True Colors

Also available in a 3-pack with SHE'S SO UNUSUAL and HAT FULL OF STARS.

With the runaway success of her 1983 debut, SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, Cyndi Lauper received tremendous media exposure, leading to five hit singles. Even though Lauper's sophomore record, TRUE COLORS, didn't appear until the fall of 1986, there was still something of a backlash, from which she never entirely recovered.

A much more mature and controlled record than the candy-coated SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, TRUE COLORS features numerous guest stars (including Billy Joel, Til Tuesday's Aimee Mann, and Pee-Wee Herman) and a stronger creative presence from Lauper. For this set of songs, she wrote (or co-wrote) seven of the 10 tracks (including a great remake of "Maybe He'll Know" from the sole album by Lauper's old New Wave band Blue Angel) and tones down the attention-grabbing hiccups and shrieks. Although the state-of-1986 production makes a few songs sound a little dated, the strongest material, like the affecting title track and the disc's second hit single, the sweet "Change of Heart" (featuring backing vocals by the Bangles), is among Lauper's best.