Hat Full of Stars
| Hat Full of Stars |
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| Studio album by Cyndi Lauper |
| Released |
June 30, 1993 (1993-06-30) |
| Recorded |
August 1, 1992–
February 28, 1993 at
The Hit Factory, Sigma Sound Studios, Messina Sound, Right Track Recording, The Enchanted Cottage, The Ranch, World Famous Orbit Sound[1] |
| Genre |
Pop, Soul, R&B, Quiet storm |
| Length |
52:50 |
| Label |
Epic |
| Producer |
Cyndi Lauper, Junior Vasquez, William Wittman |
| Cyndi Lauper chronology |
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| Singles from Hat Full of Stars |
- "Who Let In The Rain"
Released: 1993
- "That's What I Think"
Released: 1993
- "Sally's Pigeons"
Released: 1993
- "Hat Full of Stars"
Released: 1993
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Hat Full of Stars is the fourth solo studio album released by Cyndi Lauper.
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 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"). Some critics said Cyndi Lauper was becoming more political in order to keep up with Madonna, who had achieved unprecedented commercial and critical success years before dealing with the same issues: abortion ("Papa Don't Preach"), racism (the video for "Like a Prayer"), spousal abuse ("Till Death Do Us Part") and incest ("Live to Tell").
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.
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.
The album was recorded at the Hit Factory, Sigma Sound, Messina Sound, Right Track, The Enchanted Cottage, The Ranch, and World Famous Orbit Sound.
Track listing
- "That's What I Think" (Cyndi Lauper, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman, Allee Willis; Rellla Music, Warner-Tamerlane Music, Streamline Music, Dub Notes, Human Boy Music) – 4:39
- "Product of Misery" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman; Rellla Music, Dub Notes, Human Boy Music) – 4:11
- "Who Let in the Rain" (Lauper, Willis; Rellla Music, EMI Virgin Songs, Streamline Moderne Music) – 4:37
- "Lies" (Lauper, Willis; Rellla Music, EMI Virgin Songs, Streamline Moderne Music) – 3:40
- "Broken Glass" (Lauper, Marv DePeyer, Junior Vasquez; Rellla Music, MCA Publishing, House of Ellis Music, Sony Songs, Scream Music) – 5:34
- "Sally's Pigeons" (Lauper, Mary Chapin Carpenter; Rellla Music, EMI Music & GetARealJob Music) – 3:48
- "Feels Like Christmas" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman; Rellla Music, Dub Notes, Human Boy Music) – 4:35
- "Dear John" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman; Rellla Music, Dub Notes, Human Boy Music) – 3:40
- "Like I Used To" (Lauper, Willis; Rellla Music, EMI Virgin Songs, Streamline Moderne Music) – 4:28
- "Someone Like Me" (Lauper, Bazilian, Hyman, Willis; Rellla Music, Warner-Tamerlane Music, Streamline Music, Dub Notes, Human Boy Music) – 4:07
- "A Part Hate" (Lauper, Tom Gray, David Thornton; Rellla Music, Gray Matter Music) – 4:56
- "Hat Full of Stars" (Lauper, Nicky Holland; Rellla Music, EMI Virgin Music & EMI 10 Music) – 4:28
Chart performance
| Chart (1993) |
Peak
position |
Total
weeks |
| French Albums Chart[4] |
9 |
7 |
| German Albums Chart[5][6] |
52 |
? |
| Swiss Albums Chart[7] |
32 |
4 |
| UK Albums Chart[8] |
56 |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200[9] |
112 |
4 |
Personnel
- Cyndi Lauper – lead vocals, background vocals, recorder, production
- Junior Vasquez – production, background vocals
- William Wittman – additional production, background vocals
- Gary Tole, Carl Glanville, Ted Truwhella, Brian Wittmer, Jennifer Monnar - assistant engineering
- Eric Bazilian – background vocals, bass, drum programming, dulcimer, guitar, mandolin, piano, saxophone
- Rob Hyman – accordions, background vocals, casio, keyboards, melodica, organs
- Peter Wood – additional arrangements, bass, drum programming, guitar, keyboards
- Allee Willis – additional programming, background vocals, bass, casio, keyboards
- Nicky Holland – background vocals, keyboards, piano
- Hugh Masekela – background vocals, Flügelhorn, vocal chant
- Joey Moskowitz – bass, drum programming, keyboards
- Deborah Fraser, Georgia Jones, Faith Kekana, Lawrence Matshiza, Stella Zulu – background vocals
- Christopher Garcia – additional programming
- Kevin Jenkins, Bakithi Kumalo, Danny Sembello – bass
- Bashiri Johnson – congas
- Jimmy Bralower – drum programming
- Carlos Alomar, Nile Rodgers, Larry Treadwell – guitar
- Rob Paparozzi – harmonica
- Jeff Bova, Fred McFarlane – keyboards
- Anton Fig, David Uosikkinen – live drums
- Stacy Drummond – art direction, design
- Dana Shimizu – design assistant
- Robert Lewis – photograph
- David Thornton – drawings
- Laura Wills – styling
- Jody Morlock – makeup
- Danilo for Pierre Michel, NYC – hair
References
External links
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| Studio albums |
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| Compilations |
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| Singles |
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She's So Unusual
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True Colors
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A Night to Remember
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Hat Full of Stars
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Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some
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Sisters of Avalon
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Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life
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Shine
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At Last
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The Body Acoustic
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Bring Ya to the Brink
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Others singles
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| Tours |
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| Films |
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| Related articles |
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