen to. With her eclectic style and hanging out with pro wrestlers, Cyndi Lauper's talent as a singer and songwriter got a bit overshadowed. But listening to this album again after many years makes those talents perfectly clear. Remastered and filled out with three live bonus tracks including the live video version of "Money Changes Everything", make this reissue a great value.

Let me get this out of the way:I LOVE THIS ALBUM!! Next of course to MJ's Thriller, this is THE quintessential 80s album. Personally, I love every song on this album, except "Witness" and "When You Were Mine". Those were good, but don't quite reach the caliber the other songs do. "He's So Unusual" is different than what you would probably expect, but I love it because it's catchy and adds a nice touch when it zooms into the next song "Yeah Yeah", another fun tune. Of course "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", "Time After Time", and "She-Bop" are the "star songs" on the album. But unlike the hyped-up songs of today, they are popular for a reason: they're good. Cyndi Lauper is a true phenomenon; an individual. I'll be 20 years old this year and so will the album. I can still remember dancing to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" when I was a kid,and it was still in style! Man, do I feel old.lol But,in conclusion, buy this album. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Cyndi Lauper made a superlative record with "She's So Unusual". The opening 6-song punch is breathtaking in its consistency and quality, and make this album a classic. The remaining songs, while cute, are merely filler made charming by their association with such impressive material. A closer look:

01. Money Changes Everything; Possibly Cindy's best song, definitely her most rocking one. The lyrics are superb and the arrangement here is terse and harsh, as appropriate.

02. Girls Just Want To Have Fun; The classic that perfectly captured the artist's personality and image. The MTV video is infamous. Pure power pop and a pleasure to listen to.

03. When You Were Mine; a cover of the Prince song from his 'Dirty Mind' album. Wonderful arrangement, excellent vocals.

04. Time After Time; one of the best ballads (or songs, for that matter) of the 80s, and a No. 1 smash. Haunting lyrics, tortured vocals, and timeless production make this a standout.

05. She-Bop; A veiled ode to female self-gratification, this song is notable for its complex orchestration and very sexy vocals.

06. All Through The Night; The least of the 6 songs, this is another ballad, but not terribly distinguished. Wonderful to listen to, though.

This album ranks among my favourites simply because of the sense of FUN Cindy brings to the material and her delivery. Also recommended: Twelve Deadly Cyns: And Then Some, for a hits collection (which also features the incredible "I Drove All Night"). This reissue contains 3 bonus tracks (live), all enjoyable, all not really necessary.

Cyndi Lauper released her signature album, She's So Unusual, in late 1983

BEFORE:
Cyndi was a struggling Long Island singer who had one album with a former band (1980's Blue Angel), but after that fell apart, was broke and singing in resteraunts. However, her image and style and voice couldn't leave her unsigned too long.

AFTER:
Cyndi was at the forefront of popular music. SSU had no less than 5 top 30 singles, she was on MTV constantly, she won tons of music awards. She's So Unusual went on to sell 7 million copies, and for a brief moment in time, she was the undisputed queen of pop.

Can you believe it's been 20 years now since this album came out? When Cyndi put out Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time, it was a revelation. I believe Sisters Of Avalon is Cyndi's finest work, but in terms of a mainstream pop album, Cyndi never topped this in that regard. Not one filler track on this, all 10 songs (well, 9 if you count He's So Unusual/Yeah Yeah as one) were ready to release. Of the non-released tracks, When You Were Mine stands out, she took a Prince classic and made it even better.

For many pop fans, this is where it began and ended for Cyndi. I don't agree with it since almost all of her albums are great (I have not been won over by At Last though) , but if pop is your thing and you only want one Cyndi cd, this is the one to get. If you love this cd and also love more Lillith Fair-esque female singer-songwriter music, also check out Cyndi's 90's work, especially Sisters Of Avalon.

I distinctly remember, at the tender age of 12, receiving as a gift the vinyl version of She's So Unusual in 1984. Cyndi Lauper was all the rage then; her garish, multicoloured costumes in her frequently aired videos made her one of the more popular female artists in 1984 (possible even more popular than Madonna in that year). Many years after last listening to that vinyl record, I became reaquainted with She's So Unusual on this CD. The music is as dynamic and fresh today as it was back in 1984. I'm sure most people are familiar with the gimicky Girls Just Want to Have Fun, but the rest of the tracks are just as wonderful in their own way. From the beautifully sad ballad Time After Time to the bouncy She Bop, this album is a wonderful showcase for Cyndi Lauper (who unfortunately has never been able to duplicate this first success), and for 80's pop in general. Also included are live versions of Money Changes Everything, She Bop and All Through The Night - excellent additions for the serious fan.

Buy it...and step back in time to a wonderful era in music....

First off, I'm 16 so what the heck am I doing writing about something that my older cousin owns on record? Well, for starters I love 80's music (heck, I was born in the decade!) I like my hip-hop, R&B and Justin Timberlake pop era too but this album has got to be my cure for getting out of the blues. I LOVE this album, not gushing, but I LOVE it. It's so good, even though Cyndi does not have a diva voice, she can belt it out like she was one. I absolutly love "Time After Time" and the controversial "She Bop" and of course you can't miss with "Girls Just Wanna..." well you know the rest. The live tracks on the end are pretty special and give a new twist on some classics so this is a keeper of an album. I recommend this album for anyone who just wants to jump around and let it all hang out cause this album will do that. "Money Changes Everything" kicks it off, which I like in it's hard-rocking sort of way. The Prince remake "When You Were Mine" is excellent, Prince whould be proud, "All Through The Night" is another fave of mine, very mystical and dream like. "Witness" sounds like something The Police whould do, you know the guitar work not the Cyndi singing part :) but I like this song nonetheless. "I'll Kiss You" is kinda dumb, really demanding and dumb (I sometimes skip this one). "Yeah, Yeah" is just down right fun and scream out, "Yeah, Yeah" over and over again. Cyndi is the coolest, she's not afraid to have fun and be strange at the same time. I'm sorry Britney but Cyndi, Madonna, Janet, Whitney, Mariah, Taylor, Paula and Jody will always be my fave pop queens.

This is the official CD of the 1980s as the decade of excess! Somewhere between a novelty album and a must-have classic, Cyndi Lauper really shines on "She's So Unusual"!

Her voice is very um, different! She's like a cross between a cartoon character, Madonna, and a country singer from Jersey! Not that it's a bad thing. The key here is not to take the album too seriously. Cyndi just wanted to have fun, not make the defining social commentary of the decade! Although, between "Money Changes Everything's" materialistic outlook, the fact that "When You Were Mine" was written by Prince, and the 100% Pure 80s sound of "Witness" and especially "She Bop"....not to mention the aching "flashbacks to warm nights almost left behind" - in other words, the intense relationships and memories of the 80s that come back with the verses of "Time After Time" and "All Through the Night"! I guess in that sense, it really did encompass the social feel of the 80s!!

I'll admit, some of the songs on this CD are almost embarrassingly silly (I'll Kiss You, Yeah Yeah, and He's So Unusual) but like I said, you have to keep an open mind in order to enjoy them at all!

The live tracks on the CD are a great bonus, too! Slightly different and almost better versions of "Money" "She Bop" and "All Through The Night". Essentially, I think everyone who is familiar with Cyndi has some kind of memory associated with the songs on this CD, and it's one of the best there is for 80s reminiscing or if you just wanna have fun.....

Cyndi, Cyndi, Cyndi. What can I say about this album and with it, ironically, you as an artist. You are one of my favorites. Really, one of my favorites of all time. And that is saying alot because my favorites of all time include Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Prince, Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Earth, Wind And Fire. Not to mention Beethoven, and Duke Ellington! To many a casual listener this was the beginning and the end of your career. Emphasis on the "casual Listener" part. I know that you have recorded many a great song/album after this one but, to tell the truth, this is your finest work. It is also one of the best disc of the 80's. No, it's not a Joshua Tree, a Purple Rain, or a Synchronicity. Those albums are much deeper and very atmospheric. But if you measure greatness by what the artist picks as a concept and how they handle it, this is the best concept album of the decade! What is the concept? FUN!! Pure, clean, crazy fun. If you listen to this album there is no way for you not to get up and dance, shout and just have a great time. Let's look at the highlights.
Money Changes Everything: Cyndi's voice is great on this one. It's a mixture of punk rock and disco coupled with that irrisistable Brooklyn accent of her's. Great fun to kick off the disc. Girls Just Want To Have Fun: The female anthem of the decade. This song is great! Again Cyndi's vocals soar. So many people don't realize what great pipes she has. Really listen to this song to appreciate her voice. If "Money" didn't have you dancing, "Girls" will....unless you're DEAD! A bonafide classic.When You Were Mine: This is a cover of a Prince song and Cyndi does a great job with it.Time After Time: Cyndi opens the album with three steaming dance songs. With "Time" she lets us cool down a bit. This is the most covered song of her career. At last count there were 140 different artist who've covered it. The most famous and respected being Miles Davis. It's a thoughtful number with an aching melody. Another classic. She Bop: Time to shake your tailfeathers again! She Bop is the most sexual Cyndi gets in this album but it's in pure fun. Another great punk/dance song. All Through The Night: The last great single released from the album. Another achingly beautiful song made that much more beautiful because of Cyndi's voice. These are the highlights but the entire album is worth your time and money. If U2 wanted to make the most moody album of the 80's and many a decade, they did it with Joshua Tree. If Prince wanted to make the best album about pent-up sexual and personal frustration, he did it with Purple Rain. If Cyndi wanted to make the best party starting, let's just have some fun album, as superficial as it may be, she did it with this one. Of my top 10 albums of the 80's, this is number 10. Love you Cyndi. Keep on keepin' on!

I first bought the album when it first came out, I loved it. And when we eventually bought a cd player, I bought it on cd. And now I have replaced that cd with this newly remastered edition, mainly because of the three live bonus tracks. And I am not disappointed. The sound quality is great, and the whole album sounds as fresh today as it did then. Cyndi's vocals are infectious, even down to her "Betty Boop" take-off on the 1929 snippet of "He's so Unusual". All lyrics are included in the booklet, as well as some photos and an essay on Cyndi.