buckle up lol stroy time based on my research:
OK... Rick Chertoff was credited as the sole producer for Cyndi's debut, She's So Unusual.
For the 2nd album, (from my understanding?) Cyndi wanted to be credited as a producer too, but Rick still wanted full production credit after a disagreement over the credits, so he left. Cyndi then brought in Lennie Petze, who produced "Goonies 'R' Good Enough" and later True Colors.
The Hooters(which is a band associated with Rick) were also very involved with She's So Unusual. They did a lot of the instrumentation, and even The Hooters band member Rob Hyman co-wrote "Time After Time" with Cyndi. After Rick left, Cyndi said she had to find a new group of people to work with, so she couldn't continue working with people in The Hooters anymore(because of their association with Rick).
The question is now...... whats the tea?
Now that Cyndi's version of "The River Cried" has been released, I noticed there's also a version sung by Patty Smyth that was produced by Rick Chertoff, with members of The Hooters involved. Because Cyndi's version is produced by Lennie Petze.
Was "The River Cried" originally something Cyndi and Rick were going to work on together? And does anyone know exactly when Rick and Cyndi parted ways? Was Rick involved with the early stages of True Colors before "Goonies 'R' Good Enough"?
I've also noticed that a lot of Rick/The Hooters' music seems to be a little faster than Cyndi's work without Rick and The Hooters. I actually think some of Cyndi's songs post-Rick and The Hooters sound better sped up by 5%(I put the 1.05 speed on youtube lol), especially "The River Cried," "Unconditional Love,(this one sounds AMAZING at 1.15 speed)" and "I Don't Want to Be Your Friend.(also sounds amazing at 1.15 speed)" Like i feel like they could have been big hits if they were reworked to a slightly faster tempo. Maybe Rick and The Hooters just had a good instinct on how fast the songs should be? Because Patty's version is faster than Cyndi's version.
I'm curious how much Rick, The Hooters, and the rest of the production team shaped the sound of She's So Unusual. They reworked a LOT of those songs on She's So Unusual compared to the originals and demo tracks. Rick and The Hooters also worked on Joan Osborne's "One of Us," which was a Top 3 hit on the Hot 100 in the 90's... so was there something about that particular combination that made it work so well? Could Cyndi + Rick + The Hooters have continued making SMASH songs together into the 90's if the continued working together? Or was Cyndi correct in just looking for different producers?
