I feel safe in saying that Cyndi Lauper is irrefutable evidence of the divine. Seriously, think about that voice. Never in all the eons of evolution has there ever been a voice like that, and once she’s gone I feel safe in saying that there never will be again. I mean there will be another Whitney Houston, known as Mariah Carey, and there will be another Mariah Carey, known as Christina Aguilera, and I’m sure there will be another Christina Aguilera. But whether it is a hiccup in Darwinism or the All Mighty Hand of God, nobody can sound like Lauper.
Her new album “Bring Ya to the Brink” is for starters, way better than its title. It’s a dance/techno album with pop tendencies. A lot of reviews mention the song “Rain on Me” and say something to the effect of, it’s the new “Time After Time”. Well every single reviewer that has used that line can bite me. What a huge disservice. I loved Lauper’s first album “She’s So Unusual” as much as the next person, song for song it’s one of the best ever, but creatively Lauper has surpassed that album, so to use her training wheels album as a comparison annoys me. Also, other than a vaguely 80s vibe, the song doesn’t sound like “Time After Time”, it sounds much better. It should, Lauper worked with Robyn’s producer for the track, and several others.
Lauper worked with notable pop and techno producers on this disc, and they definitely love her voice. No burying the vocals or running it through computers (although it’s done occasionally to good effect). They have Lauper’s signature voice cut through their instrumentals like a light saber through a Storm Trooper. A beautiful burning voice…that cauterizes.
The disc is littered with great techno inspired tracks. Some favorites: “Into the Nightlife”, “Echo”, “Raging Storm”, and “Grab a Hold”. I also do like the mid-tempo “Rain on Me”. But my favorite track is definitely “Rocking Chair”. This one was produced by Lauper and Basement Jaxx and it is fearless. An awesome techno tune, it features an almost tribal sounding Lauper, there’s a dash of urban sass, and some great use of “keyboard throat” as my friend Max would say (when you run the singer’s voice through a computer). Although, with Lauper’s insane voice, there very well could be no keyboard throat in action here, just raw Lauper bad assedness.
Unfortunately there isn’t an actual video for “Rocking Chair” but I found a fan montage thing that uses the song…good enough for me!
And here’s another kick ass tune from the album, this fan didn’t even have the decency to use photos, it’s just the song. Here’s “Into the Nightlife”.