Set for release in April is the 30th Anniversary Celebration edition of Cyndi Lauper’s epic debut ‘She’s So Unusual.’ Spawning massive hits like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” and “She Bop” that have stood the test of time, this reissue will no doubt be enjoyed by many. For clubland, both “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” have undergone the remix treatment. While I have yet to hear how the Aussie pranksters Yolanda Be Cool have reworked “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the Bent Collective and Nervo remixes of “Time After Time” have already started igniting dancefloors. The Bent Collective (Danny Verde and Steven Redant) structure their remix as a four-part story – the energetic intro (which has a keyboard hook similar to Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”), the amped-up verse which keeps the feel of the original while making it club-friendly, the stadium treatment of the chorus with the epic dropout, and the big build-up to the middle bridge, which has a world music anthem feel similar to a Deniz Koyu (Tung/Bong) record. The brilliance in this mix is the way the four parts come together as one and make the classic song sound like a journey. While the Bent Collective mix keeps the lyrics intact, the Nervo twins take some liberties and reimagine the song as a modern festival track – i.e. big beats with all the vocals over a beatless drop. It feels more like a Nervo featuring Cyndi Lauper track rather than a remix of the original – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it will probably attract a younger generation. Of course, you can’t really discuss remixes of “Time After Time” without mentioning Josh Harris’ remix that was done for the True Colors tour and sounds just as good now as it did when it came out in 2007, or that great white label that brought in Planet Rock beats underneath Cyndi’s voice. No matter which you favor, these remixes will hopefully open the door to more mining of Cyndi’s classics – could you imagine an Avicii remix of “True Colors,” Soundprank taking on “Change of Heart,” Matt Pop making a Morning Music/NRG monster out of “The World is Stone,” or an Armin van Buuren mix of “All Through the Night?”
Bent Collective
Nervo
Josh Harris
Image Courtesy of Sony/Epic.
Cyndi Lauper – “Time After Time (Remixes)”
