The Body Acoustic | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 8, 2005 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:15 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Cyndi Lauper chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Body Acoustic | ||||
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The Body Acoustic is the ninth studio album released by American singer Cyndi Lauper in 2005. It consists of ten previously released songs which have been re-recorded and re-arranged acoustically, as well as two new songs. The album title is a play on Walt Whitman's poem I Sing the Body Electric, with the word body in this case referring to Lauper's body of work as a recording artist. The album features a number of guest artists, including Adam Lazzara, Shaggy, Sarah McLachlan, Jeff Beck, Vivian Green, Ani DiFranco, and Puffy AmiYumi.
A DualDisc edition of the album was released which contained the entire album in enhanced stereo, four new videos directed by Lauper herself as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the album. The original pressing of the album became the only album from Cyndi Lauper to be copy-protected using Sony's controversial XCP technology. [1]
The album was produced by Rick Chertoff, who worked with the singer on her debut album, She's So Unusual, from 1983, and William Wittman, who produced her At Last album. [2] [3] The twelve songs selected for the record are essentially Lauper's biggest hits, such as " All Through the Night", " Time After Time" and her signature song " Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", all of which are revamped with acoustic jams and sounds of dulcimer played by Lauper herself. [4] Many artists featured in the records, including: Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, Adam Lazzara from Taking Back Sunday, Jeff Beck, Puffy AmiYumi, Sarah McLachlan and Vivian Green. [2] In an interview with Bay Area's reporter, the singer said that she had a "wish list" with the artists she always wanted to work with, many of them said yes to the invitation to work on the album. [5]
In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Extra, the singer said that the album was a special project, with the intervention of the record company and that she does not consider it as a "career album". [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Robert Christgau | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
The album received good reviews from music critics. Thom Jurek from AllMusic website gave the album three and a half stars out of five and wrote that while the idea of guest songs and acoustic versions might seem like a skewed idea, the album comes across as "entirely new, full of adventure, courage, polish and soul". [7] Barry Waters from the Rolling Stone magazine gave the album three stars out of five and noted that " continued progression into quieter material may have left her mainstream rock fans behind years ago, but it has clearly improved her chops." [8] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "Choice Cut" for the song " Money Changes Everything", [9] with that kind of rating he implies that the song "is a good song on an album that's not worth your time or money".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
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1. | " Money Changes Everything" (featuring Adam Lazzara) | Tom Gray | She's So Unusual | 5:14 |
2. | " All Through the Night" (featuring Shaggy) | Jules Shear | She's So Unusual | 4:40 |
3. | " Time After Time" (featuring Sarah McLachlan) | She's So Unusual | 4:17 | |
4. | " She Bop" |
| She's So Unusual | 4:16 |
5. | "Above the Clouds" (featuring Jeff Beck) |
| Previously unreleased | 3:57 |
6. | "I'll Be Your River" (featuring Vivian Green) |
| Previously unreleased | 4:47 |
7. | " Sisters of Avalon" (featuring Ani DiFranco & Vivian Green) |
| Sisters of Avalon | 5:27 |
8. | " Shine" |
| Shine | 3:32 |
9. | " True Colors" | True Colors | 4:09 | |
10. | "Water's Edge" (featuring Sarah McLachlan) |
| Shine | 4:49 |
11. | "Fearless" | Lauper | Sisters of Avalon | 4:07 |
12. | " Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (featuring Puffy AmiYumi) |
| She's So Unusual | 2:59 |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums ( ARIA) [10] | 175 |
Austrian Albums Chart [11] | 60 |
Colombia Albums Chart[ citation needed] | 47 |
French Albums Chart [12] | 190 |
Italian Albums ( Musica e dischi) [13] | 40 |
Japanese Albums Chart[ citation needed] | 42 |
Scottish Albums Chart [14] | 61 |
Swiss Albums Chart [15] | 86 |
UK Albums Chart [16] | 55 |
US Billboard 200 [17] | 112 |