Cyndi Lauper - Shes So Unusual MoFi LP Numbered

Track Listing

A1: Money Changes Everything
A2: Girls Just Want to Have Fun
A3: When You Were Mine
A4: Time After Time

B1: She Bop
B2: All Through the Night
B3: Witness
B4: I'll Kiss You
B5: He's So Unusual
B6: Yeah Yeah

She Bop: 1984 Commercial Blockbuster Combines Mainstream Hooks, Self-Assertive Confidence, and Whimsical Attitude

Forget, for a moment, about the gypsy clothes, raspberry-pink hair, costume jewelry, and hyperactive behavior. No female artist's debut better epitomized MTV's vivid heyday and the smart intersection of self-reliant female politics, savvy hooks, and vibrant imagery than Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual. Long before Lady Gaga, and before Madonna embraced any traits resembling punk, the New York native ushered in a new wave of commercial pop while flaunting an exuberant confidence that, overnight, influenced a generation to dye their hair and embrace life with newfound vibrancy. Girls, indeed, just wanted to have fun.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's internationally acclaimed mastering system and pressed at RTI, this Silver Label LP rescues the music from long-standing harshness and disadvantageous brittleness. Back on vinyl for the first time in decades, the multi-platinum 1984 blockbuster sounds completely anew, possessing crisper beats, a fleshed-out midrange, no artificial ceilings, and a clear alleyway to Lauper's girlish voice. Finally, the sonics possess the wide spectrum of colors that flavor the songs.

Helmed by the anthem "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," She's So Unusual transformed pop culture by way of Lauper's charismatic personality, whimsical attitude, lively performances, unique timbre, witty humor, and unabated passion. Throughout, she's a whirlwind of emotion and cyclone of spirit, tackling insouciant party tracks with the same verve she sings arresting ballads. And while for most it would be a deterrent, Lauper sculpts her chirpy, bop-friendly voice to her advantage, underscoring each song's combination of sentimentality and seditiousness.

"With a voice that combined the cartoon soul of Little Eva and the wink-wink naughtiness of Betty Boop, Lauper may have backed away from the depth or urgency of the writers whose work she mainstreamed, but her transformation of their power into sheer pop was ultimately subversive – giggling all the way, she incited legions of mall rats into orange-hair rebellion and a measure of self-assertion," wrote Paul Evans for The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, hinting at the record's normally unseen depth.

Whether viewed as a subversive new-wave crossover statement or simply as a celebratory declaration of individualism (or, both), She's So Unusual is an 80s landmark and influential harbinger of the role women would play in both rock and pop.

GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog™ System for Vinyl

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's founding fathers - Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL's most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customised reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs only utilise first generation original master recordings as source material for their releases. MFSL then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master's sonic information. The lacquers are then plated in a specialised process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial playback, but as the disc is played more, a high-quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). MFSL further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors' items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

Album Credits

Produced by Rick Chertoff, William Wittman

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on the GAIN 2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM.

Release Information

Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, MOFI 1-027

Series: Gain 2™ Ultra Analog, 180g Series

Format: Vinyl LP, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Numbered

Country: US

Released: 2012

Genre: Pop