Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some

Release

In the United States the album has 14 tracks. 11 are previously released hits; "I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil track Lauper re-recorded, having previously performed it on her debut album Blue Angel. "(Hey Now) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a re-recording of one of her biggest hits; it has been completely reworked to incorporate a reggae feel. A music video featuring drag queens was shot to accompany this single and it aired heavily on television. It was also featured in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. The track "Come on Home" was also new; two versions were recorded, one running 4:33 (the US version) and one running 4:36 (the international version). Internationally the album has 16 tracks (17 in Japan).

There was some issue with the division of royalties due to the wide array of co-writers on the various tracks that prevented Lauper from releasing the longer version in the United States. Conceptually the album was originally called "13 Deadly Cyns" and in fact a promotional cassette with this title (and an alternate track listing) was pressed and distributed in the United Kingdom in June 1992.

Critical reception

In his review for Allmusic, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and said that it succeeds as a greatest hits collection, but felt that apart from "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", all of Lauper's best and most successful songs are already on She's So Unusual, which he said is "a more consistent and entertaining album." Robert Christgau gave the album a "C" grade and similarly felt that Lauper's subsequent material was inferior.

Track listing

Personnel