Hat Full of Stars
Studio album by
Cyndi Lauper
ReleasedJune 22, 1993 (1993-06-22)
RecordedAugust 1, 1992–February 28, 1993
Studio
Genre
Length52:50
LabelEpic
Producer
Cyndi Lauper chronology
A Night to Remember
(1989)		 Hat Full of Stars
(1993)		 Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some
(1994)
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

Hat Full of Stars is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released in 1993. The album was released 4 years after the singer's third studio album, A Night to Remember, which received unfavorable reviews and had low sales compared to the singer's previous releases. Hat Full of Stars received favorable reviews but was poorly received by the public, receiving gold certifications in Japan and France only.

Production and composition

Hat Full of Stars deviated from Lauper's pop-rock sound of previous projects and delved heavily into alternative music. It also furthered her 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. It 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 a teacher of Lauper's, Bob Barrell, who described the masses of struggling people as a 'product of misery' and that misery begets misery unless the chain is broken.[2]

The song "A Part Hate" was conceived as an anti-apartheid song and was originally written for Lauper's second album True Colors but was not included because her label felt it would make the album too political; it already had a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and the title track included.[3]

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 cover was inspired by a photograph of the actress Mary Pickford, taken by photographer Nelson Evans.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Calgary HeraldB[6]
Billboard(favourable)[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
People(favourable)[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

The album received mostly favorable reviews from music critics. Holly George-Warren from Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the album is Lauper's "most ambitious". She praised Lauper's vocals ("her multioctave voice has never sounded better, hitting highs, lows and everything in between") and the musical arrangement for its "imaginative" combination of rootsy instrumentation and R&B staples, underpinned by dance-music mainstays. People magazine gave the album a favorable review in which it was said that the real strength of the album "is the way Lauper lets her feelings and opinions, dark as some of them are, emerge naturally" the review ended claiming that the "wacky energy that made Lauper perfect for the go-go ’80s is pretty much gone-gone, but Hat’s clear-eyed pop rock provides ’90s nourishment for body and soul." Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B and wrote that it brings a diversity of rhythms and vocals to reach varied tastes he conclude that old fans of Lauper "probably won’t be disappointed by Hat Full of Stars" but he was skeptical about the record being able to garner a new audience for the singer.

Billboard magazine gave the album a positive review, stating that it marked a "metamorphosis" for Lauper from "fun-loving, she-bopping squealer" to a "mature artiste with admirable depth".[7] The review highlighted the song "Who Let in the Rain" as reminiscent of Cyndi's 1984 hit "Time After Time".[7] Other tracks noted as highlights were "A Part Hate", "Lies", which recalled "early Siouxsie & the Banshees", "Feels Like Christmas" and "Like I Used To", described as a "hybrid of Madonna-style pop and vintage Motown".[7]

In negative reviews, Mike DeGaggne from AllMusic wrote that the singer "sounds much more appealing and enjoyable as an effervescent pop singer wading through simplistic and feel-good material rather than trying to befriend mildly opinionated pieces, which is what happens throughout most of Hat Full of Stars." Robert Christgau rated the album as a record that "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't."

Commercial performance

The album was a commercial disappointment in the United States[12] and despite some positive critical reviews it stalled at No. 112 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. As of 2003 the album has sold 119,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[13]

The album fared better overseas, becoming most successful in Japan and France, achieving a Gold certification in both countries. In Japan, the album spent a total of 7 weeks on the albums chart, peaking at 15.[14] In France the album debuted at 10[15] before reaching its peak of 9 the following week.[16] This was both her highest debut and peak for a studio album in France and it stayed in the Top 40 for 7 weeks.[17]

The album achieved lower chart positions in the rest of Europe. In Germany, Hat Full of Stars entered the chart at 84 and re-entered at its peak of 52 two weeks later, spending a total of 9 weeks in the Top 100.[18] The album spent four weeks on the Swiss albums chart, entering at 34 and climbing two positions higher to its peak in its second week.[19] The album was released in the UK in November, entering the albums chart at 56 before dropping off the following week.[20]

The tracks "That's What I Think", "Sally's Pigeons", "Hat Full of Stars" and "Who Let In the Rain" were released as singles; the latter of which was re-recorded in 2001 for her album Shine.

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

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[34] Gold 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[35] Gold 100,000^
United States — 119,000[13]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Catalog
Japan[26] 21 May 1993 CD Epic ESCA 5742
21 June 1993 MD ESYA 1020
United States[26] June 1993 LP ET 52878
CD
Cassette ET 56878
United Kingdom[26] November 1993 LP 473054 1
CD 473054 2
Cassette 473054 4
MD 473054 8
Japan[36] 3 September 2008 CD Sony Music EICP-1042

References

  1. ↑ Cyndi Lauper - Hat Full of Stars at Discogs
  2. ↑ Lauper, Cyndi; Dunn, Jancee (2012). Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. Great Britain: Simon & Schuster. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4711-1424-3.
  3. ↑ Lauper, Cyndi; Dunn, Jancee (2012). Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. Great Britain: Simon & Schuster. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-4711-1424-3.
  4. ↑ "Picture of Mary Pickford,taken by Nelson Evans". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  5. ↑ DeGagne, Mike. "Cyndi Lauper: A Hat Full of Stars > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  6. ↑ Phillips, Shari (4 July 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 3 July 1993. p. 48. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (June 18, 1993). "Hat Full of Stars". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly.
  9. ↑ Rosenbluth, Jean (11 July 1993). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: Hat Full of Stars". people.com. People. June 28, 1993.
  11. ↑ George-Warren, Holly (2 September 1993). "Cyndi Lauper: Hat Full Of Stars". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper Then and Now". LaredoTribune. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  13. 1 2 Barth, Keith (6 January 2007). "Ask Billboard | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  14. ↑ "シンディ・ローパーのCdアルバムランキング、シンディ・ローパーのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-Oricon Style". www.oricon.co.jp. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. June 26, 1993. p. 55. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  16. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. July 3, 1993. p. 44. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts".
  19. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper - Hat Full of Stars".
  20. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  21. ↑ "ARIA chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022". ARIA. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  22. ↑ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top Albums: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-14-X.
  23. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper – Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Cyndi Lauper - Hat Full of Stars". cyndilauper.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2003.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ "South African Divas Albums". Geo Cities. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Cyndi Lauper – Hat Full of Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  32. ↑ Kimberley, Christopher (2000). Zimbabwe Albums Chart Book: 1973–1998. Harare.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  33. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1993 par InfoDisc" (in French). InfoDisc. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  34. ↑ "French album certifications – Cyndi Lauper – A Hat Full of Stars" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  35. ↑ "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. Retrieved July 21, 2022. Select 1994年3月 on the drop-down menu
  36. ↑ "Cyndi Lauper - Hat Full of Stars". cdjapan.co.jp.
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