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At Last
12/09/2003 5:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen
Would you believe, girls just want to sing standards? Well, it's time to start. Cyndi Lauper, best known as that wacky new wave-y icon who sang of girl power before the Spice Girls got their first training bras, has returned, full of class and sophistication. Those who remember Lauper mostly as a goof, who hung out with not-so-professional wrestlers, might have forgotten that she always had the pipes, as evidenced in her other big hit from 1984, "Time After Time." Unlike Madonna, the other fun girl to emerge from the mid-'80s, Lauper failed to transcend the goofy novelty of her early hits and has been largely flying under the radar ever since. However, these sort of albums have a way of reviving veteran careers, just ask Rod Stewart, Natalie Cole, and Linda Ronstadt. At Last may very well do the same thing for this not-so-original Cyn. Like Mandy Moore's recent album, Lauper has focused on the songs she heard growing up. Since Lauper is more than three decades older than that fine girl, the songs aren't from the '70s and '80s, but the '50s and '60s. And there's quite a variety, from Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By" and a timely re-reading of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" (which serves as a coincidental tribute to the recently deceased Bobby Hatfield) to a heartfelt rendition of the Animals' hit "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and soulful take of Smokey Robinson's "You've Really Got A Hold On Me." The just-want-to-have-fun Lauper only shows up on "Makin' Whoopee," performed as a duet with Tony Bennett, and a funky interpretation of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." Nonetheless, At Last will surely add some fun to your next dinner party or whatever else you do for kicks when the sun goes down.
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