The Body Acoustic | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 8, 2005 | |||
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Length | 52:15 | |||
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Producer |
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Cyndi Lauper chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Body Acoustic | ||||
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The Body Acoustic is the ninth studio album released by American singer Cyndi Lauper in 2005. It consists of ten previously released songs which have been re-recorded and re-arranged acoustically, as well as two new songs. The album title is a play on Walt Whitman's poem I Sing the Body Electric , with the word body in this case referring to Lauper's body of work as a recording artist. The album features a number of guest artists, including Adam Lazzara, Shaggy, Sarah McLachlan, Jeff Beck, Vivian Green, Ani DiFranco, and Puffy AmiYumi.
A DualDisc edition of the album was released which contained the entire album in enhanced stereo, four new videos directed by Lauper herself as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the album. The original pressing of the album became the only album from Cyndi Lauper to be copy-protected using Sony's controversial XCP technology. [1]
The album was produced by Rick Chertoff, who worked with the singer on her debut album, She's So Unusual, from 1983, and William Wittman, who produced her At Last album. [2] [3] The twelve songs selected for the record are essentially Lauper's biggest hits, such as "All Through the Night", "Time After Time" and her signature song "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", all of which are revamped with acoustic jams and sounds of dulcimer played by Lauper herself. [4] Many artists featured in the records, including: Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, Adam Lazzara from Taking Back Sunday, Jeff Beck, Puffy AmiYumi, Sarah McLachlan and Vivian Green. [2] In an interview with Bay Area's reporter, the singer said that she had a "wish list" with the artists she always wanted to work with, many of them said yes to the invitation to work on the album. [5]
In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Extra, the singer said that the album was a special project, with the intervention of the record company and that she does not consider it as a "career album". [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Robert Christgau | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
The album received good reviews from music critics. Thom Jurek from AllMusic website gave the album three and a half stars out of five and wrote that while the idea of guest songs and acoustic versions might seem like a skewed idea, the album comes across as "entirely new, full of adventure, courage, polish and soul". [7] Barry Waters from the Rolling Stone magazine gave the album three stars out of five and noted that " continued progression into quieter material may have left her mainstream rock fans behind years ago, but it has clearly improved her chops." [9] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "Choice Cut" for the song "Money Changes Everything", [8] with that kind of rating he implies that the song "is a good song on an album that's not worth your time or money".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
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1. | "Money Changes Everything" (featuring Adam Lazzara) | Tom Gray | She's So Unusual | 5:14 |
2. | "All Through the Night" (featuring Shaggy) | Jules Shear | She's So Unusual | 4:40 |
3. | "Time After Time" (featuring Sarah McLachlan) | She's So Unusual | 4:17 | |
4. | "She Bop" |
| She's So Unusual | 4:16 |
5. | "Above the Clouds" (featuring Jeff Beck) |
| Previously unreleased | 3:57 |
6. | "I'll Be Your River" (featuring Vivian Green) |
| Previously unreleased | 4:47 |
7. | "Sisters of Avalon" (featuring Ani DiFranco & Vivian Green) |
| Sisters of Avalon | 5:27 |
8. | "Shine" |
| Shine | 3:32 |
9. | "True Colors" | True Colors | 4:09 | |
10. | "Water's Edge" (featuring Sarah McLachlan) |
| Shine | 4:49 |
11. | "Fearless" | Lauper | Sisters of Avalon | 4:07 |
12. | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (featuring Puffy AmiYumi) |
| She's So Unusual | 2:59 |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] | 175 |
Austrian Albums Chart [11] | 60 |
Colombia Albums Chart[ citation needed ] | 47 |
French Albums Chart [12] | 190 |
Italian Albums ( Musica e dischi ) [13] | 40 |
Japanese Albums Chart[ citation needed ] | 42 |
Scottish Albums Chart [14] | 61 |
Swiss Albums Chart [15] | 86 |
UK Albums Chart [16] | 55 |
US Billboard 200 [17] | 112 |
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies (1985) and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number-one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. Her cover of the Marvin Gaye song "What's Going On" was a moderate hit in 1987. In 1989, Lauper saw success with "I Drove All Night" and in 1993, had her first dance club hit with "That's What I Think".
"She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the song is her third most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time", and also reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. "She Bop" was Lauper's third consecutive top 5 on the Hot 100. She recorded a quieter version of the song for her 2005 album The Body Acoustic.
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song made famous by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper four years after it was written by Robert Hazard. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's first major single as a solo artist and the lead single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). Lauper's version gained recognition as a feminist anthem and was promoted by a Grammy-winning music video. It has been covered, either as a studio recording or in a live performance, by over 30 other artists.
True Colors is the second studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on September 15, 1986, by Portrait Records. The album spawned several commercially successful singles as "True Colors", "Change of Heart", and "What's Going On" reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, with the first two charting within the top five. The album was produced by Lauper herself together with Lennie Petze.
"Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper for her 1988 film Vibes. It was written by Richard Orange, formerly of the band Zuider Zee. The track saw the light of day on an official CD, as of 2003, with the release of the 3-CD compilation, The Great Cyndi Lauper. It can be found on the following albums: Best Movie Album in the World...Ever! (3 CDs), True Colors: The Best of Cyndi Lauper (2 CDs), 36 All-time Favorites (3 CDs), Monster Hits 1988/Hits of 1988 and Cyndi Lauper Japanese Singles Collection Greatest Hits (audio track on CD and music video on DVD).
A Night to Remember is the third studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on May 9, 1989, by Epic Records. The album was originally set to be released in 1988, under the name Kindred Spirit, but was delayed until 1989 and the songs from the initial project were reworked. Although the album managed to score a top-10 single, it did not enjoy the commercial success of her previous two albums, and was met with mixed-to-poor reviews and in interviews, Lauper refers to it as A Night to Forget. Worldwide, the album has sold more than 1.5 million copies.
Sisters of Avalon is the fifth studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released in Japan on October 15, 1996, and worldwide on April 1, 1997, by Sony Music Entertainment. Thematically the album expounded on the issue of complacency and ignorance in popular culture and the discrimination of minorities, gays, and women. Songs like "Love to Hate" and "You Don't Know" address the entertainment industry and media and their corruption. "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" is a song about the double life of a cross dresser. "Say a Prayer" is about the AIDS epidemic.
"Time After Time" is a 1983 song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, co-written with Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals. It was the second single released from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). The track was produced by Rick Chertoff and released as a single in March 1984. The song became Lauper's first number 1 hit in the U.S. The song was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide magazine, referring to the science fiction film Time After Time (1979).
"Money Changes Everything" is a song by American rock band the Brains from their eponymous debut studio album (1980). Originally released in 1978, the song was reissued as the lead single from the album in 1980, by Mercury Records. Frontman Tom Gray is credited as the sole writer of the song, while production was collectively helmed by the Brains and Bruce Baxter. The song was popularized in 1984 by Cyndi Lauper, who released a cover version of the song as a single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983).
Puffy is a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tokyo in 1995, consisting of singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura. In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, who also performed under the name Puffy. They sing in Japanese and English.
"True Colors" is a number one hit song written by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. It was both the title track and the first single released from American singer Cyndi Lauper's second studio album of the same name (1986). Released in mid-1986, the song spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, being Lauper's second and last single to occupy the top of the chart. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
American singer Cyndi Lauper has released eleven studio albums, six compilation albums, five video albums and fifty-three singles. Worldwide, Lauper has sold approximately 50 million albums, singles and DVDs. According to RIAA, She has sold 8.5 million certified albums in the United States with She's so Unusual being her biggest seller.
"All Through the Night" is a song written and recorded by Jules Shear for his 1983 album Watch Dog. It was produced by Todd Rundgren.
"Come On Home" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper and released in August 1995 as the third and final single from her greatest hits album, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some (1994). It peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and at number 39 on the UK Singles chart.
The discography for Japanese pop/rock duo Puffy AmiYumi consists of 14 studio albums, 8 compilation albums, 2 remix albums, 12 video albums and 41 singles. Their first single Asia no Junshin became an instant hit in Japan where it sold more than a million records and help to catapult the group. Jet-CD is their most successful album, Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi is their most successful single. They have sold more than 15 million records worldwide.
Hooterization: A Retrospective is a compilation album by American rock band the Hooters and was released in 1996 by Columbia Records.
Bring Ya to the Brink is American singer Cyndi Lauper's tenth studio album, released on May 14, 2008 in Japan, and 13 days later worldwide. The album is a collection of dance-oriented songs and features collaborations with Basement Jaxx, Richard Morel, Max Martin and Kleerup, among others. Regarded as one of the singer's best works at the time it was released, the Songwriters Hall of Fame has regarded the album track "High and Mighty" as one of Lauper's key songs. The album received a nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. The song "Set Your Heart" was released as a promotional single in Japan in early 2008, while "Same Ol' Story" was the first official single released on May 6, 2008. "Into the Nightlife" was released as the second single.
Never Enough is the debut album by former Scandal singer Patty Smyth. It was released in 1987 on Columbia Records three years after the band's breakup in 1984.
Memphis Blues is the eleventh studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, containing cover versions of classic blues songs. Regarded as a continuation of her 2008 comeback, the album was a nominee for the Grammy Awards 2010 and was released on her 57th birthday, June 22, 2010. According to the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo, the album had sold 600,000 copies worldwide by November 2010. Memphis Blues was voted the 7th best album of 2010 by the New York Post, and it went on to become Billboard's biggest selling blues album of 2010. To support the album, Lauper made her biggest tour ever, the Memphis Blues Tour, which had more than 140 shows.
Detour is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Cyndi Lauper, containing cover versions of country and western songs. It was released on May 6, 2016, and is the artist's first for Sire Records. The album was recorded in Nashville and produced by Tony Brown. In the United States, the album debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums and sold 36,800 copies as of September 2016.