Bring Ya to the Brink (Explicit) : Cyndi Lauper : Review : Rolling Stone

Since 1983, when Cyndi Lauper and Madonna both dropped debut albums and fought for the leg-warmer love of the burgeoning MTV nation, there hasn't been much reason to compare the two pop stars. Yet here they both are 25 years later, returning to the same terrain: the dance floor. Nixing the adult-contemporary vibe of her last studio album, 1997's mixed-bag Sisters of Avalon, Lauper teams up with pop-song doctors from the studio of Max Martin (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson) and electro wizards including Basement Jaxx and the Scumfrog for an album of club throb. On the pulsing Euro disco "Into the Nightlife," Lauper sings about happily partying, but by "Same Ol' Story" she's in full-out soul-diva mode, bitching about an unbalanced relationship with throaty emphasis. Closer "Rain on Me" glances back to her classic "Time After Time" with glowing synths, but it feels a bit chilly. Brink never reaches a full serotonin explosion like Confessions on a Dancefloor, but at least Lauper has taken after the competition and found a new groove.

CARYN GANZ

(Posted: May 29, 2008)

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Review 1 of 5

5of 5 Stars

First, let me say that the album is terrific! I'm so tired of people comparing Cyndi Lauper and Madonna. I pretty much grew up with both of them. Yes, Madonna is great, but to me, Cyndi Lauper is an original. No-one is like her. She is a great singer and entertainer! All the songs are great on this album. I'm hoping people open their eyes and give Cyndi the accolades she is entitled to. Also, someone in Hollywood, give her her own sitcom...she is so freakin funny. I love Cyndi and will always buy her albums, because, frankly, she is so unusual. Thank you Cyndi for being you! The album is great!!!!

Jun 28, 2008 06:52:32

Review 2 of 5

Not Rated

Cyndi Lauper can not sing, she has poor lyrics while Madonna is a true writer, straight to the point, and a great voice. Madonna is involved in politics, Lauper is detached. Hard Candy is a true confession.

Jun 26, 2008 12:36:32

Review 3 of 5

4of 5 Stars

I find the Madonna comparison in the RS review intriguing. Lauper has out-Madonnaed Madonna on this album. Madonna should be willing to sacrifice half her previous personalities to be able to sing half as well as Lauper. Listening to this album makes me wonder how incalculably better all those musically outstanding Madonna albums would've been if they'd had decent singing on them.

Lauper is truly a sleeping giant. She deserves all the success Madonna attained. She's better looking, is a much better singer, and has every bit as much creative talent as the Material Girl. But whereas Lauper has always been more concerned with the contents than the shell, Madonna ultimately won out by creating a mesmerizing shell that always kept everyone from realizing the emptiness beyond the surface.

I saw Lauper open for Cher on her Believe tour, and even without all the set decorations and costume changes, Lauper stole the show by a landslide. I guess in a way, though, it's OK that she isn't in the same atmosphere as a Madonna or Cher. It let's her get away with tracks that have as their central mantra, "It's the same ol' fuckin' story." Can you imagine that on any Madonna or Cher album?

Jun 4, 2008 10:47:41

Review 4 of 5

5of 5 Stars

This review is exactly why many of us who used to read every RS issue DON'T anymore. I just happened to land here from a google search for reviews of the album. The reviewer must have drawn the short straw in the office and been given the disc that no one wanted to have to write about and just regurgitated something to fill space on her keyboard. For shame that the editors of this rag wouldn't delay publishing something til someone of competence who actually might listen to the disc would write something semi-coherent about it.

The fact is that this album is monumental for it's wealth of catchy hooks, radical reworking of the way Ms. Lauper conducts her business (song composition), and her complete dive into the world of dance music with which she has only flirted in the past. To my ears and the ears of everyone I've played it for, it's a perfect TEN. "It has a nice melody, a great beat and you can dance to it" as the kidz used to say on Dick Clark's RATE A RECORD portion of American Bandstand. Her lyric content is personal, political, provocative and intelligent. Not only that, her vocals are immaculate as she long ago mastered the use of her instrument to convey emotions and they just get better with age. In the dance beat setting, they are all the more remarkable, creating a rainbow of colours that are like massages on the senses.

Do yourself a favor, ignore the ignoramus who wrote the official review for RS and listen to the album for yourself. If you're a lover of great pop songs, these will strike a loud chord with you and compel you to hit that repeat button for the next several months.

Nuke incompetent reviewers!

Jun 1, 2008 20:47:31

Review 5 of 5

5of 5 Stars

Ok, so I'm an 80's Lauper fan. I've enjoyed a few songs since True Colors that were of quality but I never really thought about Ms. Lauper on a regular basis. But today, on Napster, I found a new Lauper album and I hit play. Man, what an amazing album. Great music, lyrics, and an altogether wonderful listen. I'm on my 3rd repeat now and I still can't find a favorite song/track. Which is unusual for me. Do yourself a favor: give this gem a play and I think you'll find it deserves more than one listen. I'm now back and forth between Hard Candy and Bring'n Ya...I tell ya, the timing and the RS reference couldn't be more on point. I love great summer releases.

May 28, 2008 08:45:34

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