Hat Full of Stars

Album information

Issued in 1993 it deviated from her pop-rock sound of previous projects and delved heavily into alternative music. It also furthered Lauper's growing penchant for writing topical songs about social issues.

The album was recorded at the Hit Factory, Sigma Sound, Messina Sound, Right Track, The Enchanted Cottage, The Ranch, and World Famous Orbit Sound.

The album was co-produced by dance-music artist Junior Vasquez and is highly typical of his work of the time. As such many of the songs are held together by synthetic loops and percussion. Lyrics address issues like abortion ("Sally's Pigeons"), racism ("A Part Hate"), spousal abuse ("Product of Misery" and "Broken Glass") and incest ("Lies").

The track "Product of Misery" was inspired by when a teacher of hers, Bob Barrell, described the masses of struggling people as a 'product of misery' and that misery begets misery unless the chain is broken.

The song "A Part Hate" was conceived as an anti-apartheid song and was originally written for Cyndi's second album True Colors but was not included because her label felt it would make the album too political because it already had a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and the title track included.

The album cover was inspired by a photograph of the actress Mary Pickford, taken by photographer Nelson Evans.

Lauper has commented that she wishes that her vocals on the project had been sharper. She worked with a vocal coach to sharpen her vocals for her next studio album Sisters of Avalon, and mentions this in the liner notes.

Commercial Performance

The album had limited success overseas, it managed to achieve Gold sales in France. However it was considered a commercial disappointment in the United States. Despite glowing critical review, it received little or no promotion, and it subsequently stalled at #112 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The singles "That's What I Think", "Sally's Pigeons", "Hat Full of Stars" and "Who Let In the Rain" were released; the latter of which was re-recorded in 2001 for her album Shine.

The album has sold 119,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing

1. "That's What I Think" (Cyndi Lauper, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman, Allee Willis) – 4:39
2. "Product of Misery" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman) – 4:11
3. "Who Let In the Rain" (Lauper, Willis) – 4:37
4. "Lies" (Lauper, Willis) – 3:40
5. "Broken Glass" (Lauper, Marv DePeyer, Junior Vasquez) – 5:34
6. "Sally's Pigeons" (Lauper, Mary Chapin Carpenter) – 3:48
7. "Feels Like Christmas" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman) – 4:35
8. "Dear John" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman) – 3:40
9. "Like I Used To" (Lauper, Willis) – 4:28
10. "Someone Like Me" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman, Willis) – 4:07
11. "A Part Hate" (Lauper, Tom Gray, David Thornton) – 4:56
12. "Hat Full of Stars" (Lauper, Nicky Holland) – 4:28