The Body Acoustic

Last updated
The Body Acoustic
CyndiLauperBodyAcoustic.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 8, 2005 (2005-11-08)
Genre
Length52:15
Label
Producer
Cyndi Lauper chronology
Hey Now! (Remixes & Rarities)
(2005)
The Body Acoustic
(2005)
Bring Ya to the Brink
(2008)
Singles from The Body Acoustic
  1. "Time After Time"
    Released: 2005
  2. "Above the Clouds"
    Released: 2005

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.

Contents

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]

Background and production

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Robert Christgau Scissors icon black.svg [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [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".

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Original AlbumLength
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 Unusual4:40
3."Time After Time" (featuring Sarah McLachlan)She's So Unusual4:17
4."She Bop"
She's So Unusual4:16
5."Above the Clouds" (featuring Jeff Beck)
  • Lauper
  • Jeff Beck
  • Jed Leiber
Previously unreleased3:57
6."I'll Be Your River" (featuring Vivian Green)
  • Lauper
  • Tom Hammer
Previously unreleased4:47
7."Sisters of Avalon" (featuring Ani DiFranco & Vivian Green)
  • Lauper
  • Jan Pulsford
Sisters of Avalon 5:27
8."Shine"
  • Lauper
  • William Wittman
Shine 3:32
9."True Colors" True Colors 4:09
10."Water's Edge" (featuring Sarah McLachlan)
  • Lauper
  • Hyman
Shine4:49
11."Fearless"LauperSisters of Avalon4:07
12."Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (featuring Puffy AmiYumi)She's So Unusual2:59

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2005)Peak
position
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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyndi Lauper</span> American musician and actress (born 1953)

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. 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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She Bop</span> 1984 single by Cyndi Lauper

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Just Want to Have Fun</span> 1983 single by Cyndi Lauper

"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.

<i>True Colors</i> (Cyndi Lauper album) 1986 studio album by Cyndi Lauper

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)</span> 1988 single by Cyndi Lauper

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<i>A Night to Remember</i> (Cyndi Lauper album) 1989 studio album by Cyndi Lauper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)</span> 1984 single by Cyndi Lauper

"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).

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References

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