Tracklist

1. Change of Heart
2. Maybe He'll Know
3. Boy Blue
4. True Colors
5. Calm Inside the Storm
6. What's Going On (feat. Chuck D)
7. Iko Iko
8. The Faraway Nearby
9. 911
10. One Track Mind

Thoughts

I haven't listened to Cyndi Lauper for about five years now, and it's the 40th anniversary of this album so the perfect time to break it out. I'm very interested to know if the rest of the record can live up to the legendary title track.

True Colors is the fourth song on the tracklist and it does stand apart from the rest. It's iconic from the opening guitar picks to the soothing "like a rainbow" line. I'd argue Lauper isn't the strongest vocalist but there's an authenticity and gravity to it that overrides any niggles in quality. You know and believe she can see the good in you.

Outside of that track, the big drum beats and prominent keys let you know exactly which decade you're listening to. I couldn't understand what Lauper was singing in Maybe He'll Know, the diction not quite there. And I felt a little uncomfortable with the Iko Iko cover (a pop interpretation of a traditional Black Mardi Gras Indian song), although I appreciate that's new millennium sensibilities applied to an 80s album.

Overall then, the album doesn't live up to the title song - not because the rest of it is bad, but because that one is too good. It's a scrappy little thing, this album, but I liked it. It's one I'd want to give a few more listens to and see if the kinks work themselves out. For now, it's a 3 out of 5.

Rating: 3 / 5