I am a huge Cyndi Lauper fan but I’m not a big fan of country music. When Cyndi announced she had a new album coming out I was excited but apprehensive because it was going to be country. Cyndi released a standards album, At Last, in 2003 and a blues album, Memphis Blues, in 2010 but neither get much play on my iPod. In my gay opinion, Cyndi is at her best when she’s doing pop or dance music. But it’s Cyndi Lauper so I had to give Detour a shot.
When the first song “Funnel Of Love” started, I breathed a sigh of relief, it reminded me of old-school Cyndi and I could see this song being a b-side from her She’s So Unusual album. She was going to take these old country songs, modernize them and make them interesting. That hope only lasted until the second song “Detour” started and the hardcore twangs of country kicked in and carried through the majority of the album. There are a few exceptions like “Misty Blue” and “The End Of The World” which are more in the style of songs you’d slow dance to at a sock hop or prom in the 1950’s. Cyndi’s humor and quirky personality shine on “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly” a duet with Vince Gill where they lovingly blame one another for their children’s imperfections while her duet with Jewel, “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart”, isn’t as cute. I could have lived a lifetime without having to hear the yodeling “talents” of Jewel. Thankfully, Detour ends just as strongly as it started with my favorite track, “Hard Candy Christmas” featuring Alison Krauss. It’s not your typical Christmas song but a classic all the same.
Unfortunately Detour didn’t change my feelings about country music or give me a greater appreciation for it. If I want that, I’ll keep watching the TV show Nashville. I am still a huge fan of Cyndi’s and look forward to seeing her on tour in a few weeks. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that she’ll play mostly classic songs and only a few off the new album.
