True Colors

Cyndi Lauper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Portrait
• ASIN: B00000266K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MiniDisc  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,912 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Cyndi's expressive sophomore album with guest stars The Bangles, Pee Wee Herman, Aimee Mann and others. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRULY Great Album, December 12, 2001

By 

Teapot Tales (Brooklyn, NY U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Colors (Audio CD)

Don't listen to any "overanalytical" reviews. This album is awesome. Cyndi does a much better job singing. Practically every song is unforgettable. Her voice successfully conquers every imaginable musical style, such as rock ("Change of Heart", "One Track Mind"), romantic ballad ("True Colors"), Mardi Gras music ("Iko Iko"), pop ("Calm Inside The Storm", "The Faraway Nearby", "911"), and a much more successful remake of the "Blue Angel's" "Maybe He'll Know". IMO, "Change of Heart", "Iko Iko", and "The Faraway Nearby" are the greates tracks on this album (although all of them are distinctly different). "True Colors" is a real classic; it's one of the greatest albums I've ever heard. It's not a mess of different styles, though. "True Colors" is a very solid album. All songs are logicall integrated into one unforgettable performance. For those who would like to listen to other awesome Cyndi records, I suggest "A Night To Remember" and "Sisters of Avalon". You won't regret it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a Perfect Sophomore Effort...Not A Slump Either, March 28, 2003

By 

Gregor von Kallahann - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Colors (Audio CD)

I recall reading one very perceptive review, I believe it was in the Village Voice, when this album first came out in 1987, that insisted that THIS was the album on which Cyndi Lauper set out to prove herself as a SINGER. SHE'S SO UNUSUAL her solo debut, had any number of moments that showed off Cyndi's multi-octave range to good effect, but it was more about sass and image and "girls having fun." I had been listening to (and enjoying) the first two singles on the radio for a few months before I heard the entire record. There had been some mention in the rock press of Cyndi's considerable vocal prowess. But I didn't really get what might distinguish her from any other pop princess of the time (including you-know-who) 'til I actually heard her wail torrents of regret and anger and Lord knows what other emotions at the close-out of "Money Changes Everything." It was one of those hair-stand-end moments, like Janis' "Try," when I realized what all the excitement was about.

But aside from that spinetingler, SHE'S SO UNUSUAL was not a record that let Cyndi pull out all the stops vocally. The focus was on something else, creating a great pop record, not a vocal showcase. On her second release, she tried to do both. The vocal pyrotechnics are there on numbers like "Boy Blue," "Calm Inside the Storm," and "911"--she gets the chance to belt and not just embellish. On the other hand, unlike so much of the current diva-driven product, the songs remain the thing. The vocals are still at the service of the lyrics and melody, not the other way around.

Lauper's detractors sometimes mock the little-girl voice apparent on the title track, and such affectations are to some degree a matter of taste. But "True Colors" represented only one of the colors on the artist's palette. (I happen to like it still, especially after seeing her perform it again last year on Cher's "farewell" tour--but even for those who don't, Lauper has much much more up her sleeve.)

Like its predecessor, TRUE COLORS has its pure pop pleasures, guilty or otherwise. Guest spots by the Bangles, Billy Joel and, in a non-musical spot, Pee-wee Herman, add to the fun quotient. A more somber tone is achieved on "What's Goin' On?"--perhaps the most controversial song on the record. Some critics seemed to think it was sacrilege: others just thought it was too Viet Nam era! Maybe she should have updated the lyrics to read,"But who are they to judge us/just because our hair is...purple." I thought it was a nice tip of the hat to the late, great Marvin Gaye and a creditable performance in its own right. Cyndi Lauper was taking some chances with this record. For the most part, she pulled it off.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ahhhhh the late fall of 86' and early winter of 87'........., August 15, 2002

By 

David (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Colors (Audio CD)

This album certainly has a lot of memories attached to it for me. Then again, all 80's music has a special memory for all of us. The first time I remember hearing "True Colors" was in late November of 1986, I was 17 and a junior in high school working late in the town grocery store. I was the only person left in the store to close up late, and I turned up the radio and Cyndi Lauper started singing her song. It had been a while since I had heard her voice on the air. Her last hit was "Goonies" in late summer of 85'. I really loved "True Colors" it came out at just the right time of year. In late November of 86', when its cold outside and the wind is blowing and you had to wear a coat. Those were great memories, and also about 2 months later in January of 1987, that's when I first heard "Change of Heart". Both of these songs remind me of my small hometown in Oklahoma during the fall and winter. Of a fun job that I didn't have to take too seriously and mopping the floor after the store closed. Turn up the 80's tunes! If you like Cyndi Lauper, then you'll love this album. It's quite a bit slower than her first album "She's So Unusual", but then again it's also 2 years later also. The music started to change as the world started to change. I urge you to buy this album, it's truly a classic!

David