CYNDI LAUPER
SISTERS OF AVALON
NOVEMBER 23, 1996
WOW, words elude my thoughts as the first track, "Sisters of Avalon", fulfills its obligation to catch my attention. Not to stop the momentum, "Ballad of CLeo and Joe" sucks me in with the EURYTHMICS-like dark chords and heavy beats. Now that I'm alert and drawn into the feel of this release, they bring me into the slow moving "Fall into your Dreams" with compelling violins forcing even the musically challenged to lose their breath.
The production team of Jan Pulsford and Mark Saunders has opened the gate to the Yellow Brick Road, allowing Lauper to unleash her immense talents. The writing team of Lauper/Pulsford are a force to be reckoned with. The cold world of the powerful in the music business gets punched as Lauper releases her anger over the corruption in "Love to Hate" with rocking guitars rarely heard on any of her releases. The drums are barrels of gun powder thundering down a hill at break neck speed as the left hook comes out of nowhere, dropping the music executives.
One day the music industry will begin to shatter and the demise will be a direct result of those who are not going to let them sit in their offices sucking the life out of the musicians who are the talent, only to have their money/lives robbed blind. The construction of the track listing gives a feeling that the listener has had the album since birth. Going back to the three year spacing of releases has given new life to Cyndi Lauper's writing. The daring of sessions like "We are the World", where she was told that her jangling bracelets would interfere with the recording, but she persevered and received hugs from everyone as she should get when you listen to this release.
This sweetness yields the get out of jail free cards that respectfully let her write socially conscience lyrics that empower those who might not have the courage to get out of bad situations. "Say a Prayer" questions why if god is good he/she does not answer the prayers of those afflicted with AIDS. Which goes without saying, anyone with this diagnosis wonders why their prayers are not being answered.
"Mother" gives Lauper a chance to look at nature and the way of those who have come and gone from earth and left us legacies. The Indian background vocals give the song an eerie touch but the listener knows Lauper is no longer satisfied with the pop music culture and the more she demands of herself the more she requires of her audience.
The envelope has been pushed, now let’s take the hand of the leader and let her take us on the adventure of a lifetime.
2/25/11