Hat Full of Stars

Hat Full of Stars
Studio album by Cyndi Lauper
Released June 30, 1993 (1993-06-30)
Recorded August 1, 1992–February 28, 1993
Studio The Hit Factory, Sigma Sound Studios, Messina Sound, Right Track Recording, The Enchanted Cottage, The Ranch, World Famous Orbit Sound[1]
Genre Pop, R&B, soul, quiet storm
Length 52:50
Label Epic
Producer Cyndi Lauper, Junior Vasquez, William Wittman
Cyndi Lauper chronology
A Night to Remember
(1989)A Night to Remember1989		 Hat Full of Stars
(1993)		 Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some
(1994)Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some1994
Singles from Hat Full of Stars
  1. "Who Let in the Rain"
    Released: June 22, 1993
  2. "That's What I Think"
    Released: October 1993
  3. "Sally's Pigeons"
    Released: 1993
  4. "Hat Full of Stars"
    Released: 2 December 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Hat Full of Stars is the fourth solo studio album released by Cyndi Lauper. The album has sold 119,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

The album cover was inspired by a photograph of the actress Mary Pickford, taken by photographer Nelson Evans.[7]

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 No. 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

Note

Personnel

  • Cyndi Lauper – lead vocals, background vocals, recorder, production
  • Junior Vasquez – production, background vocals
  • William Wittman – additional production, background vocals
  • Gary Tole – assistant engineering
  • Carl Glanville – assistant engineering
  • Ted Truwhella – assistant engineering
  • Brian Wittmer – assistant engineering
  • 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 – background vocals
  • Georgia Jones – background vocals
  • Faith Kekana – background vocals
  • Lawrence Matshiza – background vocals
  • 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 – keyboards
  • Fred McFarlane – keyboards
  • Anton Fig – live drums
  • 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

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[17] Gold 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[18] Gold 100,000^
United States 119,000[4]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Cyndi Lauper - Hat Full of Stars at Discogs
  2. ↑ DeGagne, Mike. "Cyndi Lauper: A Hat Full of Stars > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  3. ↑ George-Warren, Holly (2 September 1993). "Cyndi Lauper: Hat Full Of Stars". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  4. 1 2 Barth, Keith. "Ask Billboard | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  5. ↑ Lauper, Cyndi; Dunn, Jancee (2012). Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. Great Britain: Simon & Schuster. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4711-1424-3.
  6. ↑ Lauper, Cyndi; Dunn, Jancee (2012). Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. Great Britain: Simon & Schuster. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-4711-1424-3.
  7. ↑ "Picture of Mary Pickford,taken by Nelson Evans". Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top Albums: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-14-X.
  9. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper – Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  12. ↑ シンディ・ローパーのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Cyndi Lauper – Hat Full of Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Cyndi Lauper. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1993 par InfoDisc" (in French). InfoDisc. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  17. ↑ "French album certifications – Cyndi Lauper – A Hat Full of Stars" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  18. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – シンディ・ローパー – ハット・フル・オブ・スターズ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1994年月 on the drop-down menu
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